Help Manual

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Contents






Sigma Magic Help Version 18

Tree Diagram

Overview

A Tree Diagram is used to break up a big problem into a well-defined, smaller-scope problem, and it helps explain the logic of the problem breakdown so others can understand how the problem was selected. This tool can be used to help select a well-defined project and identify the scope of a project before developing the project charter.

This tool can be added to your active workbook by clicking on Project and then selecting Tree Diagram.

Inputs

Click on Analysis Setup to open the menu options for this tool.

Setup

A sample screenshot of the setup menu is shown below.
Input Dialog Box
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Num Rows: Specify the number of rows for the problem definition tree. Each row is used to split the decision tree by one level.
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Num Cols: Specify the number of cols for the problem definition tree. Each column breaks out the number of branches at a given level. Find the maximum number of branches across all rows and use that number here.
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View Example: Click on this button to open the example file. You can view the example to get an idea of how to fill out this tool, or you can use the example as a starting point and modify it to meet your project needs.
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Help Button: Click on this button to open the help file for this topic.
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Cancel Button: Click on this button to cancel all changes to the settings and exit this dialog box.
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Create Design: If this is your first time using this template, click this button to format the worksheet template. You can also update the worksheet format any time, but remember that you may lose any data entered on this worksheet. Once you are happy with the worksheet template layout, you must enter any required data on the worksheet. When the data entered into the worksheet is complete, you can click on Analysis Setup and then Compute Outputs to generate analysis results.
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Analyze Design: Click on this button to save all changes and compute the outputs for this analysis. Review the results of your analysis and make changes to your inputs if required to update analysis results.

Checklist

You will see the following dialog box if you click the Checklist button. Checklist The checklist contains a few pointers on things you must pay particular attention to while performing this analysis. The checklist has been derived from experience working on past projects. Not all the checklist items need to apply to you. However, you should carefully review the checklist and apply any recommendations that make sense for your project. Make sure to read each checklist item and mark it as completed after you have read and taken actions as appropriate for your project.
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Item: The items on the checklist are listed on the left
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Status: The status of whether the checklist has been answered is listed on the right.
Ideally, all items on the checklist should be marked as reviewed/completed.

Worksheet

Enter the following data in the worksheet:
  • Enter the information for the Basis of Split, the breakdown for each level, and the reason for selecting a particular branch of the "Tree."
  • Once the tree diagram is complete, the updated problem statement must be written at the bottom based on the items not crossed out in the Tree diagram.

Verify

If you click the Verify button, the software will perform some checks on the data you entered. A sample screenshot of the dialog box is shown in the figure below. Verify The software checks if you have correctly specified the input options and entered the required data on the worksheet. The results of the analysis checks are listed on the right. If the checks are passed, they are shown as green checkmarks. If the verification checks fail, they are shown as a red cross. If the verification checks result in a warning, they are shown in the orange exclamation mark, and finally, any checks that are required to be performed by the user are shown as blue info icons.
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Item: The left-hand side shows the major tabs and the items checked within each section
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Status: The right-hand side shows the status of the checks.
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Overall Status: The overall status of all the checks for the given analysis is shown here. The overall status check shows a green thumps-up sign if everything is okay and a red thumps-down sign if any checks have not passed. Note that you cannot proceed with generating analysis results for some analyses if the overall status is not okay.

Outputs

Click on Compute Outputs to update the output calculations. A sample screenshot of the worksheet is shown below. outputs If the worksheet is not damaged (as determined by how you answer the questions in the following dialog), the Conclusion box states that the analysis is okay. If not, it will report that some issues with the analysis need to be fixed. An example message displayed to the user is shown below. outputs 2

Notes

Here are a few pointers regarding this analysis:
  • Tree Diagrams determine your project's scope, explain the scope logic to others, and get their buy-in. It would be best if you used as many levels as needed to drill down to a problem statement that is small enough that you can finish the project in a reasonable time and, simultaneously, large enough to provide sufficient benefits to the company.


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