Help Manual

Contents






Sigma Magic Help Version 19

A3 Report

Overview

A3 Report worksheet is a one-page report that can be used to communicate the status of an improvement to other people in the organization. It provides a quick snapshot of the vital information on a single page. You can use this tool whenever you want to communicate the status of any project to other stakeholders concisely. To add this tool to your workbook, click on Lean and then select A3 Report.

Inputs

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

Setup

A sample screenshot of the setup menu is shown below.
Setup
1
Implementation Status: Enter the status of the implementation plan. The available options are:
OptionDescription
AheadThe implemention is being done ahead of plan.
On ScheduleThe implementation is being done according to plan.
Behind PlanThe implementation is behind schedule.
CompletedThe implementation has been completed.
2
KPI Status: Enter the status of the KPI metrics. The available options are:
OptionDescription
On TargetThe KPI metrics are on target.
AheadThe KPI metrics are better than target.
BehindThe KPI metrics are worse than target.
3
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.
4
Help Button: Click on this button to open the help file on this topic.
5
Cancel Button: Click on this button to exit without saving any changes.
6a
Create Button: Click on this button to save changes and update your worksheet layout (if any).
6b
OK Button: Click on this button to save changes and update your analysis results.
An example screenshot of a completed worksheet is shown below. A3 Example Enter the following information on the worksheet:
NumDescription
1Background: Enter a brief description of the problem. Describe why this problem is important for the business to solve.
2Initial Condition: Describe the initial state of the problem. Describe any key metrics/data you have collected to quantify the problem. Describe where the problem occurs, when, how much, etc.
3Target Condition: Describe your desired improvement for the key metrics. Be as specific as possible.
4Root Cause Analysis: Show your logic for why you have selected the root causes based on facts/data.
5Countermeasures: Describe the countermeasures you have developed to eliminate or minimize the root causes.
6Implementation Plan: Describe the plan of how you are going to implement the countermeasures. Describe what will be done, who will do it, when will it be done, and the current status of the implementation.
7Issues / Follow-up Actions: Describe your actions to replicate the findings in other business areas with similar issues. Describe any key issues/problems you are facing from implementing your countermeasures.
8KPI Metrics: Document the KPI metrics that your improvement will impact. What was the original value of the KPI, what is the goal, and what is the current value of the KPI metric?

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.
1
Item: The items on the checklist are listed on the left
2
Status: The status of whether the checklist has been answered is listed on the right.

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 a green-colored checkmark. If the verification checks fail, they are shown as a red-colored cross. The verification checks are shown in the orange exclamation mark if the verification checks result in a warning. Finally, any checks required to be performed by the user are shown as blue info icons.
1
Item: The left-hand side shows the major tabs and the items checked within each section
2
Status: The right-hand side shows the status of the checks.
3
Overall Status: Shows the overall status of all the checks performed. If all the checked items are okay, the status image in the header will show a green checkmark. The header status image will show a red cross mark if any checks fail.

Outputs

Click on Compute Outputs to update the output screen. If the implementation is behind the plan or the KPI targets are not being met, an error is indicated for the A3. Otherwise, the A3 is reported as OK. A sample screenshot of the worksheet is shown below. A3 Outputs

Notes

Here are a few notes regarding this analysis:
  • Since no specific calculations are performed on this tool, you can modify this tool as you see fit. Refer to the help file on how to add and delete rows and columns in a Sigma Magic worksheet.