Lead projects and process improvement with confidence
To standardize your work, these tools and templates offer clear and consistent criteria at each phase to help you communicate your work clearly, consistently, and transparently. Whether you are working on a small project or a complex process improvement with cross-portfolio interest, these resources can help you navigate your way to through each phase of a project to deliver results on time, on budget, and in-scope.
Tools and templates are distinguished below between Project Management and Lean Six Sigma methodology.
A3
This report is used to identify and convey the most important information related to improvement of the process. It makes it easier to take decisions that influence the rest of the process. The intention is to fit all of your information on a single page!
A Lean Six Sigma tool.
Budget
The Budget outlines the approved estimate for costs associated with project work and identifies the source(s) of project funding.
A Project Management tool.
Business Case & Alternatives Analysis
The Business Case & Alternatives Analysis provides the structure to present the justification for doing the project. Completing this document requires the evaluation of all viable solutions to address the problem at hand and helps you determine the most effective course of action. Information included in the Business Case & Alternatives Analysis can be used to help inform some elements of the Project Charter.
A Project Management tool.
Communication Plan
The Communication Plan outlines who will share and receive information about the project, when and how often information will be shared, and in what format information will be communicated. Communication with stakeholders may be by both formal and informal methods. Communication includes push, pull, and interactive communication methods.
A Project Management tool.
Calendar Audit
A calendar audit is a process that allows you to analyze your schedule and identify how you're actually spending your time. It’s a tool that helps increase your efficiency, highlights value adds as well as areas for improvement. This not only improves productivity but also gives you more control over your day.
A productivity tool.
Issue/Changes Decision Log
The purpose of the Issues/Changes & Decisions Log is to track and address issues or change requests that arise during the project and to document the related decisions.
A Project Management tool.
Lessons Learned
The purpose of documenting Lessons Learned is to improve project team effectiveness and benefit future project teams by providing valuable information that will help avoid mistakes, reduce risks, and increase project success. It is important to seek stakeholder feedback when completing the Lessons Learned template and to include lessons from a variety of points of view and throughout the various project phases. The Lessons Learned template should be updated at any point throughout the Project Lifecycle when a lesson is learned; it should be revisited and finalized during the Closing Phase.
A Project Management tool.
Process Review Charter
The charter is developed to include critical elements that detail your process improvement opportunity or problem, including: problem statement, project scope, goals and objectives, key stakeholders, resources, and more.
A Lean Six Sigma tool.
Project Charter
This is the foundational document that formally recognizes and establishes your project. The Project Charter provides an agreed-upon summary of the project’s objectives and management. The Project Charter must be signed off by the Project Sponsor, Owner, and Manager before the project can begin.
A Project Management tool.
Project Closing Report
The purpose of the Project Closing Report is to formally close the project, ensuring that deliverables have met expectations and are fully transferred to the customer(s) and project sponsor for operational use. The Project Closing Report must be signed off by the Project Sponsor, Owner, and Manager. Once signed off, the Project Closing Report releases the project team from further work on this project and signals to all stakeholders that the project is now complete.
A Project Management tool.
Project Schedule
The Project Schedule combines a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), tasks required to execute the project objectives, with task assignments and a Gantt chart to visualize the project schedule and work required for completion.
A Project Management tool.
Project Status Report
The purpose of the Project Status Report is to keep the Project Team, Owner, and Sponsors updated on project progress, issues, decisions, and accomplishments. Project status update intervals should be determined early on in the Planning Phase and incorporated into the Communications Plan.
A Project Management tool.
RACI Chart
RACI - Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. This chart is a tool used to clarify roles and responsibilities by identifying who is responsible for, accountable for, consulted about, and informed about each of the project tasks.
- The Responsible party is the person responsible for carrying out the actual task.
- The Accountable party is the person who oversees the task completion, generally who the Responsible party reports to for the particular task. In some cases, the Responsible and Accountable parties are the same individual.
- The Consulted party is generally a subject matter expert (SME) or a key stakeholder(s) related to the task.
- The Informed party is the person(s) who have an interest in the task being completed; these may be key stakeholders.
Each task must have a Responsible party and an Accountable party and there should only be one of each. The Consulted and Informed parties are optional for each task and there may be multiple Consulted and Informed parties for each task; some parties may be both Consulted and Informed about a particular task.
A Project Management tool.
Risk Register
The Risk Register is used to proactively identify potential risks to project work and completion. The Risk Register is also used to plan mitigation tactics for if and when the risks are realized.
A Project Management tool.
Root Cause Analysis: Fishbone and 5 Whys
A powerful two-in-one combination of tools that can help you identify potential causes for a problem (Fishbone), followed by an exercise that enables you to understand the root causes of the problem (5 Whys).
A Lean Six Sigma tool.
SIPOC (Supplies, Inputs, Process, Outputs, Customers, Requirements)
This tool is an essential component to mapping out a process from start to finish. It can help identify who or what is involved at each stage of the process.
A Lean Six Sigma tool.
Spaghetti Diagram
Putting pen to paper - and never lifting your tool off the page! - this is an exercise that can visualize the flow of a process as it currently is. It is excellent at visualizing where bottlenecks occur, with the goal of redesigning a layout to reduce unnecessary movement of people, products and information.
A Lean Six Sigma tool.
Stakeholder Analysis
The Stakeholder Analysis builds on the Stakeholder List compiled in the Project Charter. It is used to identify, understand, and analyze stakeholder involvement, interest, and influence and to determine how to prioritize, engage with, and monitor each stakeholder/stakeholder group. The Stakeholder Analysis is a key tool for successful stakeholder management.
A Project Management tool.
Tick Chart
How often does an event occur? This simple tick chart is designed to capture, very simply, a record of how many times an incident, event or 'error' occurs in a pre-defined timeframe of your chosing.
A Lean Six Sigma tool.
Value Stream Map
Maximize value and minimize 'waste' with the Value Stream Map tool! Visualize how your entire process and stakeholders interact and relate to each other in order to deliver a product or service. The goal is to analyze and optimize your process.
A Lean Six Sigma tool.
Voice of the Customer (VOC)
VOC captures the needs, wants, preferences and expectations of your stakeholders regarding a product or service. It represents the foundation upon which quality improvements are built.
A Lean Six Sigma tool.
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Tools and Templates
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