Suppose you are assigned the task of improving loan processing quality at a bank. You want to minimize average processing time, keeping below the bank’s target. At the same time, you want to evaluate and improve processing time consistency using the following techniques:
Define — You plan to talk with stakeholders in various departments to learn how they are currently working, how they view of the problem, and what outcome they hope to see.
Measure — You will determine current processing times and the amount of variation within them.
Analyze — You plan to use Crystal Ball to help you discover process capability, or how closely the processing times map to process requirements.
Improve — You will use information gathered in the previous phases to design and implement improvements in processing time and consistency.
Control — You need to ensure permanent improvements by setting up a system of feedback loops to continuously measure process results and change the output if measures exceed desired control targets and control limits.
In the Define and Measure phases, you obtain and use information to build a Crystal Ball model. Then, you use Crystal Ball to simulate real-world variations that occur in processing loans. Finally, you can use sensitivity analysis and further optimization to arrive at the best balance between time and consistency.