PROBLEM SOLVING TOOLS

Question 1

Developed by the economist Vilfredo Pareto to explain the concentration of wealth.

Answer 1

PARETO Analysis

Question 2

PARETO Analysis is developed by

Answer 2

Vilfredo Pareto

Question 3

Items of interest are identified and measured on a common scale and
then ordered in descending order, creating a cumulative (add.) distribution

Answer 3

Pareto Analysis

Question 4

Typically, 20 percent of the ranked items account for 80 percent or more of the total activity;
consequently the technique is sometimes called the

Answer 4

80-20 rule

Question 5

By arranging the bars of a Pareto chart from ________________ can help an analyst to
determine which categories will yield the biggest gains if addressed, and which are
only minor contributors to the problem.

Answer 5

largest to smallest

Question 6

Sort the problems by frequency or by level of impact.

Answer 6

Pareto Chart

Question 7

This pattern shows that just a few categories of the
problem account for the most occurrences or impact.

Answer 7

Clear Pareto Effect

Question 8

This pattern shows that no cause you’ve identified is
more important than any other.

Answer 8

No Pareto Effect

Question 9

Also known as cause-and-effect diagrams, were developed by Kaoru Ishikawa in the early
1950’s.

Answer 9

Fish Diagrams

Question 10

He developed Fish Diagrams in the early 1950s.

Answer 10

Kaoru Ishikawa

Question 11

Sparks creative thinking about the causes of observed problems. The emphasis is on
thinking broadly about what’s going on in the process. Method for pushing people to think
about root causes.

Answer 11

Fish Diagrams

Question 12

6Ms in Fish Diagrams

Answer 12

1) Environment (Mother Nature)
2) Methods
3) Materials
4) Administrative (Management)
5) Machine
6) Human (Man)

Question 13

It is probably the first project planning and control technique to emerge
during the 1940s in response to the need to manage complex defense projects and
systems better.

Answer 13

Gantt Chart

Question 14

Simply shows the anticipated completion times for various project activities as
bars plotted against time on the horizontal axis.

Answer 14

Gantt Chart

Question 15

It can also be utilized for sequencing machine activity on the plant floor. The
machine-based chart can include repair or maintenance activity by crossing out the time
period in which the planned downtime will occur.

Answer 15

Gantt Chart

Question 16

Identifies problems within a particular area, department, or
worksite. Before collecting quantitative data, the analyst first walks through the area and
observes the worker, the task, the workplace, and the surrounding working environment.

Answer 16

Job/Worksite Analysis

Question 17

PERT chart stands for

Answer 17

Program Evaluation and Review Technique

Question 18

PERT Chart is also pertained to as the

Answer 18

network diagram or critical path method

Question 19

A planning and control tool that
graphically portrays the optimum way to attain some predetermined objective, generally in
terms of time

Answer 19

PERT Chart

Question 20

This implies that when the intent is to reduce the project completion time, termed _____________, it is
better to concentrate on activities that lie on the critical path than on those on other pathways.

Answer 20

crashing

Question 21

The minimum time needed to complete the entire project corresponds to the longest path from the
initial node to the final node. Termed the _____________.

Answer 21

Critical Path

Question 22

In Pareto analysis, items of interest
are identified and measured on a
common scale and then ordered in
_____________ order, creating a
cumulative distribution.

Answer 22

descending