This document provides an overview of Hayward Japan Grill, a small family-owned Japanese restaurant, and outlines their quality management plan. Currently, the restaurant operates manually without standardized processes or employee training. The plan aims to increase customer satisfaction, standardize processes, reduce waste, capture data to improve the business, increase employee satisfaction, and promote a culture of quality. It outlines four phases - gathering information through employee interviews and process mapping, diagnosing performance through metrics and problem identification, engineering improvements through problem-solving tools, and implementing quality through solutions and maintenance. The scope is building a framework to support quality management long-term. Stakeholders include customers, employees, managers, suppliers, and a designated project manager.

1. Initiation
Description of Organization
Hayward Japan Grill is a small family-owned casual dining Japanese restaurant and Sushi bar located in
the downtown area of Hayward, California. We have been in business for over 10 years. We are
positioned for a family-friendly casual dining experience for both people new to Japanese food and for
people who are experienced with Japanese food staples. Our core offerings are Teriyaki, Tempura,
Donburi, Udon, and other Japanese staples. Our other core offerings are American-style Sushi rolls,
traditional Nigiri sushi, and Sashimi. We also offer a limited American food menu of sandwiches,
burgers, and entrees, for guests who are still uncomfortable with Japanese food or who are transitioning
into trying new things. We have two main lines of business: casual dining for guests in our restaurant
and a brisk takeout business. Recently, we began a new line of business in live sushi catering for affluent
dinner parties, where we make the sushi at the on-site--basically bring the sushi bar to them. However,
this line of business is still very much developing in its infancy.
Our capacity for guests ranges up to 80 people and we offer both dine-in and takeout options. Our hours
are Monday through Saturday, 11am-10pm, with lunch served until 4pm, at which point we switch to
dinner menus. On Sunday we are open only for dinner 4:30pm to 9:30pm. We have both tables for
groups and a sushi bar. We currently employ a total of 12 people.
Current Situation Analysis
Currently, we do many things manually. We have no electronic POS system, we order from suppliers
over the phone, and take visual/physical inventories. We have 3 cooks, 2 dishwashers (who double as
bussers), 3 servers, 2 managers (who double as servers), and 2 sushi chefs. We have no consistent
method of ensuring quality. Most of our processes and procedures are not documented in any written
way and training is not standardized in any way. We do not have any employee meetings or any quality
programs. Market research is very limited--a check on Yelp quite rarely.
Recent sales are slow, keeping in line with the general economic climate, with only a few busy days and
times a week. We are breaking even most of the time and sometimes make a profit. Thus, keeping in
line with demand, we have cut back on labor and orders for supplies. Our managers work in the day-to-
day business, serving and interacting with customers in addition to managing. They are often too busy
with the details of the business to put time into dedicated marketing, customer research, food
development, analysis, etc. Skills and knowledge vary for every person, based on both experience and
natural capabilities. The knowledge capture procedure is almost entirely based in the personal memory
of managers. We do very little tracking of the data streams and metrics of our business, besides sales.
No data based analysis is conducted--we forecast and analyze customer sentiments based on what we
“feel” or intuit from customers. Nearly all of our information comes from observing and conversing with
customers as we work.
The restaurant industry is highly competitive and requires adaptation, customer loyalty, high service
levels, and excellent food in order to be successful. The implementation of a quality management

2. program is what we believe will push our business to thrive.
Purpose
Our objectives in this program are to:
1. Increase customer satisfaction by continually improving our ability to serve customers
2. Promote understanding, standardization and documentation of processes
3. Decrease waste due to inefficiencies
4. Capture and transform the many data streams we have access to into information we can use to
improve our business
5. Increase employee satisfaction
6. Promote a culture of quality and continual improvement within the organization
Though outside of the scope of this plan, we assume that the achievement of these objectives will
eventually lead to greater sales, reduced costs, and greater profits.
Scope
This plan will implement quality management techniques at Hayward Japan Grill for all employees to use
in improving business processes and is intended as a high level guide. The introduction, acculturation to,
and use of the tools outlined in the Planning section will be the primary focus of this quality
management plan. Thus, the scope of this plan is building the supportive framework and information-
rich environment necessary for effective quality management. Looking at the Current Situation Analysis
section, it is clear that our business will be able to benefit greatly from improved processes.
This plan assumes that, over the long term, a strong quality orientation will lead to increased sales,
reduced costs, and greater satisfaction for our stakeholders. Thus, we must accept the risk of this plan
failing to realize the intended benefits and achieve the established objectives. We must also accept the
risk of management deeming the short term costs too great and long term benefits as taking too long to
realize. The benefits of a successful quality management implementation are slow to realize. This plan
also assumes that the culture of Hayward Japan Grill will be receptive enough to change that this plan
will be a success. This plan also assumes that the tools and techniques outline here will be effective in
their aims and in supporting the achievement of the objectives.Another assumption is that employees
will not distort the data or the quality systems to make change seem to take place when behavior has
not really changed at all.
A project manager with project management and quality management knowledge shall be designated to
lead this quality implementation. The project manager will be responsible for ensuring the success of
the quality management implementation and maintaining communication between management and
the project team.Other employees as needed will be inducted temporarily into the project team as
needed and involved in the implementation process.
Stakeholders
1. Customers
a. Description: Customers are the reason why Hayward Japan Grill exists and continues to

3. exist. Customers provide us with the necessary financial exchanges for our services that
allow us to continue serving them and all of our stakeholders.
b. Role: No direct influence on the project team or funding. They do provide inputs for
some of the quality tools so they have indirect influence on the project team. They are
the ultimate beneficiaries of our quality efforts and thus the final judges of the
effectiveness of this plan. They will express their perception of the project’s degree of
success to employees and managers.
2. Sushi Chefs
a. Description: These staff are essential for the preparation of our sushi and related core
offerings. They also clean and cut fish, mix ingredients, prepare sauces, and other prep
work pertaining to the sushi bar. They also provide some customer service and
interaction with guests who sit at the sushi bar. They are a mix of “front” and “back of
house” (processes not directly seen by customers) employees.
b. Role: Direct influence on project team dependent on whether their involvement is
necessary at the time. They will be responsible for actually using and implementing
many of the quality tools, providing feedback/ideas, and making improvements.
3. Servers
a. Description: These staff are essential for the customer service experience and ensuring
satisfaction as the guests move through the service processes. They talk to customers,
seat them, take orders, ask them how their dining experience is, bring them food, clear
tables, clean tables, calculate bills, etc. These employees have the greatest exposure to
customers and to the “front of house” (processes directly seen by customer) business
processes.
b. Role: Direct influence on project team dependent on whether their involvement is
necessary at the time. They will be responsible for actually using and implementing
many of the quality tools, providing feedback/ideas, and making improvements.
4. Management
a. Description: The managers work in the day-to-day business, primarily as servers. They
also order supplies, conduct payroll, plan schedules, resolve problems, give instructions,
request projects, etc. The managers have very limited time to spend on strategic
planning.
b. Role: Direct influence on project team, project existence, and project funding. They will
be responsible for using and implementing managerial quality tools, empowering
employees, providing feedback/ideas, and making improvements. They have the ability
to terminate the project at any time, thus, special attention should be given to
diplomacy in keeping them informed and satisfied.
5. Kitchen Cooks
a. Description: These staff are essential for the preparation of our cooked Japanese food
core offerings. These employees clean, peel, and cut vegetables. They also cut and trim
meats, marinate foods, devein/deshell shrimp, prepare sauces, prepare salads, and
conduct other prep work for cooked food ingredients.These employees are completely
in the “back of house” operations with no customer contact.

4. b. Role: Direct influence on project team dependent on whether their involvement is
necessary at the time. Note that all most of out current employees are primarily
Spanish-speaking with limited English fluency so communication will require extra
attention. They will be responsible for actually using and implementing many of the
quality tools, providing feedback/ideas, and making improvements.
6. Dishwashers
a. Description: These staff collect soiled dish bins filled by servers. They clean the dishes in
the back of the kitchen using a prewash sink and an automatic dishwasher. They also
personally put the sanitized dishes back in their designated places.
b. Role: Direct influence on project team dependent on whether their involvement is
necessary at the time. Note that dishwashers have the lowest job involvement of all
employees, likely due to low pay, tedious labor, and questionably meaningful work,
thus, they may not be motivated to participate in quality efforts. Also note that all our
current employees are primarily Spanish-speaking with limited English fluency so
communication will require extra attention. They will be responsible for actually using
and implementing some of the quality tools, providing feedback/ideas, and making
improvements.
7. Suppliers
a. Description: Our suppliers provide us with the raw materials to prepare food and with
supplies to keep restaurant processes running smoothly. We rely on them to keep our
business running smoothly. Quality initiatives will likely change how we order from
them, among other things. Relationships with suppliers could also possibly be altered by
quality management.
b. Role: No direct influence on project team. They do influence some of the inputs and
data streams that feed into the project. They will also be influenced by changes due to
this quality management plan.
8. Project Manager
a. Description: The project manager has technical knowledge of project management and
quality management techniques. The project manager will coordinate the team and plan
from initiation to closure to ensure success of the quality implementation. As the leader
of the project, the project’s success is directly tied to the project manager’s success.
b. Role: Direct influence on project team. The project manager will be directly responsible
for making the project succeed, managing resources, and managing the team. The
project manager will also be responsible for communications between the team and
stakeholders.
Planning
Overview
The quality tools and techniques that form the quality management plan are separated here into four
phases. The phases are roughly ordered temporally, though it is certainly possible that some elements of
phases will be implemented concurrently with other elements in other phases. Certainly, all of these

5. tools will be continually used to improve the organization and not necessarily in the order denoted here.
This section is meant to serve as a general guide, but whatever categorizations best contribute to
improvement and quality success will have the final authority.
The Gathering information phase focuses on understanding our business, customers, and processes.
We need to know what and how we are doing first before we can attempt to improve it. The Diagnosing
Performance phase uses the information obtained to find out areas of possible process imrpovement.
This phase focuses on measuring, quantifying, and capturing the data streams within our processes that
track performance and that allow us to identify problems. The Engineering Improvement phase focuses
on problem-solving methods to resolve the issues identified with tools in the previous phase. Finally, the
Implementing Quality phase focuses on putting solutions into action, maintaining quality, and promoting
quality within the organization.
Gathering Information
The following are techniques and tools to help us discover information about our processes, problems,
and customers.
1. Employee Information Gathering
Employees are experts in their functional areas, thus they are a rich source of information on the
current state of the organization. We will gather information from employees through in-depth one-on-
one interviews administered by the project manager. This is feasible because of the small size of the
organization. The interviews will also allow us to evaluate the level of knowledge and readiness for each
employee. We can also use these sessions to prepare, educate, answer questions, and address concerns
before quality tools and techniques are implemented in the following phases, facilitating cultural
change. The preliminary general outline for the questions will be as follows:
a. What is your job?
b. How do you do your work?
c. Who are what do you depend on to do your work?
d. What problems do you have with your work?
e. How can your work be improved?
f. How would you describe the performance of the organization as a whole?
g. How can the organization be improved?
h. What knowledge do you have of quality management?
i. What concerns or questions do you have about the quality management plan that will
be implemented?
j. Do you have any other questions?
2. Process Identification and Mapping
Before our business can be improved, we must first identify and understand our current processes. We
need to identify and separate each process into logical components. We also need to map our processes
using flow charting techniques so that we can understand how our business works and so that we can
graphically analyze processes for possible improvement points. In addition, usage of many quality tools
is dependent on having knowledge of our processes.

6. Our focus will be on identifying the key business processes which contribute to success in the market
and achievement of our objectives. Each process will receive a detailed breakdown and analysis in order
to be mapped accurately. The process will be mapped using a simple standardized structure. See
Appendix 1 for an example. Identification and process mapping will be conducting using brainstorming
techniques such as the tools listed in the Engineering Improvement phase.
3. Benchmarking
Competitors are a valuable source of information on how we can better improve our own processes.
The restaurant industry is highly competitive; we need to know what other firms are doing to ensure
that we remain a strong choice relative to our competitors. In addition, we can see methods and
techniques implemented in actual use situations and study how they succeed or how they fail. We can
then improve on what we have observed by identifying problems and drawbacks with competitor
implementations and resolving them. . Benchmarking also provides us with information to better
conduct our strategic planning process.
Our primary benchmarking methods will be the following:
a. Informal Benchmarking: benchmarking without a formal structure or relationship with a
competitor. This consists of talking to customers about competitors, observing
competitors as customers, using publicly available information for comparison, etc.
b. Product Benchmarking: this consists of taking competitive products and services and
analyzing them. For example, we could obtain a sample of a competitor’s menu item
then analyzing it to learn how it was made, strengths, weaknesses, and possible
improvements we could apply to our own offerings. The aim of this benchmarking is to
design or improve or current offerings and services.
c. Process Benchmarking: this consists of initiating a formal relationship with a target firm
which we have identified as using best practices or is industry leading. We then study
their business processes and systems to gain knowledge on how to improve our own
processes.
In conducting benchmarking, we shall use the following general methodology:
a. Decide what to benchmark
b. Identify whom to benchmark
c. Determine performance gap between us and target firm
d. Visit target firm to observe best practices
e. Implement improved business practices in our firm
4. Market Research
Customer satisfaction is one the the foundational pillars of quality management. As such, the
importance of market research cannot be overstated. We must know what customers want and how
they perceive us in order to better serve them. Our market research will have three components:
traditional research such as surveys, social media such as Yelp and Twitter, and informal methods such
as daily customer interactions.
Once one formal research cycle ends, another should begin. This would keep our business constantly

7. informed of current customer needs and feelings. A realistic estimate for cycle length would be
quarterly or semiannually. In-restaurant status questioning and social media would be used during the
gaps between the formal market research administration to monitor real-time customer feedback.
Information would also be stored for future reference and summarized through historical graphical
charts to keep management constantly aware of progress, status changes, impacts of improvements,
and developments.
a. Traditional
i.Interviews: we would use in-depth interviews with customers who agree to be
interviewed. As an incentive, we could offer a discount or gift cards. We would
start by conducting several interviews with regular customers since they form
the bulk of our business. Overall goals would be to find out general preferences
of customers--what is significant to customers when they eat at a restaurant,
what they like, what they dislike, what we can do for them, gaps in our current
offerings, gaps in our current service, and any other suggestions. The interviews
would follow a format, but they would also be closer to informal flowing
conversations to best capture the at-ease state of a customer.
ii.Focus Groups: We would use the exploratory research gained from the
interviews to inform discussion guide development. This stage would be more
focused with specific questions for discussion in a formal setting. Potential
questions could address what makes a good restaurant a good restaurant, how
important is the food variety, what do you look for in sushi, what do you look
for in a Japanese dining experience, what do you want in a casual dining
experience, how can we improve, etc. At the end of this stage, we would have a
great deal of group consensus research into the dining experience in general as
well as customer understanding of our restaurant in particular. Ideally, we
would conduct multiple focus groups, with 5 being an ideal number, but limited
resources and time would be constraints. Realistically, 2 would be an acceptable
number, one with regular customers and one with new customers (to begin
investigating any differences between the two customer groups). We would
need to ask customers if they wanted to participate, qualify their availability,
offer incentives if necessary, note relevant demographic information, remind
them of their participation, schedule a time and place to meet, facilitate the
group, take notes, debrief afterwards, and generate reports.
iii.Surveys:
1. Special Purpose Surveys: The focus group reports would be used to
develop surveys. The aim would be for the surveys to be short, concise,
clear, easy to administer, and to provide useful data. No more than one
double-sided page would be a reasonable goal to aim for. Ideally, we
would obtain a high quality representative random sample of our
primary market area to distribute surveys to. Due to the costs and
difficulty of such an approach, especially for a small business, the most
realistic method of surveying would be convenience sampling where we

8. survey whoever is most convenient for us to survey. This would mean
customers already in the restaurant and people walking on the
sidewalks nearby. Though this would be an inaccurate and non-
representative sampling method, it would also be the most feasible
method. The survey itself would measure importance of certain
restaurant characteristics for customers, their feelings toward potential
improvements, their needs, market segmentation data, and provide
demographic correlations between results. We could also utilize online/
social media channels to distribute surveys as well, though we would
need to validate data in some way to prevent double-counting. The data
would be compiled, summarized, and analyzed to generate useful
information for presentation to management. This information would
then guide proposed improvements, changes, and measure current
customer sentiments.
2. SERVQUAL: SERVQUAL is a widely used, off-the-shelf surveying tool that
we can use regularly to measure customer expectations and customer
perceptions of our restaurant. Benefits of SERVQUAL include its
standardized nature, its validity in assessing service situations, its
reliability, its conciseness, and its standardized analysis procedure.
These can be administered regularly to measure customer changes in
expectations and perceptions of our business through time.
b. Social Media
i.Yelp: Yelp has an extremely large influence on restaurants as a resource for
customers to review restaurants. We would need to officially take control of our
Yelp page to better connect with customers. We would also have access to Yelp
analytics and statistics for our business. This would also make us aware of new
customer feedback as soon as it is posted, and help us explore what we did
wrong further by talking to negative reviewers. We would also be able figure
out what people think we are doing right by reading the reviews diligently. We
can learn how Yelp users perceive our business.
ii.Twitter: Twitter is a low cost method to connect easily with customers. This
would allow customers to conveniently comment our pages about the service
we are delivering and speak directly with us about their needs. Communication
between guests and our organization would also be much easier and faster.
They would be great for both passive data collection and active feedback
solicitation.We could post a Tweet asking something to our customers and we
would quickly get a rough response to our questions.
iii.Facebook: we would establish a Facebook page for the same reasons and
benefits of a Twitter, though a Facebook page would allow us to have an actual
site with a collection of photos, information, events, and other Facebook
specialized features.
iv.Other: other sites that could be monitored are Flickr, Youtube, Urbanspoon,

9. Chowhound, and other popular restaurant review sites--a weekly basis would be
sufficient. Social media feedback monitoring could be automated using such
free tools as socialmention.com, Google Alerts, Backtype, or a free social media
dashboard such as Netvibe.
c. Informal: We can conduct informal research by having customer-contact employees ask
customers how the service and food are and if customers have any suggestions. Asking
customers directly, as long as it isn't intrusive upon their dining experience, for their
feedback on the food, service, and other aspects of the restaurant is a direct solicitation
of the customer's voice. Employees would ask them for their opinion before they force
themselves to give their opinion. Our aim is for everyone to engage with the customers,
note down customer feelings and any of their suggestions, and compile these at the end
of the day. Employees could then quickly debrief at the end of the day about how
customers currently perceive the business, their needs, and any good ideas suggested.
At the end of the week, these notes could be summarized for discussion during quality
meetings.
5. Service Transaction Analysis
2. Service transaction analysis consists of identifying a process to study then having a “mystery
shopper” walk through the process, noting down their impressions of each transaction (moment
where the customer expects something to happen) in the process. This technique will help us
understand our own processes and business from the perspective of the customer. We can learn
places where we are not succeeding in meeting customer expectations. We can recruit
participants for this technique and have them randomly visit the business and analyze our
service. A general service transaction analysis sheet will consist of the following:
a. Organization Name
b. Service Concept for Organization
c. Process Being Analyzed
d. Customer Type
e. Transaction Rating Table: this will consist of the transaction description, the score on a
+,0 (neutral),or - scale, and the message each transaction sends to the mystery shopper
f. Overall Evaluation
3.
4. Diagnosing Performance
5. We need the ability to measure our current levels of performance and diagnose where
problems are occurring. In addition, the information gathered in the previous phase can also
help us decide which areas to use these following tools. See Appendix 2 for examples and more
information on these tools.
1. Check Sheets
6. Check sheets are data-gathering tools that can provide data to be used in many of the other
quality tools. We will design and implement check sheets to gather information on problems
occurring in our processes. At a very basic level, we can already use these to identify problems
areas. Check sheets will be set up with the following general methodology:
a. Identify common defects occurring in process

10. b. Draw a table with common defects in the leftmost column and time period across the
tops of columns to track the defects
c. Post the check sheet at a convenient easy-to-reach area for the employee using the
sheet and ensure the check sheet is clear/easy-to-mark
d. Have the user of the check sheet place marks whenever a defect occurs
2. Histograms/Frequency Charts
7. These charts are graphical representations of data gathered with the check sheets or through
other data inputs. Histograms are used for continuous numerical data while frequency charts
are used for categorical data. Using this graphical analysis technique, we can easily see the
distribution of the data. This will help us easily understand the raw data gathered from the
check sheets. We can also compute other descriptive statistics such as mean, median, mode,
max, min, difference, and sum if we choose.
3. Scatter Diagram and Correlation Analysis
8. The scatter diagram plots every data point in a graphical x, y space. These data points can then
be visually analyzed for relationships. We can obtain data from check sheets or from other data
inputs such samples of measurements throughout a day. The data is easily plotted in Microsoft
Excel, where a correlation analysis using build in tools can be run. For example, we can find if
there is a correlation between number of guests served in an hour and the rate of mistakes in
orders. The scatter plot will be set up using the following general methodology:
a. Determine your x (independent) and y (dependent) variables
b. Gather process data relating to the variables
c. Plot the data on a two-dimensional plane
d. Observe the data to see whether a relationship exists and perform a correlation test in
Excel
4. Control Charts
9. We can use control charts to constantly monitor our performance in different areas. We will be
able to understand whether our processes are stable, capable, and whether processes are
varying due to random or nonrandom variation. These control charts will help us improve by
identifying instances where investigation of either nonrandom problems or improvements is
warranted. Control charts also keep employees mindful of the performance of processes,
putting pressure on them to do well. We will sample on a systematic basis for ease of use. We
will use either attribute or variable data based on what we decide provides the greatest benefit
without excessive effort/cost. Note that control charts rely on normal distributions.

11. The appropriate charts to use will be
decided by the decision chart on page 384 of the fourth edition of Managing Quality by S.
Thomas Foster. Control charts will be developed according to the following general
methodology:
a. Identify critical operation in a process where inspection might be needed. These are
operations in which, if the operation is performed improperly, the product or service
will be negatively affected
b. Identify critical product/service characteristics. These are the aspects of the product
that will result in either good or poor functioning of the product
c. Determine whether the critical product characteristic is a variable or an attribute
d. Select the appropriate process control chart from among the many types of control
charts
e. Establish control limits and use the chart to continually monitor and improve
f. Update the limits when changes have been made to the process
5. Ishikawa Diagrams
10. Ishikawa diagrams, also known as cause-and-effect diagrams, are used to focus on the causes of
problems instead of symptoms. These diagrams appear like fish-bones--the head is the problem
or situation being analyzed and the ribs of the fish form major causes of the problem. From
there, we continue to ask why (with a general rule of 5 times) to keep filling out the diagram.
We are trying to find the causes of causes, until we get to the root causes of problems. We can
use these diagrams to focus our problem-solving efforts on the root causes of problems instead
of on only the symptoms. The general methodology for developing Ishikawa diagrams will be as
follows:
a. State the problem clearly in the head of the fish
b. Draw the backbone and ribs by identifying major causes of the problem labeled in the
head of the diagram, possibly by labeling materials, machines, people, and methods as
ribs
c. Continue to fill out the fishbone diagram, asking “Why?” about each problem or cause
of a problem until the fish is filled out, usually five times
d. View the diagram and identify root causes
e. Set goals to address root causes
6. Pareto Charts

12. 11. Pareto charts are used to identify and prioritize problems to be solved. These charts are based
on the 80/20 rule where roughly 80% of problems are created by 20% of the causes. These vital
few are the problems which we should focus our problem-solving efforts on. These charts are
basically frequency charts where information is classified based on types of defects, then the
defects are ordered based on frequency of occurrence. This tool will allow us to maximize the
return on investment of our quality efforts. Pareto charts will be developed using the following
general methodology:
a. Gather categorical data relating to quality problems
b. Draw a frequency chart of the data
c. Focus on the tallest bars in the chart first when solving problems
12.
13. Engineering Improvement
14. The following quality tools are used as aids in problem solving and brainstorming. More
information on these tools can be found in Chapter 10 of the fourth edition of S. Thomas
Foster’s Managing Quality.
1. Brainstorm Meetings
15. These will be special meetings during which brainstorming techniques and tools will be used by
the project team to create solutions to the problems discovered in other phases. These will
include the tools detailed in this phase. The aim of these meetings is to generate numerous
ideas for problem solving. Only at the end will the ideas be evaluated.
2. Affinity Diagram
16. The affinity diagram helps a group converge on a set number of themes or ideas which can be
addressed later. An affinity diagram creates a hierarchy of ideas by classifying/categorizing the
large number of ideas generated in brainstorm sessions into logical groups. The general
methodology to establish an affinity diagram is as follows:
a. Identify the problem to be stated in a clear, concise statement understood by everyone
b. Give the team members a supply of note cards and a pen to write down issues that
relate to the problem with very brief explanations of each on each card.
c. Allow only 10 minutes for this writing activity
d. Place the written cards on a flat surface for all to see
e. Let everyone on the team move cards into groups with a similar theme, silently and
quickly
f. If there is disagreement of the proper placement of a card simply move it without saying
anything
g. Consensus is reached when all the cards are in groups and the team members have
stopped moving cards
h. Create header cards
i. Draw and distribute the finished affinity diagram to all
3. Interrelationship Diagram
17. An interrelationship diagram shows the relationships between the different issues that have
been discovered. The relationships between cards highlight what the core issues are. The aim of
this is to understand issues better and focus on where the solution may be. Interrelationship

13. diagrams will be developed according to the following general methodology:
a. Construct an affinity diagram and place the cards with related issues in columns with
gaps between the cards
b. Create the digraph by examining each card and asking what other issues are caused or
influenced by this issue, then draw one way arrows indicating cause issue and
influenced issue
c. After reviewing arrows and revising until satisfaction, count the number of arrows
pointing to each issue card and write number on each card
d. Identify the cards with most arrows as the key factors (there should be no more than
5-10); cards with the most outgoing arrows tend to be root causes while cards with the
most incoming arrows tend to be performance indicators
e. Highlight the key factors and brainstorm ways to fix the issue
4. Tree Diagram
18. The tree diagram is used to identify the steps needed to address the given problem. The tree
diagram is very similar to a work breakdown structure. The following is a general methodology
to develop the tree diagram:
a. Assemble the header cards from the affinity diagram and choose the header card that
represents the most important issue
b. Once the goal statement has been determined, ask what the required steps to resolve
or achieve the major objective or goal
c. Once the major tasks have been identified, move to the next level under each task, and
ask for each successive level “What are the steps needed to resolve/achieve this goal?”
d. Continue until all ideas for steps have been exhausted
5. Prioritization Grid
19. A prioritization grid is used to make decisions based on multiple criteria. For example, to choose
which new stove unit to use as a solution to a problem. It is simply a matrix/table that helps the
user choose a decision based on weighted criteria. The following steps are a general
methodology to develop a prioritization grid:
a. Determine your goal, alternatives, and the criteria by which a decision is to be made
b. Place the selection criteria in order from most to least important
c. Apply a percentage weight to each criteria for each option
d. Average the individual team member rating for each criterion, then rank those average
scores (1-5) to determine final importance ranking for the criteria
e. Each person ranks each alternative with respect to each criterion and scores are
summed to determine the ranking of each alternative for each criterion
f. Multiply the criterion ranking of each alternative by each corresponding criterion weight
g. Add the weighted scores for each alternative
h. Rank each alternative according the scores
6. Matrix Diagram
20. Matrix diagrams are brainstorming tools that can be used to show the relationship between
ideas or issues. For example, a responsibility matrix can be used to show the relationship
between the work to be done and the people who will do it with the header rows/columns and

14. the symbols can show the amount of involvement for each. They can be used in 1-4 dimensions.
The following is a general methodology for their use:
a. Determine the number of issues or dimensions to be used in the matrix
b. Choose the appropriate matrix
c. Draw the matrix and label the appropriate header columns/rows with the
issues/dimensions
d. Place the appropriate symbols in the matrix
7. Process Decision Program Chart
21. A process decision chart is a tools to help brainstorm possible contingencies or problems
associated with the implementation of some program or improvement. The general
methodology to develop this chart is as follows:
a. In developing the tree diagram, place the first-level boxes in sequential order
b. Moving to the second level, list implementation details at a fairly high level and try to be
all-inclusive
c. At the third level, ask the what unexpected things could happen or what could go awry
at this stage
d. At the fourth level of the chart, brainstorm possible countermeasures to the problems
identified in the third level
e. Evaluate the countermeasures for feasibility
22.
23. Implementing Quality
1. Regular Quality Meetings
24. These will be regular cross-functional quality meetings between the employees in our business.
The focus of these meetings will be to evaluate the information and measurements obtained
from the other phases. Another important goal is reinforcing the importance of the customer
and the performance of the organization as a whole to the customer’s service experience.
Another aim of these meetings will be collaboratively solving the problems discovered by the
quality tools. Improvements and other suggestions can also be suggested and discussed during
these meetings. Employees can evaluate themselves in relation to quality efforts. Progress on
solutions can also be reported and analyzed. In addition, concerns and questions can be
discussed during these sessions. These session also keep all employees informed of
developments and progress in the different aspects of the quality management program.
25.
26. These meetings will involve employees on a rotating basis. Tentative schedules are weekly
meetings between one employee from each each functional area within the restaurant. A
monthly meeting will be an overview of longer term initiatives and efforts and will review the
previous month’s quality performance. This meeting will involve all employees.
2. Fail-safing
27. Fail-safes or poka-yokes are methods within a design of that prevent failure within the process.
Processes can be designed not to fail. For example, we could design multiple fail-safes to
prevent a wrong order from being placed in the kitchen. Fail-safes are creative preventive
measures found through brainstorming to be used at fail-points in our service processes. Note

15. the importance of having a process chart and understanding how our processes work. There are
three different types of fail-safe device which we can use:
a. Warning Methods: these warn about possible failures
b. Physical Contact Methods: these are physical methods of preventing failure, such as
requiring a credit card to be removed from a machine before a receipt can be printed
c. Visual Contact Methods: these are visual methods of preventing failure, such as a visual
inspection of elements on a plate for anything missing
28.
29. Fail-safes can also be categorized based on whether they are a task which can be performed, a
treatment we can give to the customer, or a tangible to a customer.
3. Standardization
30. By standardizing processes and procedures we can institute systematic improvement and
equalize levels of performance. Everyone will be using the best practices for a specific process
since everyone will be using standardized procedures. High performance will be encoded into
the organization
a. Process Procedures
31. We need to standardize process procedures so that everyone uses the same level of qualified
processes. If improvements are found to processes, these improvements can be instituted to all
employees, raising everyone’s performance level and ensuring the everyone is equally
competent.
b. Employee Training
32. Employee training is a key aspect of standardization of procedures and processes. We need to
standardize the knowledge stored and transferred in order to train employees who use the best
practices for processes. The results of solutions dounf need to be permanently ingrained in the
organization, including all employees.
c. Employee Roles and Responsibilities
33. Employee role and responsibility standardization will help each person know exactly what they
must do and what they are responsible for. They can operate more efficiently by knowing what
they should focus on. Quality solution knowledge for best ways to assign responsibilities can be
implemented here.
4. Financial Analysis
34. While not one of our immediate objectives, we still need to understand how problems and
solutions affect our financial performance. Is a problem costing us a lot of money? Will an
improvement save us a lot of money or will it cost a lot? We need to know these facts in order
to show results, sustain the business, and keep management happy. The end-result over the
long term is for quality improvement to lead to greater profits. Some possible tools to use are:
a. Net Present Value
b. Internal Rate of Return
c. Cost Analysis
d. Loss Projections Due to Problems
5. Reward/Recognition Program Design
35. We recognize that change is a very difficult thing for many people to do. Change, no matter how

16. beneficial, destabilizes the balance of the work culture and people will resist change because of
this destabilizing force. We will use brainstorming techniques and meetings to develop a reward
and recognition program. The aim of this program is to encourage and facilitate the cultural
change required for quality tools and techniques to be used optimally by employees. We want
to encourage people to improve the system and recognize benefits from improvement. We
want to build the connection between organizational improvement and individual benefits. The
rewards must be significant to the people being rewarded, not just monetary, but meaningful.
Recognition should publicly recognize excellence in employees, inspire workers to succeed, and
promote quality management objectives.
36. Knowledge Capture
37. We recognize the need to improve the knowledge management system and processes for our
business. We need to conduct brainstorming sessions and focus problem-solving effort on
creating a system for capturing the lessons learned and information gained from all the other
phases of the quality management plan. Knowledge helps us learn from the past as well as keep
us from repeating mistakes. It also helps us preserve quality levels and solutions to problems.
38.
39. Quality Assurance
40. Quality Audits
41. Quality audits will be conducted on the quality plan processes at regular intervals to closely
examine, analyze, and qualify our processes in this quality management plan. We will determine
whether there is a better way to do things, whether quality tools and techniques are actually
being used, and if there is a better process we can use in promoting quality management and
our objectives.
42.
43. Process Improvement
44. If we discover problems with the processes or tools and techniques in this quality plan, then we
shall conduct process improvement to fix the problems with our processes. We will find
solutions using the various tools outlined in the quality plan, in meetings, and through any other
relevant effective tools which are discovered through research. The aim of this process is to take
action in actually improving processes that are discovered to be functioning poorly.
45.
46. Interpret Quality Control Measurements
47. This QA process focuses on monitoring and analyzing the data taken from quality control
measurements. We will use the data to determine whether or not extensive process
improvement, quality audits, or investigations are necessary. We will infer from the data
whether our processes are effective or not in achieving quality plan objectives.
48.
49. Quality Control
50. Define Quality
51. Quality must first be defined before it can me measured. To do this we must determine the

17. following:
1. Metrics
52. Metrics are the actual numerical data which we will measure the performance of something by.
Metrics help us determine whether out plan is meeting the objectives or not. The tools in the
quality plan can be used to provide us with the data for this. We will develop metrics in more
detail during project team meetings. They should all measure some aspect of success in
achieving our objectives. Some example measures are:
a. Adherence rate to specific quality procedures
b. Number of times check sheets are used
c. Meeting attendance
2. Detection Methods
53. We also need to decide how we will be able to measure these performance numbers. We need
to answer questions such as “how can the adherence rate to a specific quality procedure be
measured?” These will be determined by project team meetings. Some of the possible
measuring tools can be the following:
a. The quality tools outlined in this plan
b. Observation
c. Self-reporting
d. Electronic methods
54.
55. Monitor Quality
56. We will closely monitor measurements and metrics that we have determined as good indicators
of objective achievement. Based on this data, we will determine whether processes need
corrective action, fine-tuning, or escalation to QA processes.
57.
58. Fine Tune Processes
59. Processes that diverge from expectations will need attention to bring them back to satisfactory
performance levels. Not all processes will require QA redesign to perform well. Minor
adjustments to the program may be a better choice to bring processes to acceptable levels with
minimal effort. Processes that continue to fail will be escalated to the QA process.
60.
61. Closure
62. Results Assessment
63. After the execution of this quality management plan has been completed--after all of the quality
tools and techniques have been implemented within our organization--results must be
evaluated. We will evaluate the results of our efforts based on our success in achieving the
stated objectives. We can measure success using the metrics and measurement methods
developed in the quality control process, as well as in other outside measures such as customer
satisfaction as measured by SERVQUAL.
64.
65. We will evaluate whether or not our quality plan is a success, things that went well, things that

18. went poorly, and things that can be improved if another quality effort is undertaken. The
following issues should be addressed in evaluating our project:
1. Have all the project deliverables and objectives been achieved?
2. Is the client satisfied with the project?
3. Have all stakeholders been apprised of the project completion?
4. Have all support agreements been put in place?
5. Have all remaining open items been documented and communicated?
66.
67. Lessons Learned
68. At the end of the project, we need to capture what knowledge or lessons learned we have
gained from executing this project. We will conduct closeout meetings to communicate the
Lessons Learned with employees and document the proceedings. We will also develop
recommendations for improvement in further work and development of the future plans. These
will be communicated, documented, and preserved in through the knowledge capture and
management process.
69.
70. Appendices
1.
71. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LampFlowchart.svg
2. http://asq.org/learn-about-quality/seven-basic-quality-tools/overview/overview.htmll

19. 72.

20. 73.
74.