Impact Effort Matrix

When you start a Lean Six Sigma project, you follow the structure from problem to causes to solutions. But how do you make a considered choice between all those good improvement ideas? Within Lean Six Sigma, a handy tool is widely used for exactly that: the Impact Effort Matrix, also known as the Ease/Impact Matrix.

What is the Impact Effort Matrix?

If we look at the DMAIC phases of a Lean Six Sigma project, the ‘I’ for Improve is all about generating improvement ideas. For many people it is secretly the most enjoyable phase of a Lean Six Sigma project, and it produces plenty of ideas and solutions. The Impact Effort Matrix is a tool for categorising and selecting those improvement ideas.

How does the Impact Effort Matrix work?

The Impact Effort Matrix has two axes: the ‘Impact’ of the improvement idea and the ‘Effort’ involved in implementing it.

• Effort: Effort is the work it takes. Think about how much effort is needed to make the idea happen, taking into account things like time, money, building support and so on. The less effort required, the higher the idea scores.
• Impact: This is the impact or influence the improvement idea or solution has on reducing the problem. The more impact the idea has, the higher it scores on this axis.

By placing improvement ideas along these two axes, you can put each one in one of the four quadrants, and from there decide on the corresponding actions.

The four quadrants of the Impact Effort Matrix

The four quadrants of the Impact Effort Matrix are:

• Do not do: Improvement ideas that take a lot of effort and will have little impact on the improvement goal. They are simply not worth following up.
• Quick wins: Improvement ideas that may not have the greatest impact on the improvement goal, but can be arranged with little effort. Quick wins help you achieve the first successes quickly and create momentum.
• Plan: This quadrant holds improvement ideas that have a lot of impact but are not simple to implement. Think of hiring extra people and/or automating processes.
• Do now: These are the cream of the crop. Improvement ideas that are easy to achieve and deliver high impact are the most promising to implement. So that is what you want to get started on straight away.

An Impact Effort Matrix looks like this:

This is one of the tools you learn to apply in the Green Belt training.

Picking the right quadrant with n/3

A handy tool for voting together, after a brainstorm, on where an improvement idea belongs in the Impact Effort Matrix is the n/3 tool.

The n/3 tool stands for the number (n) of improvement ideas divided by 3. The outcome of this formula is the number of votes each person may cast. The simplest way is to use a green marker to put a tick next to (low) Effort and a red marker to put a tick next to (high) Impact.

The improvement idea with the most red ticks scores highest on impact, and the one with the most green ticks scores highest on (low) ‘Effort’, and that is how you fill in the matrix. You then know straight away what to work on. You can also measure this, which makes it more factual.

What next?

Now that all improvement ideas (solutions) have been selected and prioritised, you can include them in your implementation plan. If you work in a (Scrum) Agile environment, this is perfect input for the backlog. If not, you could for instance choose to plan the implementation using a Gantt Chart.