Matrix diagram
| Matrix diagram |
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| See also |
Matrix diagram - in literature is also called table diagram. The purpose of this method is to show the relationship between customer requirements and product parameters.
Dependencies are presented graphically in the form of a matrix, on which it is marked whether the analyzed elements are related to each other and what is the strength and type of this relationship. When selecting the elements of the diagram, different techniques are used, most often it is brainstorming.
Creating a matrix diagram
Stages of creating a matrix diagram:
- grouping of elements for which we intend to investigate connections,
- choosing the shape of the diagram,
- appropriate distribution of selected elements in the matrix,
- determination of mutual dependencies between given factors,
- determining the dependence power (graphic symbols have equivalents in numerical values).
The most commonly used graphic characters defining the strength of a relationship are:
♦, +, ↑ - strong dependence
▲, O, → - medium dependence
■, -, ↓ - weak dependence
If the relationship does not exist, leave the field empty.
Models of the matrix
The matrix type is chosen due to the number of groups of factors and the type of relationships / dependencies that occur between them. There are different models of diagrams, they are marked with the letters: L, T, Y, X, C.
Model L
This is a basic model, it is used most often. It is used to examine the relationship between two groups of elements. These elements are entered in the columns and rows of the diagram, respectively.
Model T
It is used to analyze three groups of factors in which relations occur only in pairs.
Model Y
It is used to study the correlation between three groups of elements. In this case, each group is compared to each.
Model X
This model is used when there are four groups of elements. It is possible in this case to study the dependence of one group with two others.
Model C
Thanks to it, you can examine the connections of three groups of factors at the same time.
Application
The matrix diagram is often used in the QFD method. is most often used when designing quality tables. In QFD, the main goal is to flow market information to the company, and this is achieved by translating the consumer language into a technical language. Therefore, two groups of factors are distinguished: customer requirements and technical parameters of the product. Then, the dependencies between them are determined and graphically the strength of the relationship. The diagram in the QFD method, due to its shape, is called the Quality House and is a very extensive tool.
7 new quality management tools
A matrix diagram is one of the so-called seven new quality management tools. Up to 7 new tools include:
- Relationship diagram,
- Systematic diagram,
- Matrix diagram,
- Matrix data analysis,
- Chart of the decision program,
- Arrow diagram.
A specific feature for new management tools is that collected data does not have to be numeric data. For the analysis mainly spoken data is collected. Thanks to this approach, the possibilities of applications are increasing. These methods can be used, for example, during forecasting, surveys of consumer preferences, etc.
References
- Maxwell, T. W., & Smyth, R. (2010). Research supervision: the research management matrix. Higher Education, 59(4), 407-422.
- Pretty, J. (2003). Social capital and the collective management of resources. Science, 302(5652), 1912-1914.
- Lee, D. D., & Seung, H. S. (2001). Algorithms for non-negative matrix factorization. In Advances in neural information processing systems (pp. 556-562).
