X-Matrix Hoshin Kanri

X-Matrix is a powerful tool from Hoshin Kanri that sums up in a single document the strategies, tactics, processes, and people involved in the achievement of a project success. It is a dynamic tool and the process results, financial impacts and cost could be recorded during the project execution. The main aim of this tool is to help project manager in the communication of the project stages to the internal team and stakeholders. Moreover, it provides a visual explanation of how the different steps are correlated and how they contribute to the project success. The implementation of this simple tool in the planning phase of a project and its subsequent monitoring during the implementation stage makes it easy to align plans and goals between each team within the organization. Considering that in the practice, most of the project's failure relies on not investing enough time and resources in the communication of project scope and goals, the importance of such a tool is undeniable. This article provides a brief introduction to the Hoshin Kanri methodology. Then the X-Matrix, the structure will be explained, following by possible variants according to the application field. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of its application will be discussed.

Hoshin Kanri

Hoshin Kanri is formed by the two Japanese ideograms Hoshin (policy) and Kanri (management). The term policy managemen doesn’t reflect the meaning and purpose of Hoshin Kanri, which mostly is organizational learning method and competitive resource development system<ref. Hoshin Kanri was developed in Japan, to address the Japanese Industry's need for change in structure in order to be competitive in a global dimension. The term Hoshin Kanri has been used for the first time by Bridgestone Tire in 1964 and since 1980 the methodology has been adopted worldwide. Hoshin Kanri could be applied to reach different goals: manage complexity, launch a new product, manage strategic change within the organization. Moreover, it is also used to manage projects and programs, especially the ones which require cooperation between organizational functions.

Hoshin Kanri systematically applies Deming Cycle (PDCA) at each organizational level. Usually, a Scan stage of the current situation is carried on before the DO stage: Thus, PDCA becomes SPDCA. Furthermore, the stages are shared and nest within the company, as can be observed in the right figure below. Hoshin Kanri organizes personnel into four teams: hoshin team: the group that is undertaken to set the project scope, define budget and timeline, and superintend the correct project implementation over time. Probably it will coincide with the project manager and managerial staff

• tactical team: is the team of people in charge of developing new specific skills by implementing technologies and methods in the general business process. It is usually formed by highly qualified experts in the project field. They help the Hoshin team set strategic goals with a 6-12 months time horizon
• operational team: the people who are undertaken to carry on, improve and supervise concrete and standard processes.
• action team: the cross-functional group that is in charge to apply tools and techniques to daily tasks. Their role is active and not passive, in fact, they must provide suggestions to implement kaikazu and kaizen in the project.

Usually the teams are cross-functional. As result, strategy and goals are shared and every single worker is involved in kaizen (continuous improvement).

X-Matrix implementation and structure

Considering the application of the Hoshin Kanri methodology to project management, the X-Matrix tool is implemented in the Plan stage. It could be seen both as a memorandum for the Hoshin team and a visual tool to communicate and align the plans at each organizational level. The Matrix is divided into four blocks, called also dials, linked by four correlation matrixes. Starting from the left block (the “east” block) and proceeding clockwise, it is possible to identify the four main dials: Strategies, Tactics, Processes, and Results. In addition, the People block is to the right side of the Process ones. Each of the dials is linked to the following one by a correlation matrix, which will be explained later in the article.

The idea behind the tool is that a project scope could be split up into goals. The goals’ achievement determines project success. The 100% rule, set by the Project Management Institute (PMI) for WBS, states that “‘the next level of decomposition of a WBS element (child level) must represent 100 percent of the work applicable to the next higher (parent) element’’. Following a similar approach, each goal could be broken down into lower-level goals. Each goal will be part of one of the following categories in decreasing level order: Strategic and Tactical and Process goals. Performing carefully this decomposition is vital for the project's success and for the correct implementation of the X-Matrix.

Strategies block

The Strategies Block is the mover of the entire X-Matrix and it is the first that should be filled up. The strategic goals are the first level of scope decomposition and each of them should be inserted into a row in the strategies block. The strategic goals must be expressed in general terms and, at the same time, they should clearly communicate the direction of the entire project. Each strategic goal will occupy a row in the strategies' block. It is suggested to limit the number of strategic goals to avoid excessive complexity in the next steps. Ex : Considering a company that wants to simplify the online sales project by implementing a new webpage. The main scope of the project is to design efficiently the web page and make it accessible to the customer. The scope could be split into strategies: design a page with a simple code, upload the products and make them visible, design a purchasing process easy to use for the customers.

Tactical Block

For each row in the strategies block, a set of tactical goals should be written down. A set of tactical goals is much more detailed than the related strategic goal and clearly shows the action to be implemented to achieve it. As in the previous block, each row in the block contains one tactical goal. This block is linked to the strategic and processes ones by a correlation matrix. Moreover, each tactic is assigned to a person or a team. The responsible for each tactical activity can be found consulting the assignation matrix that linked the strategy dials with the people ones. Ex: the strategic goal “design a process easy to use for the customers” could be split into: create an initial interface with the different product category, in each page include the same features, include always a direct link to the basket, design an easy to use payment process, including a BOT to answer customer’s questions.

Processes Block

Each row in the processes block shows a detailed action needed to achieve a tactical goal. The start and finish date and an estimation of the cost must be included for each process. It is allowed just one performance indicator for each process, that has to be carefully choosen: it must be pertinent, easy to measure and to monitor.

For this project, some valuable processes could be “divide the product into categories (next week)”, “write the code for a standard page within 1 month” “generate a 3D image for each product and upload it within 1 month”.  

Results Block

The scope of a project should be converted into measurable results. Each result will occupy a row in this table. In the most of the case, the costs and revenues from project success are registered. Anyway, it is not a limitation, each result address to be specific, measurable,

References

(Guide, A. "Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® GUIDE & STANDARD)." Project Management Institute. 2001.  ; Haugan, Gregory T. 2002. Effective Work Breakdown Structures. Vienna, VA Management Concepts)