STATGRAPHICS Centurion provides a number of tools for use in assessing the quality of a product or service. Among the tools most widely used in Six Sigma are:

1. Pareto Chart - used to display the "vital few" areas where quality improvement will have the biggest impact.

2. Quality Function Deployment Matrix - used to help associate customer demands with design requirements.

3. Cost of Quality Trend Analysis - examines changes in the cost of quality over time.

4. Cause-and-Effect Diagram - used to help understand the factors that affect the quality of a process.

5. Process Map - used to chart the flow or interrelationships in a process.

6. Six Sigma Calculator - converts between DPM, Cpk, Z, SQL, and other quality metrics.

Pareto Chart

Pareto charts are often used to determine the "vital few" causes that are responsible for the majority of defects or complaints regarding a product or service.

Quality Function Deployment Matrix

QFD is a customer-driven planning process by which products and services are matched to the needs of customers. STATGRAPHICS illustrates the relationship between customer needs and design requirements  by constructing a "House of Quality".

Cost of Quality Trend Analysis

A COQ (Cost-of-Quality) trend analysis illustrates the cost of poor quality by constructing a chart displaying prevention, appraisal, and failure costs over time. Runs tests are also performed to search for significant trends.

Cause-and-Effect Diagram

Cause-and-effect or fishbone diagrams illustrate the causes of a problem or effect by creating a diagram resembling the skeleton of a fish.

Process Map

Process maps are commonly used to create flow charts and other step-by-step diagrams. An example of a simple map is shown below.

Six Sigma Calculator

The STATGRAPHICS Six Sigma Calculator converts between various commonly used quality metrics. After entering the value of any one metric, the equivalent values of the others are calculated.