SC QUALITY GUILDProject selection matrix
SCQUALITYGUILD.COM/TOOLS/PROJECT-SELECTION-MATRIX.HTML
Weight the criteria that matter, score each candidate project against them, and see the ranked result, with cost and effort counting against.
ON THE EXAM · CSSYB II.A.2 · FREE · NOTHING YOU TYPE LEAVES YOUR BROWSER
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Why a matrix
Most organizations have more improvement ideas than people to work on them. Choosing by whoever argues hardest, or whichever problem is loudest this week, tends to produce projects that are too big, too vague or not important to the business. A weighted matrix makes the choice explicit: everyone can see the criteria, the weights and the scores, and can argue about those instead.
Choosing the criteria
Common criteria are customer impact, financial benefit, alignment with business goals, effort and cost, time to result, risk, and whether data exist. Keep it to four to six. Agree them with the sponsor before scoring, or the criteria will be chosen to favor the project someone already wants.
Some criteria are better when high (savings) and some worse (cost, effort, risk). Mark the "worse" ones and score the raw amount; the matrix reverses them so a high-effort project loses points.
Reading the result
The weighted score is shown as a percentage of the maximum possible. Treat small gaps as ties: the scores are judgments on a 1 to 5 scale, and a few points either way is inside their precision. Try changing a weight: if the winner changes, the decision depends on that weight, and that is worth discussing.
What makes a good Six Sigma project
A clear, measurable problem with an unknown cause, a defined process, data available or obtainable, a sponsor who cares, and a scope small enough to finish in a few months. A problem whose solution is already known is not a project; it is a task.
On the Yellow Belt exam
Project selection is topic II.A.2 of the 2022 CSSYB Body of Knowledge.