Six Sigma Analysis

We conducted a series of Six Sigma analyses to narrow the technology opportunities list to an achievable feature set of 20 items. To do this, we created a Decision Matrix to determine the importance factor associated with each assistance need. Importance was based on prevalence, contribution to institutionalization, impact on caregiving resources, and limitations on elder functional ability. A Quality Function Deployment (QFD) Matrix of the importance factors provided a development priority for each assistance need, based on competitors' competencies in related areas. When all technology opportunities associated with assistance needs of low priority were dropped, 75 technology opportunities remained.

We used a Priority x Ease Matrix to plot the 75 technology opportunities by Development Priority and Time to Implement. Using a diagonal line through the plot, we selected most items that could be implemented in one year and a few high impact items which could be done in two years. This reduced the technology opportunity set to 43 items.

A Conjoint Analysis was determined the minimum number of technology opportunities that, when taken together, would satisfy an assistance need. This analysis was done for all remaining assistance needs and their associated technology opportunities. After the analysis, only the top six assistance needs were considered for selection of final features. For each of the six needs, we selected the minimum combination of technology opportunities that provided good support of the need. The final list of 20 technology opportunities became the initial I.L.S.A. feature set.

More detail can be found in our Greenbelt for Growth presentation.