Abstract

Many lean or Six Sigma improvement projects fail to yield the desired results. One reason for this is failing to prioritize improvement opportunities. This study shows how to prioritize such projects using benefit and effort (B&E) analysis. Benefit and effort factors are identified based on the company's strategic and tactical objectives and calculated using a weighted average of multiple factors. Benefit and effort are each divided into high and low levels, creating four quadrants. Improvement projects are assigned a quadrant and a different priority is assigned to each quadrant.