The FRT is a tool for revealing how changing the current status can affect the future
‘reality’. It is most commonly used to identify solutions (injections in TOC terminology) to problems identified during the construction of a CRT. It also allows evaluation of the injections before resources are committed to them. In this section, we show how to construct an FRT based on the example from the previous section.
The first step is to identify the desirable effects. This is typically done by stating the opposite of the UDEs from the CRT (Figure 8.8).
The second step is to list the possible injections for the root causes (Figure 8.9).
W1a. User feels frustrated
W1b. User wastes time waiting
N1. Operators cannot cope with the number
of calls
N3. Most of the time still need to
speak to the operator N2. User
wastes time going through all
the options
Figure 8.4 Rearrangement of CRT to remove redundancy.
98 Current and Future Reality Trees
N3. Most of the time still need to
speak to the operator
C2. Options are not arranged in
order of popularity
C1. Pre-set options not comprehensive
enough C1a. Operators
are inexperienced
C1b. Not enough Operators Nothing to do
during waiting time
User is busy
Training program is not comprehensive
Too many new operators
High turnover W1a. User
feels frustrated
W1b. User wastes time
waiting
N1. Operators cannot cope
with the number of calls
N2. User wastes time going through all the options
Figure 8.5 Expanding a branch.
The third step is to insert the injections into the CRT and change the effects where ap- propriate. Add new injections if needed until they are sufficient to reach the desirable effects (Figure 8.10).
The fourth and final step is to look for possible negative effects due to the intro- duction of the injections. If there are any, brainstorm new injections that can take care of them. This is to assess the feasibility of the solutions and also, to a certain extent, to error-proof them. If there is no good solution to the new negative effects, and the particular injection is not the only way to achieve the desirable effect, then it may be a good idea to drop the injection. As shown in Figure 8.11, adding new operators will increase operating costs; if there is no direct solution to this, it might be desirable to drop the injection, especially if the operators are felt to be well trained and efficient.
The FRT is now complete. The next step is to implement the solutions. This step can vary from an easy fix such as hiring two more operators, to forming a project team to revamp the entire training program.
Future Reality Tree (FRT) 99
C1a.
Operators are inexperienced
C1b. Not enough operators
Training program is not comprehensive
Too many
new operators High turnover N1. Operators
cannot cope with the number of
calls
Figure 8.6 Addition of a negative reinforcing loop.
100 User feels frustrated
110 User wastes time waiting
121 Operators cannot
cope with the number of calls
123 User needs to
speak to the operator
RC4 Options not in order of popularity
RC5 Pre-set options not comprehensive
enough 131
Operators are inexperienced
122 User wastes time going through all the
options
RC3 Not enough
operators RC1
Nothing to do during waiting time
RC2 User is busy
RC6 Training program is not comprehensive
141 Too many new
operators
RC7 High turnover
Root Cause
Root Cause
Root Cause Root Cause
Root Cause
Root Cause Root Cause
Figure 8.7 Addition of root causes.
100 Current and Future Reality Trees
User feels frustrated
User wastes time waiting
User feels satisfied
User does not waste time waiting
to be served Undesirable Effects Desirable Effects
Figure 8.8 Desirable effects.
Options are notRC4 arranged in order of
popularity
RC5 Pre-set options not comprehensive enough
RC3 Not enough
operators RC1 Nothing to do during
waiting time RC2 User is busy
RC6 Training program is not comprehensive
RC7 High turnover
Root Causes Injections
Study the pattern of users' needs and include
them in the selection Rearrange the order of
the options regularly according to usage To have something user interesting to do
while waiting Call-back system that do not require user to
wait on the line
Set up a comprehensive and effective training
program
Improve the hiring process to ensure staff
stay longer Right-size the number of operators
Figure 8.9 Root causes and their injections.
Comparison with Current Six Sigma Tools 101
In User feels
satisfied
User does not waste time waiting
to be served
N1. Operators can cope with the number of
calls
User does not need to speak to the operator often
Injection: Rearrange the order of the option regularly according to
the usage
Injection: Study the pattern of users' needs and include them
in the selection C1a. Operators
are experienced and fast
User does not have to waste time going
through all the options
Injection: Right- size the number of operators Injection: Have something to entertain
the user while waiting
Injection: Set up a comprehensive and
effective training program
Not many new
operators Low turnover
Injection: Improve the hiring process to ensure new staff will stay longer Injection: Call- back system that does not require user
to wait on the line
Figure 8.10 CRT with injections added.