PathMaker
Software for effective management projects

Overview

Management projects are day-to-day routine in organisations. In order to run all your diverse management projects you just need tool: PathMaker. PathMaker enables you to plan and execute management projects such as planning strategy, solving problems, improving processes, driving out waste, balanced scorecard, benchmarking, business process re-engineering, six sigma, and even more. PathMaker is a unique software that helps you to systematically create a better organisation.

Lots of management projects - one software. Management projects formally resemble each other. They all use the same steps to achieve their goals. Therefore, why not using one single a software that can handle all kinds of different management projects? Why not using PathMaker?

PathMaker contains a range of tools to successfully manage these steps. Just integrate these steps on a pathway and you will create your own management project as you need it. And PathMaker supports (also virtual) teamworks in management projects.

Working with PathMaker: The overall Structure

The PathMaker structure reflects the elements required in a management project. PathMaker shows five working areas that are addressed during any kind of management project. These working areas allow the user to run a complete management project:

• Pathway: describes a PathMaker project in form of single project steps.
• Project information: contains project name and information about the project.
• Team members: contains a list of team members taking part in the project.
• Actions: contains a list of project-related actions. Actions that are agreed on in a meeting are automatically included in the actions list.
• Discussions: shows discussions held, invites to participate in a current discussion and allows to initiate new discussions.

Tools for creative thinking

Creative thinking is the process of innovation. It introduces new, fresh ideas to meet future challenges. Path Maker's brainstorming and affinity diagramming software tool combines two important creative processes in a split window.

• Brainstorming: The brainstorm tool permits easy recording of creative ideas that answer a central question. This tool's design, based on the classic brainstorming method invented by Alex Osborne, allows the team recorder to keep pace with group thinking.
• Affinity Diagram: Using a "drag and drop" technique, ideas can then be rapidly sorted into affinity sets, or groups, in the affinity diagram.

The Brainstorm and Affinity Diagram

The brainstorm list is the left part on above diagram. On the right the brainstormed ideas are sorted into affinity sets.

Tools for analytical thinking

Analytical thinking is the process of refining the understanding of a specific situation or process. It helps to lock into details and open uncovered aspects.

• Cause and Effects Diagram: Path Maker's cause and effect diagram, or Ishikawa diagram tool helps users discover the root causes of problems.
• Flowchart: With Path Maker's full-featured flowchart tool, you can easily create process flow diagrams and relations diagrams.
• Tree Diagram: The tree diagram is based on the same principle like the cause and effects diagram.
• Form Designer: PathMaker includes a variety of standard form templates such as:
  • FMEA: Failure Mode and Effects Analysis. It helps to realise potential failures, perform preventive action, and save money and increase customer satisfaction.
  • Problem Solving Guide
  • SWOT Analysis: It assist to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
  • Customers and Suppliers
  • Process Boundaries
  • QFD: QFD or Quality Function Deployment is used to translate customer requirements into suitable targets for each step of development and production.
  • ... and many, many more.

Cause and Effects Diagram & Flowchart

On top an example of a cause and effects diagram. Below you can see a screenshot of a flowchart.

Tools for better decisions

Business is about decision making, i.e. you select your favourite by giving up less favourite options. PathMaker makes decision making much easier.

• Force Field-Analysis: The force field diagram helps in decision-making or contingency planning. The force field diagram is built on the idea that forces (habits, customs, attitudes) both drive and restrain change.
• Consensus Builder - Multivoting: Path Maker's consensus builder tool is to help teams discover "shared thought" through multivoting, rating and discussion. Multivoting is used to narrow down a long list of candidates.
• Consensus Builder - Rating: With rating, the process is much the same. This time, however, you can use one or more criteria to rate candidates against.

The Force Field Diagram

Arrows are used to the strength and direction (driving or restraining) of a force.

A Tool to analyse, monitor and collect data

PathMaker's Data Analyst tool helps you integrate actual process data with management and planning tools. The Data Analyst also has innovations which mean that non-statisticians can easily make useful, accurate, professional charts. With all the statistics done for you. The Data Analyst includes pre-defined charts as:

• Control Chart
• Pareto Chart
• Run Chart
• Pie Chart
• Bar Chart
• Scatter Chart
• Radar Chart
• Normal and Bubble Chart
• Histogram

The Data Analyst

A Chart Wizard facilitates using the Data Analyst. After selecting a chart type the spreadsheet adjusts itself to offer you column headers which are appropriate for running the chart data. The chart is automatically drawn from the data you enter.

Tools to run effective Meetings

You can schedule team meetings right on the Project Pathway by placing meeting brackets and stretching them to include the steps you want to cover. When you do this, an agenda is automatically created, which includes the designated steps and a list of attendees.

During a meeting, you can launch tools just as you would from the Pathway and record discussion points, decisions and action items, turning your agenda into electronic minutes, which are automatically saved with the project.

The Meeting Screen

Tools for Just-in-Time-Learning

One of the classic problems of quality training has been the lag between training and action. It doesn't work to sheepdip an employee in quality management theory, and then have six months go by before he is involved in a process improvement project. Everyone, and especially adults, are impatient with learning something that they don't see themselves using right away. Plus, the half-life of knowledge is very short, unless it is cemented by being used. PathMaker does not stop at tools. It also teaches, combining learning with doing.

Embedded in the software are 32 slide shows which provide just-in-time training on a wide variety of subjects, covering everything from the basics of quality improvement and teamwork to how to use each tool.

Slide Shows

Excerpt of a pathway for a balanced scorecard

PathMaker is available in two versions:

• PathMaker
  which is a desktop-based software solution
• ipathmaker
  is a web-based solution. Click on ipathmaker to learn more about this solution.

PathMaker is developed by