SIPOC Diagrams – Templates and Instructions
A SIPOC is a high-level process map that summarizes the Suppliers, Inputs, Processes, Outputs, and Customers for a complex process or functional organization.
SIPOC Templates – SIPOC Diagrams
Here are three SIPOC diagram templates you can use and customize as you’d like. Powerpoint Template. This first template is made in Microsoft Powerpoint and includes header information at the top (process or function name, date, scope, and notes) that can be customized as needed (download the template). Word Template
SIPOC Diagram – SIPOC Diagrams
Creating a SIPOC diagram is best done in a team setting, following a specific sequence of steps: (1) Processes, (2) Outputs, (3) Customers, (4) Inputs, (5) Suppliers. This center-out approach works very well since most teams can quickly recite their work processes, but do not always know who their customers and suppliers are.
COPIS vs. SIPOC – SIPOC Diagrams
For existing processes, the normal SIPOC approach is preferred since it defines the current state (always the first step in process improvement), rather than a theoretical ideal state.
Process Flowchart Template – SIPOC Diagrams
Process flow charts are the next level of detail below a SIPOC diagram and show the actual flow of the process from beginning to end (see example and template below). The most common symbols in process flow charts are rectangles (process steps) and diamonds (branches or decision points).
Example #2 – Financial Services – SIPOC Diagrams
Johnson Securities and Investments developed a SIPOC to help communicate their business-product deployment strategy. Their process involves relatively few Suppliers who are responsible for a large number of Inputs that are tied to an equivalent number of Processes.
Suppliers – SIPOC Diagrams
The Supplier column in a SIPOC diagram lists the important suppliers, both internal and external to the organization, that provide the necessary process Inputs. Here are a few supplier examples –
Example # 1 – Manufacturing – SIPOC Diagrams
In a case like this, it is common to create a SIPOC for each process step in the overall manufacturing process (lamination stacking, commutator placement, etc.), at which point many of the process details would become apparent, in an organized way.
CTQ – SIPOC Diagrams
SIPOC’s are a great starting point for understanding CTQ’s because they identify internal and external customers and the outputs that those customers receive. The next logical step is to ask the customer(s), “When you receive this (output), what is important to you?”
Example #3 – Landscaping Business – SIPOC Diagrams
This is an example of a SIPOC used by a landscaping company. By mapping their activities in a SIPOC the company owners were able to show team members a broader perspective how projects are managed (here is the Excel template for this SIPOC).