SIPOC

A tool for defining the stakeholders for an event, meeting or improvement initiative. The acronym stands for Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs and Customers. Once you define the process you are trying to understand or improve (helping you scope the effort), then define the outputs of each process step, and the customers of those outputs. Next, define the inputs that go into the process steps, and the suppliers of those inputs. The list of suppliers and customers should be included in the activity, as they feed into the process, or receive the results of the process. The inputs and outputs are the documents and information that will be reviewed and measured, that will be discussed during the activity.

An example of a SIPOC is shown below, for a community recycling project.