Volume Variety Matrix
Volume-variety and design
In Chapter 1 the four V’s of operations were described. These were volume, variety, variation and visibility. The first two of these – volume and variety – are particularly important when considering design issues in operations management. Not only do they usually go together (high variety usually means low volume, high volume normally means low variety) but together they also impact on the nature of products and services and processes which produce them.
The volume and variety of an operation’s activities are particularly influential in determining the way it thinks about its performance objectives. The figure below illustrates how the definitions of quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost are influenced by the volume-variety position of the operation.
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Quality
Quality in a low volume-high variety process such as an architects’ practice, for example, is largely concerned with the final aesthetic appearance of the building and the appropriateness of its detailed design. In an exceptionally high volume-low variety process, such as an electricity supply company, quality is exclusively concerned with error-free service – electricity must be constantly available in the correct form (in terms of voltage, frequency, etc.). The meaning of quality has shifted from being concerned primarily with the performance and specification of the product or service towards conformity to a predefined standard, as we move from low volume-high variety operations through to high volume-low variety operations.
Speed
Speed for the architects’ practice means negotiating a completion date with each client, based on the client’s needs and the architects’ estimates of how much work is involved in each project. Speed is taken to its extreme in the electricity utility where speed means literally instant delivery. No electricity company could ask its customers to wait for their ‘delivery’ of electricity. Speed therefore means an individually
In Chapter 1 the four V’s of operations were described. These were volume, variety, variation and visibility. The first two of these – volume and variety – are particularly important when considering design issues in operations management. Not only do they usually go together (high variety usually means low volume, high volume normally means low variety) but together they also impact on the nature of products and services and processes which produce them.
The volume and variety of an operation’s activities are particularly influential in determining the way it thinks about its performance objectives. The figure below illustrates how the definitions of quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost are influenced by the volume-variety position of the operation.
[pic]
Quality
Quality in a low volume-high variety process such as an architects’ practice, for example, is largely concerned with the final aesthetic appearance of the building and the appropriateness of its detailed design. In an exceptionally high volume-low variety process, such as an electricity supply company, quality is exclusively concerned with error-free service – electricity must be constantly available in the correct form (in terms of voltage, frequency, etc.). The meaning of quality has shifted from being concerned primarily with the performance and specification of the product or service towards conformity to a predefined standard, as we move from low volume-high variety operations through to high volume-low variety operations.
Speed
Speed for the architects’ practice means negotiating a completion date with each client, based on the client’s needs and the architects’ estimates of how much work is involved in each project. Speed is taken to its extreme in the electricity utility where speed means literally instant delivery. No electricity company could ask its customers to wait for their ‘delivery’ of electricity. Speed therefore means an individually