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Free Tool · SIPOC Explorer

A SIPOC that answers the question everyone asks: "who touches this?"

Build the SIPOC through guided prompts. Then click any supplier, input, step, output, or customer — and watch everything it connects to light up across the board. The static table becomes a conversation piece.

First — what process are we mapping?
Name it, then list the 3–8 high-level steps from trigger to done. One per line, verb first.
Now — feed each step and name who's on each end.
For every step: what does it need, and who supplies it? What does it produce, and who receives it? Format: Item (Who) — multiple receivers separated by commas.

Your SIPOC board

Click any item to trace its connections · click it again to clear
Selected In the traced chain Not connected
Exports capture the current view — trace a chain first to export the highlighted story, or clear it for the full board.

A SIPOC is a one-page map of a process at its boundaries: Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, and Customers. It is the standard first artifact in the Define phase of DMAIC, built to answer one question before any analysis begins: where does this process actually start and stop?

How to build a SIPOC diagram in five steps

The SIPOC Explorer above works as a free SIPOC template: it walks you through the same steps and exports the result to PDF, SVG or CSV. On paper, the order looks like this.

  1. Name the process and its two boundaries: the trigger that starts it and the point where it is done.
  2. List the outputs the process delivers, then the customer who receives each one.
  3. Write five to seven high-level steps between the trigger and done, each starting with a verb.
  4. For each step, list the inputs it needs and the supplier who provides each input.
  5. Walk the finished SIPOC with the people who run the process and agree what is in scope and what is out, before you collect any data.

What it produces

A structured SIPOC diagram you can fill in on screen — the five columns, in the order practitioners actually complete them (outputs and customers first, then work backwards).

Who it is for

Anyone scoping a process improvement project, running a kickoff workshop, or trying to get a team to agree on what is in scope before the arguing starts.

How to read the result

If your Suppliers and Customers columns are vague, the process boundary is not agreed. If the Process column has more than seven steps, you are mapping too deep — SIPOC is a boundary tool, not a flowchart.

What the tool asks for

Common questions

What does SIPOC stand for?

Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, Customers. It is a scoping tool used in the Define phase of DMAIC to establish process boundaries before measurement begins.

When should you use a SIPOC?

At the start of any improvement project, before process mapping or data collection. Its purpose is to get agreement on scope — what is in, what is out, and who the process serves.

What is the difference between SIPOC and a process map?

A SIPOC defines boundaries at a high level in five to seven steps. A process map details the actual flow, decisions, and handoffs inside those boundaries. SIPOC comes first and answers "what are we looking at"; the process map answers "how does it work".

Should you build a SIPOC left to right?

No. Practitioners typically start with Outputs and Customers, then work backwards to Inputs and Suppliers, filling in the Process column last. Starting with the customer keeps the scope tied to what the process is for.

SIPOC or swimlane first?

SIPOC first, always. Scope before detail. The SIPOC tells you which process to map; the swimlane shows what's wrong inside it.

Who are the “customers” if the process is internal?

Whoever receives the output next. The payroll team is a customer of timekeeping. Internal customers complain less and suffer more, which is why their processes stay broken longest.

What's the most common SIPOC mistake?

Starting with the process steps. Start with the outputs and customers, then work backward. The process exists to produce the output, not the other way around.

Is the SIPOC Explorer free?

Free, no signup, no email required. Build the SIPOC, use it in your charter, done.

Related tools

Swimlane Studio · Flow Bottleneck Calculator — or see the full Windy Hill Toolkit.

Built by Windy Hill Partners, a process improvement consultancy applying Lean Six Sigma and DMAIC. Every tool here is free and ungated at the point of use.