This guideline provides a methodology to characterize a new or existing process and is applicable to any manufacturing or service process. It describes when to use specific tools such as failure mode effects analysis (FEMA), design or experiments (DOE), measurement system evaluation (MSE), capability analysis (CpK), statistical process control (SPC), and problem solving tools. It also provides a brief description of each tool. In December 2004 the document was renumbered to conform with JM7, JEDEC Style Manual.