X-Matrix Builder.
Create, connect and share your strategy for free.
What this tool is
The X-Matrix Builder is a free browser tool for the Hoshin Kanri X-Matrix. Add breakthrough objectives, annual objectives, improvement initiatives, metrics and owners, then click the corner cells to mark which item supports which. Export the finished matrix as a PNG, PDF or data file, or share it as a link. The whole matrix lives in that link, so nothing is stored unless you ask us to email it or to set it up in TeamGuru.
New to the method? Start with the guide on how to read and build an X-Matrix, then come back and fill in your own.
Fill it in one afternoon
The matrix is filled in a working session with the people who will appear in the owner column, not assembled by a planner. Read and fill it counterclockwise from the bottom. The full method, with a worked example and the common mistakes at each step, is in the X-Matrix guide.
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Start at the bottom: breakthrough objectives
Three to five outcomes for the next 3 to 5 years that normal annual budgeting will not deliver on its own. If everything is a breakthrough, nothing is.
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Left: annual objectives
What you will accomplish in the next 12 months toward those breakthroughs. Mark the southwest corner: each annual objective should advance at least one breakthrough.
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Top: improvement initiatives
The concrete projects that will deliver this year's objectives. Mark the northwest corner. An initiative with an empty row is a pet project; the tool shows it as not connected.
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Right: metrics and targets
The numbers that will show, month by month, that the initiatives work. Mark the northeast corner (initiative moves metric) and the southeast corner (metric proves breakthrough).
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Far right: owners
One named person per initiative. Not a department. Mark the owner column, then export the matrix or share the link with the people on it.
A dot is a claim someone can challenge
Every dot says: this item genuinely moves that one. When the machining manager connects the changeover initiative to the lead time metric, anyone in the room may ask how, exactly. Shorter changeovers allow smaller batches, smaller batches cut queue time, so the dot survives. A dot that cannot survive that question gets erased in front of everyone.
Empty rows and columns are findings, not formatting errors. The builder marks any item with no connection, because an initiative that supports nothing is consuming capacity, and a metric no initiative points at will not move this year. Teams that fill dots diplomatically, so nothing looks orphaned, get a matrix where everything correlates with everything. That carries exactly as much information as a blank page.
Questions
- Is the X-Matrix Builder really free?
- Yes. There is no account, no trial and no watermark beyond a small credit line. The matrix is encoded in the page address, so you can bookmark it, share it or email it to yourself. We only ask for an email address if you want us to send you the link or to set the matrix up in TeamGuru.
- Where is my matrix stored?
- In the link. Every change updates the address in your browser, and the same matrix is kept in your browser's local storage as a backup. Nothing is sent to our servers unless you use the email or import option, in which case we store your email address and the link.
- What do the filled and open dots mean?
- A filled dot is a primary connection: this initiative is the main way that annual objective gets delivered, or this metric is the main evidence for that breakthrough. An open ring is a supporting connection. Click a cell once for primary, twice for supporting and a third time to clear it.
- How many items should an X-Matrix have?
- Three to five per quadrant. The builder allows up to eight so you can start wide and cut, but a matrix with eight initiatives is a to-do list, not a strategy. If the leadership team cannot get to five, the prioritization conversation has not finished yet.
- Can I export the X-Matrix to PowerPoint or Excel?
- Export it as a PNG and drop the image into any deck or document. For a PDF, use the print option and choose Save as PDF; the page prints only the matrix, in landscape. The data export holds the same information as the link and is the file we use to import a matrix into TeamGuru.
- What does “bring it into TeamGuru” do?
- You send us the matrix with your email. We set it up in a TeamGuru workspace for you: each initiative becomes a project with actions and an owner, each metric gets a live KPI feed, and the matrix shows status at every monthly review. A person replies within one business day. No card, no commitment.
Read next
Make the matrix a working object
See how TeamGuru connects breakthrough objectives to the projects, actions, KPIs and reviews that deliver them.