Definition
Strategic deployments improve the hierarchy of priorities to the action plan to address root causes; they are also the starting point for the smallest target identified at the last layer of Pareto 5Why, where the action plan must be located.
In detail
Point of Impact (POI) is the level in the hierarchy where strategic deployment improvement priorities are translated into action plans and root causes are addressed. It is the smallest object determined only after peeling through successive Pareto layers, and within the PD/RCCM layered-Pareto framework it is the starting point for 5 Why. Action plans must be anchored at this level to effectively solve problems. POI belongs to the PD/RCCM layered-Pareto framework; PSP's causal-chain framework has its own starting point, the "point of cause" — the two frameworks are not interchangeable, and there is no sourced basis for distinguishing them as "physical location vs. management-level responsibility point." It typically outputs a specific object (e.g., a piece of equipment, a process step) for developing countermeasures.
Example in practice
In a company's strategy deployment, delivery delays were identified. Through Pareto analysis and layer-by-layer decomposition, the impact point was determined to be the changeover time of a specific production line. An action plan was then developed, and SMED improvements were implemented at that impact point, reducing changeover time and improving delivery.