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Follow Brainstorming Basics to Generate New Ideas
Before brainstorming, it is important to understand not only the fundamentals of the method, but also how to prepare for and conduct a session. With the right atmosphere, team members and encouragement, the ideas will flow. Read the full article. July 3, 2008
Finding the Sigma Level of Customer Complaints
Although customer survey data is often used to determine the degree of customer satisfaction, it is worthwhile to consider recorded complaints data in order to calculate the number of actual complainers and the number of possible complainers. Read the full article. June 30, 2008
Sample Correctly to Measure True Improvement Levels
In sampling, a comparatively small number of customers, called a sample, is used to draw conclusions about a population. Although this method saves time and money, it comes with a higher margin of error that must be taken into consideration. Read the full article. June 26, 2008
Identify Constraints and Reduce Wait Time in Processes
It is important to identify and understand bottleneck resources before making improvement decisions. This can be done by creating simple value stream maps that factor in the average wait time, inventory and the cycle time for each step of a process. Read the full article. June 23, 2008
Developing BBs and MBBs: Three Questions to Answer
Technical skills alone cannot guarantee success when getting people to behave differently is one of your goals – as is the case in Lean Six Sigma. Because of this, organizations must focus on developing soft skills when training Belt candidates. Read the full article. June 16, 2008
Model Change Effectiveness Using Bug Tracking Data
Through a modeling method, practitioners may be able to establish process change effectiveness using historical bug data. This technique can be used in situations where running an actual controlled experiment on the process would be difficult. Read the full article. June 9, 2008
15 Criteria for Selecting a Viable DMAIC Project
Having a robust and reliable approach to, first, quickly determine whether the project is indeed a good DMAIC project, and second, to prioritize projects to ensure resources are allocated appropriately, is essential to Six Sigma program success. Read the full article. June 5, 2008
Systems Thinking Results in Holistic Improvements
The whole is often greater than the sum of its parts. By looking at issues through a systems-thinking lens, it’s possible to work with a system as a whole – and to deliver sustainable and comprehensive process improvements that address root causes. Read the full article. June 2, 2008
Improve Product Design: Watch What End Users Do
The beginning of any design or development project should include activities aimed at a deep understanding of likely user behavior. Gathering this information should involve open-ended questions and observation, which will highlight user needs. Read the full article. May 29, 2008
A Lean Approach to Staffing Brings Optimal Performance
Organizations are often challenged with managing seemingly unmanageable work volumes with available staff. By completing a Lean assessment in tandem with capacity modeling, an organization can optimize its staff and avoid gaps or surpluses. Read the full article. May 26, 2008
Change Dynamics: Prepare for Optimal Buy-in
Why is change so difficult? The answer lies in how people are innately hardwired and how that hardwiring affects how they accept and buy-in to change. By recognizing these differences, it is possible to make change a more comfortable experience. Read the full article. May 19, 2008
Process Improvement: A Process Owner's Dilemma
By following a Lean Six Sigma framework, process owners can use its tools on a path to process excellence that blends greater control with improved technology in order to meet the challenge of increasing efficiency and staying profitable. Read the full article. May 12, 2008
Use Point System for Better Six Sigma Project Selection
For early projects, it may be best to play it safe. By selecting projects using a point system, practitioners can move forward with the best options for their experience level and the ones most likely to help the Six Sigma effort in the long run. Read the full article. May 8, 2008
DMAIC Phases Mesh with Project Risk Management
Efficiency in projects comes from effective risk management. Using an example from a telecom supplier, it is possible to see how Six Sigma's DMAIC methodology can be applied in tandem with the six steps of project risk management. Read the full article. May 5, 2008
Get a Feel for Lean: Explore Application Opportunities
Lean is intuitive, flexible and can be executed quickly. As a result, almost any business or organizational process can benefit from the application of Lean. To gain a better understanding of the method, test its tools on an everyday process. Read the full article. May 1, 2008
Implementing a Customer Satisfaction Metric
To find if customers are happy with the products and services they are receiving, an organization must implement a metric for tracking customer satisfaction. This can be done by using a Servqual survey framework and a voice-of-the-customer matrix. Read the full article. April 28, 2008
Start Small with New Lean Six Sigma Initiatives
To maintain control and assure a payoff from LSS, it may help to start on a limited scale. With only a few key team members – including the right Black Belt candidate – a company can create a program that will have an impact enterprise wide. Read the full article. April 21, 2008
5 Six Sigma Deployment Mistakes - And How To Avoid Them
Six Sigma deployments across the globe have created a wealth of both success stories and important lessons about the challenges that can arise during the process. Deployment teams should learn from these lessons and steer clear of others' mistakes. Read the full article. April 14, 2008
A Method for Aligning the Six Sigma Performance Metric
Some Six Sigma practitioners are concerned about the current method used to calculate Z-scores and express process capability. A proposed modification, based on Berryman's scorecard, may fill the need for a more intuitive and business savvy metric. Read the full article. April 7, 2008
The Futility of Call Center Coaching
Although it has become an industry standard, one-on-one coaching is less valuable than many believe. Through the use of mathematical modeling, it is possible to see that coaching, even in moderate turnover environments, is a fool’s errand. Read the full article. March 31, 2008
Corporate Ethnography: A Way to Gather VOC
In many Six Sigma projects, practitioners use traditional voice-of-the-customer techniques to find the specifications clients seek. But to get the full picture, they should also try a set of data-gathering methods known as corporate ethnography. Read the full article. March 24, 2008
5 Lean Tools and Principles to Integrate into Six Sigma
Integrating Lean into an existing process-improvement framework can result in more high-impact, quick-hit projects. As this experience from one business shows, it's possible to bring in Lean tools without creating ripples in the Six Sigma structure. Read the full article. March 17, 2008
12 Tips for a More Motivated Team and Better Results
Follow these tips to incorporate motivation at all phases of an improvement project in order to ensure passionate teams and management buy-in, along with better business results. Read the full article. March 10, 2008
Improved Forecasting with Moving Averages and Z-Scores
For short-term forecasting, Black Belts can benefit from analyzing moving average plots and looking for special causes of variation. When making long-term forecasts, a method that uses a normal curve and Z-scores may be the better bet. Read the full article. March 3, 2008
Applying 5S Tool to Environment in Service Industries
In order to successfully deliver service to customers, satisfy them and increase the likelihood of future business, transactional companies can make good use of the 5S tool as a basic framework to manage workplace dynamics. Read the full article. February 25, 2008
Dispute Resolution: Facilitators, Mediators, Arbitrators
Dispute resolution has become a popular way to identify the root cause of a problem and to build a solution strategy - both in and out of the business world. The three resolution processes are facilitation, mediation and arbitration. Read the full article. February 18, 2008
Using the Five W's and One H Approach to Six Sigma
5W1H (who, what, where, when, why, how) is a method of asking questions about a process or a problem taken up for improvement. 5W1H of Six Sigma explains the approach to be followed for understanding and analyzing the process, project or problem. Read the full article. February 11, 2008
DMAIC Project Selection Using a Systematic Approach
Growth of the DMAIC methodology in the United States' more service-oriented economy is not as fast as earlier in manufacturing industries. While DMAIC is well-proven, it requires a systematic plan for project selection in transactional environments. Read the full article. February 4, 2008
Lean and Creative Six Sigma to Solve Real-life Issues
Some organizations using Six Sigma are failing to obtain the true potential of the methodology. Those organizations need to integrate with the Six Sigma methodology an effective, comprehensive and a focused approach to solve real-life problems Read the full article. January 28, 2008
Making SCOR Model More Effective with Lean Six Sigma
Many Six Sigma practitioners have asked how the Supply-Chain Operations Reference model, or SCOR®, relate to Six Sigma and Lean. However, perhaps a more relevant question should be, "How can Six Sigma and Lean make a SCOR model more effective?" Read the full article. January 21, 2008
Multi-Generation Project Planning's Fit with Six Sigma
At the time of NASA's Apollo mission, multi-generation project planning (MGPP) was not a popular tool, but the moon landing project is an excellent example of the power of MGPP, and it provides a chance to explore how it fits with Six Sigma. Read the full article. January 14, 2008
Managing Change to a Continuously Improving Culture
Instead of rewarding those ready to change and discouraging those who fight change, organizations establishing a culture of continuous process improvement should focus on moving the largest group, the neutrals, toward supporting the change. Read the full article. January 7, 2008
