isixsigma.com

A warning light, small leak, faint rattle, or cracked lamp can sound like the beginning of a routine repair. On some vehicles, however, the inexpensive-looking part is buried behind major components, tied to specialized electronics, or capable of damaging the engine if it fails. That is how a job expected to cost a few hundred […]

Americans rarely agree on one perfect pickup, but a handful of nameplates keep earning repeat buyers, packed owners’ groups, and a lasting place in truck culture. This selection looks beyond raw sales to the qualities that create loyalty: useful design, proven capability, everyday comfort, resale strength, and the ability to keep serving after the novelty […]

An SUV’s sticker price reveals only part of what it may ultimately cost. Depreciation, fuel use, insurance, maintenance and unresolved recall work can turn an appealing vehicle into a disappointing value. The models below raise concerns for different reasons: some shed a large share of their value, while others have documented safety campaigns or unusually […]

Pickup trucks are expected to tow, haul, commute, and survive years of hard use, but a familiar badge does not guarantee a trouble-free ownership experience. The models below have drawn concern through low predicted-reliability scores, federal safety recalls, manufacturer service bulletins, or recurring owner-reported problems. Not every truck or model year is affected, and several […]

Buying a brand-new vehicle usually means paying more for the latest technology, safety equipment, and factory warranty. It does not always mean avoiding early problems. Because most 2026 models have not been on the road long enough to establish true long-term reliability records, the clearest warning signs come from safety recalls, stop-delivery orders, government defect […]

Few mechanical problems damage a vehicle’s reputation as quickly as a failing transmission. Modern transmissions are highly complex systems, and even manufacturers that follow rigorous quality-control practices can struggle with design flaws, software issues, premature wear, and inconsistent component performance. Some transmission trouble is expected as a vehicle ages and accumulates mileage. Buyers are far […]

For more than a century, car dealerships have served as the primary link between automakers and buyers. That model became deeply embedded in the automotive industry, but long-established systems are not automatically permanent. Consumer expectations are changing, digital retail tools are improving, and manufacturers are exploring new ways to sell vehicles with fewer traditional steps […]

Buying a new car in 2025 was not cheap, which makes every purchase feel like a bigger gamble. Even when a model comes from a trusted brand, shoppers still have to worry about reliability, owner satisfaction, repair costs, recalls, and whether the vehicle actually delivers enough value for the price. Automakers spend enormous amounts of […]

Modern manufacturing is built around constant improvement. Automakers are expected to innovate, control costs, streamline production, and still deliver vehicles that feel better than the models they replace. When that balance works, customers see the benefit through improved reliability, smarter features, better materials, or a stronger overall driving experience. But cost-cutting does not always translate […]

For nearly seven decades, the Ford Mustang has been more than just a car. It has become a symbol of American performance, freedom, and design, with a legacy that stretches from movie screens and racetracks to suburban driveways. Few vehicles are as instantly recognizable, and even fewer have shaped American car culture as deeply as […]

Which companies do design thinking the best? Design thinking is a relatively new approach to the likes of product delivery. While products are often drummed up with the customer in mind, few approaches consider the customer’s needs before even analyzing the problem and developing a solution. That said, some companies are embracing design thinking with […]

The gold rush of generative AI and autonomous agents is upon us. As such, we need to take a closer look at things like transparency and accountability, at least when considering who has ownership of the outputs of these digital tools. Corporations have realized that AI can speed up productivity, making for thousands of lines […]

When conducting process improvement, Root Cause Analysis is a physical, human-centric exercise. It involves stakeholders standing around a whiteboard, drawing Ishikawa diagrams, and asking the Five Whys until a human or mechanical point of failure is found. However, the nature of work has shifted as more industries are embracing automated workflows. Processes aren’t a string […]

What tools are needed to create business agility? An agile business can adapt and roll with the punches. I don’t mean a momentary setback but events that a business can easily adapt and overcome. In software development, this methodology is known as Agile and is one of the driving forces behind modern development teams. However, […]

Lean Six Sigma often evokes the image of a war room of sorts: a physical space with whiteboards, sticky notes, and a group of practitioners huddled over a Value Stream Map. There has been a shift of sorts in the workplace, and subsequently these sorts of spaces are falling out of fashion. Our workforces are […]

Big data vs. small data, which one are you choosing for your business? Data is a big market right now, something that it has held the distinction of for the last decade or more. Data drives business decisions, calls forecasts for future trends, and so much more. As such, it helps to have a plan […]

Is it easy to build a data-driven culture for your business? Data is a driving force in any modern organization. Even mom-and-pop stores are leaning on what they can glean from the digital revolution. As such, it is more important than ever to take the steps to create a data-driven culture to take your organization […]

What are the most common mistakes you can make with FMEA? As a framework, FMEA is aimed at creating lasting solutions to potential problems before they even arise. However, that doesn’t mean it’s completely foolproof. As we’ve seen with many of the tools of the trade, there is certainly a right and a wrong way […]

What’s the best process for conducting an FMEA? If you want to start implementing lasting changes into your production line, FMEA is one of the top ways to get things rolling. However, there is a certain procedure you’ll want to follow to make the most of your efforts. If you’re new to the concept, that’s […]

How can you use FMEA in product development? I’ve talked at length about using FMEA as a means of rectifying problems in production. However, you can apply the methodology to the design process of any product or service you’ve got in the works. It isn’t similar to DMAIC, as DMAIC is generally used to refine […]

The end of any Lean Six Sigma project is met with a collective sigh of relief from every member of your team. The DMAIC cycle reaches its final stage. Targets are met, and stakeholders sit satisfied with the ROI. That said, the most misunderstood phase of DMAIC, Control, is often the most under-executed portion of […]

What are the tools every Scrum team should use? Scrum is a popular way of conducting any Agile project, but you can maximize your results with some handy applications of modern technology. Now, these don’t change how you work, but they will make things much easier on the whole. So, with that in mind, let’s […]

Practitioners cannot wait to use their newly acquired knowledge after they have finished Lean Six Sigma (LSS) training. They want to immediately apply the framework to their real-life projects. But what if, for numerous reasons, it is not possible to “go by the book”? In such cases, there are ways to break LSS down into […]

When an organization or group is looking to roll out a Lean Six Sigma program, it’s a good reminder to consider that this combines two very powerful process improvement methodologies. No matter the industry, Lean will play its role as it looks to reduce overall waste, while Six Sigma focuses heavily on reducing variation.  Combining […]

What common myths about TQM muddy the waters on how it is utilized? Total quality management is a powerful framework, but without a keen understanding of the methodology, you fall victim to issues with how to best use it. That said, it isn’t a difficult methodology to get behind, as we’ll explore a little further. […]

Developing solid metrics and a good toolchain is instrumental for the success of any Scrum project. If you’re just flying by the seat of your pants, you’re likely not maximizing the potential of both your team and the outputs of a given project. Success in Scrum is about delivering value, not so much about the […]

Scrum is synonymous with software development, a practice going back decades at this point. It serves as Silicon Valley’s killer app, the engine behind rapid deliverables that let tech giants pivot on a dime. As the global economy grows increasingly more volatile and customer expectations shift toward instant gratification, Scrum isn’t just for software these […]

One of the most popular approaches to strategic planning, Hoshin Kanri has been helping companies like Toyota achieve their most important goals for decades. Focusing heavily on continuous improvement, the Hoshin Kanri methodology is pretty straightforward, but this doesn’t mean it’s always launched perfectly.  Launching Hoshin Kanri can be relatively problematic in many ways and […]

Applying Scrum to non-software industries is a lot easier than you think. The most recent edition of the Scrum Guide has even prepared the approach for integration into other business sectors. As such, there has never been a better time for adapting and ultimately using Scrum in a non-software setting. With that in mind, let’s […]

Originating from the Japanese term “Gembutsu,” “Gemba Walk” is essentially a lean management practice that has an organization’s leadership visiting the “actual place” where work is done. This might be a factory or an office, but the goal is to give company leadership an inside view of how things are going, as well as enabling […]

Today’s marketplace is increasingly competitive, with organizations facing mounting pressure to reduce time-to-market while maintaining current quality standards. For Six Sigma practitioners, the answer is relatively simple to reduce shipping times, and involves the integration of Agile teachings and techniques. By taking a systematic approach toward iterative development, defect prevention, and integrating continuous improvement, organizations […]

Going from Waterfall to Scrum is a tall order, but is easily achieved with the right mindset and approach. You can’t just drop and turn tail, you’ve got to ease into things to the best of your ability. Scrum is a flexible approach to project management, putting people well before any processes or technology. This […]

The Scrum Guide is something of a living document, undergoing frequent revisions and changes to better suit the changes of today’s business needs. The most recent edition of the guide is the 2020 one, authored by Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland. Now, for the average person, this is a fairly dense document, in part thanks […]

One of the world’s most common and best-known quality improvement methodologies, Six Sigma, is seemingly everywhere. Developed in the mid-1980s, it reduces the likelihood of defects and ensures that organizations or businesses use quality management techniques that directly lead to bottom-line profit improvements.  As a result, there is always a question about how directly an […]

What major changes in BPR implementation is your organization struggling with? Like it or not, sometimes implementing something new can lead to some real hurdles to overcome. Often, these can be minor speed bumps in the road, and an adjustment can get things back on track. However, BPR is quite drastic by design, and this […]

What role does leadership play in your BPR efforts? BPR is a drastic and often massive change to business processes. The concept of a clean slate isn’t just touted about, but followed through on. As such, it has its own sort of demands to consider when undergoing a BPR initiative. Leadership plays a key role […]

No matter what total quality management or quality management system you want to implement, one truth is that leadership will be required for success. No matter why an organization wants to adopt a new process or methodology, if leadership isn’t fully on board, any attempts to change are dead on arrival.  This is no less […]

Process time vs. cycle time is a discussion that comes up often for newcomers to Six Sigma. Understanding these principles and how they apply to your time management is vital. Failing to grasp these concepts can negatively affect your bottom line . What is Process Time? Process time describes the interval required for a product […]

How do you calculate the overall standard deviation of multiple groups or samples? You can’t just add them up and divide by the number of groups, like you do with averages. Let’s see how we can do it correctly.

You’ve done the difficult task of conducting a business process reengineering effort, but how do you quantify the results? BPR is a very drastic practice, and can be somewhat more difficult to measure than you might think. When you consider the scope and depth of a BPR project, cleanly pointing out tangible benefits might seem […]

When you examine the various management philosophies that exist today, there truly is something for everyone. From Six Sigma to Lean to Kanban, there are numerous options for businesses to choose from. Among the choices is the Theory of Constraints, a system introduced in the 1980s by Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt.  In this case, the […]

Kanban makes for a wonderful complementary tool in your Agile workflows. If you’re looking to optimize your software delivery workflow, then looking at a visual means of organization is a great way of keeping things centered on continuous flow. Further, it fits right into the somewhat looser principles around Agile, which focus primarily on results. […]

Agile isn’t supposed to be a state of permanent urgency. For many organizations, however, this proves to be the case. They undergo a relentless cycle of sprints, reviews, and backlog cleaning sessions that generate motion but don’t maintain any sort of long-term progress. Deliverables are shipped, processes are iterated upon, and the organization stays stagnant. […]

Leveraging the Theory of Constraints for software development is easier than you think. While we often think of ToC as an approach geared toward physical goods, like manufacturing, it is widely applicable to disparate industries like software. The principles behind the approach focus on increasing throughput, and that is an area where software development can […]

Integration of Hoshin Kanri into an Agile workplace can seem somewhat daunting at first glance, given how disparate both approaches are. However, teams on the hunt for a hybrid approach that emphasizes strategic planning might find this combination to be just what the doctor ordered. It does take a deft hand when it comes to […]

Sometimes, a business process simply isn’t tenable. No matter what you try to do with improvements and initiatives, it won’t respond how you want. In scenarios like this, it can be difficult to think of a solid method of recourse. Business process reengineering is a drastic means of completely redesigning a business process from the […]

When most people stop and think about what the Lean methodology is doing in the real world, it’s often viewed as a step-by-step approach to a problem. This means that a company is taking incremental steps toward a fix that is usually the result of identifying a wasteful aspect of its business operations or manufacturing. […]

How do you tailor Six Sigma for software? When it comes to modern businesses, things are all about the speed of delivery. The faster you’re able to deliver upon your customer’s demands, the faster you’re able to move on to the next project. That doesn’t focus on quality necessarily, but rather the reality of your […]

In the world of Lean Six Sigma, no term may be as familiar and associated with this process methodology as that of a “black belt.” Anyone who is even remotely aware of what Lean Six Sigma is knows that individuals who achieve “black belt” status are change agents and problem solvers who can look at […]

Are you making use of legal Lean at your law firm? It might seem counterintuitive at first glance, but there is some serious potential when it comes to using the methodology for streamlining your legal processes. It takes some adaptation, sure, but like any methodology, you’re going to be tailoring it to better suit the […]