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What is performance in the workplace judged upon? What makes an exceptional worker? Being able to boil down the most important features is key to pinpointing the expectations of a worker’s performance. These key features are the critical elements. Overview: What is a critical element? A critical element can be defined as an aspect of […]

If you look at the dashboard of your car, you will see a display of the current real-time status of important metrics. You can do the same thing with your business metrics.

Unfortunately, sometimes your process produces unacceptable output. These are usually referred to as defects or defectives. Let’s examine what a defective item is and contrast it with a defect. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a defective as: having a defect or flaw or imperfect in form, structure, or function. Simply put, a defect is a flaw […]

Having a continuous approach in your organization can be both positive and negative, depending on what it is in regard to. When it comes to improvement, being continuous is ideal. Striving for continuous improvement in your organization furthers the success of your company. Striving for continuity in other aspects, however, can be detrimental. Overview: What […]

Competition for products and services is cutthroat, and survival should not be taken for granted. Implementing continuous improvement into your organisation and embedding it into your business culture keeps you one step ahead of the pack, locking in both customer and employee loyalty.

Would you expect the average of a sample to be the same as the average of the population from which it came? No. Why not? Because of randomness and sampling error. How should we handle that? Let’s find out.

Listening to and engaging with your customer gives a powerful and unique insight into what your products and services should deliver to be successful. By developing a number of Critical to Customer requirements, you can build a strong foundation for customer satisfaction and commercial success.

The famed statistician, Dr. W. Edwards Deming, frequently talked about data and said, “Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion.” Let’s learn some more about data. Data refers to any information, facts, or statistics that can be collected, stored, and analyzed. It can be in the form of numbers, text, images, audio, or […]

The general concept of developing relationships with customers is certainly not strange to the business world. However, leveraging tailored digital solutions to take this concept to the next level in practice is relatively new. Modern CRM leverages digital infrastructure and tools to improve how businesses interact with people. Overview: What is customer relationship management? CRM […]

Understanding continuous data will give you an advantage that is critical to successful process analysis. This article will explain the crucial role of continuous data in process improvement.

Some companies struggle to operate within budget because they do not understand the difference between what is possible in theory and what’s possible given the constraints of their business. Knowing the how, when, and why about setting cost related targets helps gain that understanding and is crucial to knowing what systems are realistically capable of.

Defects are products or services that fail to meet customer requirements. By understanding defects created, we can work to reduce or eliminate them and ensure customer satisfaction.

Cost of poor quality, also known as COPQ, are the direct and indirect costs associated with the defects generated by a process. COPQ impacts the financial bottom line in both the short and long term, so it’s important to address quality errors in a timely manner.

When you make improvements to your processes, that is not enough. It is important to put measures in place that ensure that the work that has been done can be sustained.In the DMAIC process, your problem is defined, measurements are taken, analysis occurs, and improvements are made. After all of this, comes the final control […]

When doing hypothesis testing, there is a risk of making two types of errors. One of them is the consumer’s risk, which is when the null hypothesis is rejected when it shouldn’t have been. 

Lean Six Sigma is a process improvement methodology that uses data to identify and solve problems in business processes. One of the main tools used in Lean Six Sigma is the process flow diagram, which is used to map out the steps in a process and identify where waste occurs. The diagram can be used […]

No two snowflakes are alike, goes the old saying. Variation is everywhere. But, is some variation predictable and due to the variation in your process, while some is not? Common cause variation is a part of every process. Let’s learn more about it. 

There are some set characteristics that make something what it is. We look for common characteristics that make a door a door. We look for certain characteristics in order to be able to call a type of vehicle a car. There are set characteristics for most common things that, when looked at together as a […]

C-level has a vastly different definition than sea level. One refers to the levels of senior management in an organization and the other is a measure of elevation. Let’s explore this in a little more detail. When walking through the halls of your organization’s offices, have you heard someone say, “Hey Chief”? Does that mean […]

See Cost of Non-Conformance.

Good communication is one of the most important qualities to have if you want to succeed in business. For various reasons, this quality is often overlooked. None of us exist in a bubble. All of us find it necessary to communicate with others in our business lives at some point or another. Communicating well is […]

“Business value added” refers to the actions the customer may not directly be requiring, but that are necessary for you to stay in business over time. There are safety, preventative, and legal requirements that necessitate these tasks.

Organizations love to talk in terms of averages. They talk about average sales, average units produced, or the average time to complete an invoice. But, is that adequate? Let’s explore other measures of central tendency and answer that question.

Finding the center point of your data set can be deceptively simple. There are a few different methods that you should be aware of when determining the central tendency, which come into play depending on the nature of your data. Determining the center point of your data set can be helpful in a variety of […]

Is there a relationship between wearing your seatbelt and whether or not you survive an auto accident? Is there a relationship between studying and whether you pass an exam? These are the types of questions a Chi-Square Test can answer.

This is what I want! This is what I need! This is how I want it to perform! You need to embark upon a process to take your customers’ qualitative wants and needs and translate them into specific customer requirements. 

Does your organization have a centralized department or function that monitors and tracks the performance of your operations relative to your customers? If you do, let’s see what it might be doing. The term “Customer Operations Performance Center” is not a widely recognized or standardized term, so its exact meaning may vary depending on the […]

If you look at the dashboard of your car, you will see information related to the car’s performance and the progress of your journey. When you look at your business dashboard, you can see examples of similar information.  

Early on in our educational development, most of us received a simple worksheet that explained cause and effect. The importance of what causes are and the effects that come from them did not end in childhood but is important as an adult too, especially in the business world. Knowing what the causes are for the […]

Often organizations do a root cause analysis after a problem has occurred. Is there something you can do as a preventive action prior to something happening. Let’s learn more about CAPA. Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) is a systematic approach used in various industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, and quality management, to identify and address the […]

Businesses need structure in order to operate properly. This need for structure extends into nearly all aspects of an organization, including who holds the decision rights. In your organization, it is necessary for the procedures behind how processes and projects are implemented to be clear and definitive. Choosing the appropriate owner of the decision rights […]

Balanced experiments are a common class of designed experiment where the factors that are manipulated are set at levels that occur equally within each level of the other factors. This setup provides several advantages, including the need for few experimental runs, lack of correlation between factors, and simplicity.

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Such is the case with a box plot. This simple graph can be used to describe many things about your data. Let’s see how.

All decisions carry some risk of being wrong. The management of that risk will reduce your downsides. Beta risk is one of the risks associated with hypothesis testing. Let’s learn a little more about it.

In the context of Lean Six Sigma, we can talk about bias in the context of measurement and statistics. Minimizing or eliminating bias in your measurement data and statistical analysis should be a goal. Let’s explore the many types, sources, and impact of bias. 

Blocking doesn’t always refer to football. It can also apply to Design of Experiments. Let’s explore how that works.

Bar charts are one of the most common ways to display information in a visual format, so it’s a popular choice in all kinds of media. Most business presentations have at least one of them in the mix and they are scattered throughout most high school textbooks. That’s why the ability to comprehend and use […]

When determining how to apply Six Sigma methodology to your business, you do not need to reinvent the wheel. A lot of research, testing, and work has already been put in to sort out some common best practices that are proven to work for most organizations. In any industry, there are others that have come […]

During the Six Sigma Improvement Stage of DMAIC, you will need to develop strategies and ideas for improving your process. There are three steps to coming up with viable improvement solutions. These steps are idea generation, organization, and assessment.  Brainstorming can be defined as a structured method of generating unconstrained ideas/ solutions and gaining engagement/involvement […]

There is only one way for businesses to stay relevant in today’s world, and that is to constantly seek for opportunities for change. This concept can get and keep you in that mindset.

Back-dating is like starting at the center of a maze and working your way outwards instead of starting at the normal exterior point. This term describes a type of scheduling process entirely oriented around established dates for final deliverables. Back-dating may seem like doing things backwards, but it’s actually the logical and often necessary perspective […]

Capacity refers to how much work a company can take on and how fast it can grow. To improve efficiency and reduce waste, learn how to pay attention to your maximum output and how to manipulate it.

Similar to the way a Black Belt denotes a certain competency in martial arts, the Certified Six Sigma Black Belt indicates someone who has demonstrated competence in techniques and principles of Six Sigma.

See Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

The capability maturity model (CMM) was conceived during the 1980s as a way to improve the way US government departments interfaced with technical contractors. The rapid onset and development of computer technology forced many agencies, including the Department of Defense, to develop a new model to adapt to the more demanding and fast-paced nature of […]

With any business, it is important to be able to separate yourself from the competition to gain an advantage. This can be anything from running your operations with greater efficiency to being able to differentiate the attributes of your product from those of your rivals. Having a competitive advantage and being able to maintain it […]

Is Chaku Chaku a real word or the sound of machines loading and unloading parts? It turns out that Chaku Chaku is Japanese for load load and a system of loading and unloading parts from a machine. Let’s explore this a little deeper.

Concept engineering is how you measure twice and cut once. It’s how you learn from mistakes before you make them. This practice is a way to consider problems and possibilities that may emerge from initial design to final production.

Data collection doesn’t always have to be a complex process. A simple check sheet can allow you to capture relevant data in a graphical format for initial interpretation of your process or for in-depth analysis later.

Probability is defined as how likely a particular event or outcome is. When there is an impactful workplace event, you will likely want to examine the probability of it occurring again, whether that event is positive or negative. In order to reasonably determine future probability, one must look at the circumstances surrounding the event. Almost […]