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Many times, a company is required to do a root cause analysis once a defect or bug is found in the software system it has developed and released to customers. Such an approach is not only costly, but almost without exception results in customer dissatisfaction. What is needed is a proactive approach to understand the […]

Six Sigma is changing the way the marketing function in an organization operates today. Consider the following marketing scenario at a company which manufactures consumer-packaged goods: During an emergency marketing meeting, the market research division discloses that its Brand X, which has recently lost market share, is rated a poor value by consumers in the […]

Virtua Health System has applied Six Sigma, change acceleration process and Work-out across its four-hospital system in New Jersey since 2000. Recently, as the institution was co-sponsoring and serving as a training ground for a Lean seminar, it was adding Lean to its process improvement toolkit. About Summit Surgical Center The Summit Surgical Center is […]

When assessing areas of satisfaction within a company’s improvement program, a quadrant plot comparing importance versus performance of those areas can visually show Six Sigma project leaders where they should focus their efforts.

When a Six Sigma project is unsuccessful, a common cause of the failure is a poor project selection process. Compounding the problem of project failure, incorrect and inappropriate projects transmit a negative message to the organization about Six Sigma and can lead to the impression that the methodology is not applicable to all types of […]

Software project managers, who are responsible for shepherding software projects to completion, often feel like they are on a cross-country trip with several youngsters in the back seat. It seems like every few minutes someone asks, “Are we there yet?” Cycle time for a software project is usually understood to mean the elapsed calendar time […]

More than ever, companies today realize the importance of measurement – everything from measuring performance to measuring gap closure – in order to achieve goals. Measurement is the process of estimating the ratio of the magnitude of a quantity to a unit of the same type. A measurement is the result of such a process, normally expressed […]

Why Do Professional Employees Leave Their Jobs?

Océ Introduces Comprehensive Performance Management Solution for Outsourced Document Services

All Six Sigma teams are groups of individuals, but not all groups of individuals have the cohesiveness of a team. Teams outperform individuals because they generate a special energy. This energy develops as team members work together, fusing their personal energies and talents to deliver tangible performance results. The behavioral descriptors of a successful team […]

The DMAIC toolkit is excellent for solving technical complexity problems. However, you may have noticed that Lean Six Sigma is not as adept at helping solve people problems. The solution is an integrated DMIAC/change management roadmap.

Readers may be familiar with the results of a survey on the integration of Six Sigma and information technology (IT) published by iSixSigma Magazine in its May/June issue. The survey, conducted and analyzed by Michael Marx, research manager of iSixSigma, revealed four important truths which provide meaningful insight to any organization attempting to apply Six […]

At the Measure phase, improvement project leaders are confronted with the question: What is the most effective, efficient way to identify the data needed and to perform analysis of the data during the Measure and Analyze phases of the DMAIC method?

It is not unusual to find that a few years down the road, the results from a Lean Six Sigma deployment are not quite as good as what a company hoped or expected. What often helps in that situation is a formal deployment review, conducted in much the same way as a tollgate review on […]

Decisioneering Services to Provide Clients With Risk Analysis Expertise

Peabody Chooses SixNet for Six Sigma Project Management

Value Metrics Extend Lean Thinking into the Demand Chain

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and more than 900,000 people annually are diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) have identified AMI as one of the early priority focus areas for hospital […]

When confronted by concerns of some physicians about frequent lengthy delays that they experienced admitting patients, Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital in Houston, Texas, assembled a cross-functional Six Sigma team to identify and address any underlying issues that might be causing the delays. The business case for pursuing the project was clear. Improving bed management and […]

  “Invention is 2 percent inspiration, and 98 percent perspiration.” – Thomas Edison How much productive and creative potential of its personnel does a business utilize today? An informal poll across a wide range of industries suggests it is less than 20 percent. Why? How people are led, managed and supervised is part of the […]

ROI On Six Sigma Programs Directly Related to Investment Size, Survey Shows

Major changes in the business environment are forcing organizations to revisit and revamp business strategy on a more frequent basis. To stay competitive 20 years ago, a six- or eight-year strategy cycle may have been sufficient. Today, thanks to globalization, increasing shareholder pressures, enhanced corporate governance, shorter product and service lifecycles, and the exponential growth […]

One of the keys to successful deployment of Six Sigma are Green Belts and Black Belts who are well-trained and equipped to overcome any hurdles in the execution of projects. While Master Black Belts, Champions and sponsors may decide the overall strategy of an organization’s Six Sigma initiative, it is the Green Belts and Black […]

Many a company has gotten caught up in the enthusiasm that comes with a great-sounding new idea. It is great when that idea turns into a profitable new product or service. But it can be a disaster when a lot time and money is invested only to end up with a dud. How great would […]

Process owners are a vital part of successful DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) and DFSS (Design for Six Sigma) projects. Process owners are responsible for the management of processes within the organization. In some cases process owners are current leaders/managers, and in other cases process owners may be taken from non-leadership positions. They are the […]

Juran Institute and Thinking Dimensions Group of South Africa Sign Strategic Alliance Agreement

Six Sigma Software Plugs MINITAB® into Factory Data inRealTimetm

Lean Six Sigma Consulting Firm Enters the Small Business Administration’s Business Development Program

Perot Systems and Six Sigma Advantage, Inc. Team to Provide Process Improvement and Six Sigma Services

New Version of Crystal Ball Gives Quality Practitioners Capability Metrics Alongside Simulation and Optimization

While it is essential for a company to create familiarity with Lean and Six Sigma disciplines by training employees, it is even more important to integrate Lean Six Sigma into the company change culture. Lean Six Sigma should be a key component of the organization’s change infrastructure supporting all projects and change initiatives from the […]

Breakthrough Management Group (BMG) a global leader in performance excellence devoted to helping organizations systematically improve their processes and increase innovative capabilities today announced its Founder and CEO, David Silverstein, has joined the ranks of Inc.com’s Experts-In-Residence as the Innovation Expert for its “Operations Resource Center.”

The power of the test is the measure of how good a hypothesis test is. A “good” test should reject a null hypothesis when it is false and accept it when it is true.

MoreSteam Declares Independence

Several documented approaches are available for business and IT leaders to use when considering implementing the best practices of the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), or the Software Engineering Institute’s capability maturity model integration (CMMI) or Lean Six Sigma as individual methodologies or frameworks. There also are some references that suggest how to use the […]

Bankers and Marines Train Together

The theory of constraints (TOC) is relatively easy to understand. It is a philosophy of management based on the idea that to improve a system or process one must find and address the one aspect of the system that most limits the entire process from being optimum. But getting from the theory to application is not […]

Since the start of the information technology age, software quality has been an ambiguous term, meaning different things to different people. It has been defined internally from the viewpoint of software developers; and it has been defined externally from the viewpoint of end users of the software. But either way, early in the history of […]

Many consultants remember the hypothesis testing roadmap, which was a great template for deciding what type of test to perform. However, think about the type of data one gets. What if there is only summarized data? How can that data be used to make conclusions? Having the raw data is the best case scenario, but […]

Robert Pirsig’s 1974 book about the metaphysics of quality entitled Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance relates a father’s journey with his son, during which are delivered ideas of quality, philosophy and formal dialogue against the backdrop of a good old American road trip, all from the seat of a motorcycle. His allegory for […]

Breakthrough Management Group Announces Its Newest Problem Solving Skills Course: Innovation Tools for Black Belts

The Six Sigma DMAIC roadmap can provide a disciplined process for creating and executing successful business strategies.

One of the key success factors of Six Sigma is the ability to set up and run an interdisciplinary, multi-skilled and management-supported process improvement team. A Six Sigma project team – like any small team of workers asked to effect change in their organization – is expected to help promote a culture of innovation and spontaneity […]

Little more than five years after launching an ambitious, system-wide Six Sigma improvement initiative, Virtua Health in New Jersey, USA, is now considered a high-performing healthcare organization and a model for others to follow.

Most companies do a good job of selecting Black Belts candidates, however, many overlook psychological aspects of candidates. This factor is important because deployment Black Belts, in particular, have an unusual amount of stress put on them.

While Micropump, which manufactures small-volume, precision-flow, sealed pumps, has been in business for 46 years and has been owned by IDEX Corporation for 11 years, it is in the last several years that innovations in its product line have accelerated rapidly. The reason is because now there is more cash to finance research and development […]

When Berkshire Medical Center found its emergency services stretched thin and the community began feeling the impact, the hospital decided to launch a Lean Six Sigma initiative and implement a series of innovative solutions.

Online Six Sigma Training – Exclusive iSixSigma Magazine Research

Thinking of starting a Six Sigma initiative this year or next year? For any adventure, the first few steps can set the mood for the rest of the journey. The same is true for a Six Sigma deployment, in which thoughtful planning can make the difference between respectable returns or a quality quagmire. This exclusive […]

Tools and methodology will only get a person so far. Experience gained from the practical implementation of Six Sigma solutions is priceless. A list of tips, tools and suggestions for Six Sigma practitioners can help avoid many project pitfalls.