Posts in category Six Sigma

To be bell-shaped with a distribution means that most of the values are in the center, and fewer and fewer values tail out to either side symmetrically. Use:  If you …

Binomial data are based on the existence of only two mutually-exclusive outcomes (or categories). These two outcomes are commonly referred to in statistics as successes and failures. In industry applications, …

For the binomial experiment, you need to have four things. A fixed number of trials. The number of trials need to be independent The probability of success on every trial …

Quite often we need to measure two characteristics on each sampled item. When this is the case – when we collect two pieces of information (measuring two variables) on each …

The Black Belt is generally a full-time process improvement position within an organization. It might be full time, but it many times is a temporary position – perhaps a two-year …

Business Process Management (BPM) is more of a holistic management approach (as compared to Six Sigma) focusing on aligning all aspects of an organization with the wants and needs of …

While brainstorming is a widely accepted technique in the business world, it’s absolutely crucial when using Lean Six Sigma. Project team leaders with expertise in how to apply Lean Six …

A business case is one of the major components of the project charter. The other two major components include the problem statement and the project scope. The business case describes, …

A cause/effect diagram was first known by the name fishbone diagram because it looks like the skeleton of a fish. It was first made popular by Dr. Ishikawa back in the late 1970s and early 80s. Usually the cause/effect diagram is drawn on a large whiteboard or a large flipchart. The effect is usually written at the 3 o’clock position. A horizontal line divides the whiteboard into two equal parts.

A project charter is a document that contains the basic elements (i.e., business case, problem statement, and scope) of the improvement project and answers the following questions:

1. The business case describes what the project does, how it impacts the strategic business objectives, is used as a motivational tool that describes why the project is worth doing, and it explains the consequences of not doing the project.

2. The problem statement is specific and measurable (quantifiable). It is an indication of how long the problem has existed, describes the impact to the organization, and describes the gap between the current state and the desired state.

3. The scope defines what the team is going to focus their process improvement efforts on, and it will identify those things that are out of scope so that the team doesn’t creep toward areas that are beyond the initial intent of the project.