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Steven Bonacorsi - EzineArticles.com Expert Author
Steven Bonacorsi is a Senior Master Black Belt instructor and coach. Steven Bonacorsi has trained hundreds of Master Black Belts, Black Belts, Green Belts, and Project Sponsors and Executive Leaders in Lean Six Sigma DMAIC and Design for Lean Six Sigma process improvement methodologies.
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- Benefits of Lean Six Sigma
[Business:Change-Management] I have personally have seen that senior management in many organizations view Lean Six Sigma as another quality improvement initiative or flavor of the month. We are often told by many engineers and managers in small and big companies that there is nothing really new in Lean Six Sigma compared to other quality initiatives we have witnessed in the past.
- Lean Six Sigma in a Tight Economy
[Business:Management] One popular Lean Six Sigma argument holds that Lean Six Sigma prospers in both good and bad times. In good times companies want to expand. They expand, acquire other companies, and enter new lines of business. In bad times, companies reexamine their processes and their business models to see how they can save money. In either case, they need Lean Six Sigma practitioners to help them change their processes.
- The Quest For World Class Quality
[Business:Change-Management] A Six Sigma company is a world class company. It is not just better than its competitors; it is 10,000 times better. It takes a commitment from everyone to reach such lofty goals.
- Mistake Proofing Overview
[Business:Change-Management] Mistake proofing is a technique for eliminating errors. It is based upon the premise that it is good to do something right the first time; it is even better to make it impossible to do it wrong the first time. The idea is to make it impossible to make a mistake. You may also hear the term, Poka-Yoke or Error Proofing applied to mistake proofing.
- Kansei Engineering - Translation of Consumers Voice Into Product Designs
[Reference-and-Education] Kansei is a Japanese that describes the psychological feeling or image of a product from the customer perspective. Kansei engineering refers to the translation of consumers' psychological feeling, including how the information is recorded, about a product or service into design elements.
- Prioritization Matrices
[Business:Change-Management] This tool can help you decide what to do after key actions, criteria or Critical To Quality (CTQ) characteristics have been identified, but their relative importance (priority) is not known with certainty. Prioritization matrices are especially useful if problem-solving resources, such as people, time or money, are limited, or if the identified problem-solving actions or CTQs are strongly interrelated.
- Brainstorming and SWOT Analysis
[Business:Sales-Management] Brainstorming is a term used to describe a creative thinking session. The aim is to gather as many ideas and possible solutions to a problem as possible. The results will depend entirely on the reason for the brainstorming session and the group of people participating.
- Critical Path Mapping with Activity Network Diagrams
[Business:Management] The activity network diagram has had a relatively long history, dating back to the 1930s. In the 1950s, the technique emerged as the Program Evaluation Research Technique (PERT) and as the Critical Path Method (CPM). There are several ways to represent the output of the PERT/CPM process.
- Box Plots
[Business:Management] Although box-and-whisker diagrams present less information than histograms or dot plots, they do say a lot about distribution, location and spread of the represented data. They are particularly valuable because several box plots can be placed next to each other in a single diagram for easy comparison of multiple data sets.
- Dot Plots
[Reference-and-Education] A dot plot graphically records variable data in such a way that it forms a picture of the combined effect of the random variation inherent in a process and the influence of any special causes acting on it. To understand the power of dot plots as a basic tool, it first helps to visualize how variation occurs. Sometimes, statisticians explain random variation by using a device called a quincunx.
- Run Charts
[Business:Change-Management] Run charts can be very valuable in helping your search for sources of variation. They are easy to plot and easy to interpret. The sampling is uncomplicated, and there are no statistical computations to make. They can also be applied to almost any process or any data.
- Scatter Diagrams
[Business:Productivity] A scatter diagram shows the correlation between two variables in a process. These variables could be a Critical-To-Quality (CTQ) characteristic and a factor affecting it, two factors affecting a CTQ or two related quality characteristics. Dots representing data points are scattered on the diagram. The extent to which the dots cluster together in a line across the diagram shows the strength with which the two factors are related.
- How to Construct Histograms
[Business:Change-Management] An important aspect of total quality is the identification and control of all the sources of variation so that processes produce essentially the same result again and again. A histogram is a tool that allows you to understand at a glance the variation that exists in a process. Although the histogram is essentially a bar chart, it creates a "lumpy distribution curve" that can be used to help identify and eliminate the causes of process variation.
- Affinity Diagrams
[Business:Change-Management] The affinity diagram is a management and planning tool. Use of this tool is based on the understanding that time invested in planning will produce remarkable dividends as the generated ideas and plans are acted upon and implemented.
- Cause-and-Effect Diagrams
[Business:Change-Management] Quality problems are typically not simple. They often involve the complex interaction of several causes. A cause-and-effect diagram will help you to define and display the major causes, sub-causes and root causes that influence a process or a characteristic. Provide a focus for discussion and consensus. Visualize the possible relationships between causes which may be creating problems or defects.
- Pareto Charts
[Business:Management] Pareto (pa-RAY-toe) analysis is named after Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1897, he presented a formula that showed that income was distributed unevenly, with about 80% of the wealth in the hands of about 20% of the people.
- Process Mapping with Flowcharts
[Business:Productivity] A flowchart is an outline or schematic drawing of the process your team is trying to measure or improve. It can also be a picture of an ideal process that you would like to use.
- What is Six Sigma?
[Business:Change-Management] The concepts surrounding the drive to Six Sigma quality are essentially those of statistics and probability. In simple language, these concepts boil down to, "How confident can I be that what I planned to happen actually will happen?" Basically, the concept of Six Sigma deals with measuring and improving how close we come to delivering on what we planned to do.
- What is Lean?
[Business:Change-Management] Lean is a methodology that is used to accelerate the velocity and reduce the cost of any process (be it service or manufacturing) by removing waste. Lean is founded on a mathematical result known as Little's Law...
- Benchmarking for Lean Six Sigma Businesses or Processes for Projects
[Business:Change-Management] Benchmarking is simple as a concept but much more involved as a process. The ultimate payoff is that you can become the best of what you do, and continuously improve upon that superiority.
- Scatter Diagram
[Business:Strategic-Planning] To control variation in any process, it is absolutely essential that you understand which causes are generating which effects. By knowing which elements of your process are related and how they are related, you will know what to control or what to vary to affect a quality characteristic.
- TPC Analysis
[Business:Change-Management] TPC Analysis seeks to identify, label and understand sources of resistance as either Technical, Political, or Cultural. Building off the Key Constituents Map Template and Attitude Charting Template, This tool helps the team to more clearly understand the nature of the resistance they will likely face and begin to developed a strategy to eliminate or lessen it.
- Quick Wins
[Business:Management] This article reviews the criteria of a Quick Win, Just-Do-It, or No Brainer process improvement. Using Lean Six Sigma tools and methods we can identify the areas of opportunity to accelerate results, build project momentum, and create project buy-in.
- How to Identify and Select a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt
[Business:Careers-Employment] Black Belts have typically completed four weeks or 160 hours of Lean Six Sigma training, and have demonstrated mastery of the subject matter through the completion of project(s) (usually a minimum of 2 projects) and an exam (usually a pass of 80%). Black Belts coach Green Belts and receive coaching and support from Master Black Belts. It is generally expected that a Black Belt will move into a Master Black Belt or significant business role after the Black Belt assignment is completed in 18 months to three years.
- Becoming a Lean Business
[Business:Management] In 1937, Toyoda Motor Company Ltd. Is created from the Toyoda Automatic Loom Works fledgling automotive department. Kiichiro Toyoda builds a plant at Koromo and through the imbalance caused by piece work, hangs a sign in his new production shop that reads JUST-IN-TIME. At about this same time... Henry Ford has moved his production philosophy for subassemblies to a batch - and - queue , mass production system by implementing Process Villages... a move Ford still struggles to recover from today.
- Defining Innovation
[Business:Entrepreneurialism] What is Innovation? How do we recognize Innovation from the status quo? The article includes many reputatble definitions offered over the years.
- Process Modeling and Simulation
[Business:Strategic-Planning] Companies practicing Lean Six Sigma without process modeling and simulation techniques need to consider what these practices can provide in terms of risk-analysis and decision-making by modeling the probabilistic behavior of a system, process or service.
- What Is a Confidence Interval?
[Reference-and-Education] Confidence intervals help us determine the likely range of the population parameter. We know that when we take the average of a sample, it is probably not exactly the same as the average of the population.
- Measurement System Analysis (MSA)
[Business:Change-Management] Is the Measurement process good enough to guide process improvement efforts and to meet customer needs? Lean Six Sigma conducts a Measurement System Analysis (MSA) during the Measure and often the Improve phase to ensure data collection is accutate.
- Operational Definitions
[Business:Management] Operational Definitions apply to MANY things we encounter every day. While here we are focused on operational definitions in the context of measurement, the concept applies equally well to "operationally defining" a customer requirement, a procedure, a regulation - or anything else that benefits from clear, unambiguous understanding.
- Data Collection Plan
[Business:Change-Management] Data Collection Plans are used in the Measure Phase of Lean Six Sigma projects. For each performance measure (Y), update a data collection plan to:
- Attitude Charting
[Business:Negotiation] Attitude Charting helps a team becomes more focused in its analysis and more pointed in its discussion of the nature of the support and resistance to the change initiative.
Each population of constituents from the pie chart is described as some mix of four groups:
- Key Constituents Map
[Business:Strategic-Planning] Key Constituents Map seeks to identify and label key clusters of constituents who will be impacted by the change initiative. Using a simple pie chart model, constituent groups are identified and analyzed in terms of their relative interest/ involvement in the change effort.
- RACI Diagram
[Business:Team-Building] RACI is a process step, task, activity, effort, decision or inspection to determine who is Accountable, Responsible, Informed or Consulted. A simple tool to aid in communications, project management, roles and responsibilities, and task allocation.
- Communication Plan
[Communications] Effective communication plans must have a consistent formal process, be simple and understood by all, contain current information, and have a feedback loop built into the process. Effective Communications must have the following characteristics:
- Influence Strategy
[Business:Team-Building] Once the team knows who the key stakeholders are, the difficult task of figuring out a strategy to win their support begins. The simple Influence Strategy planning tool can help the team assess the issues and concerns of each stakeholder who must be moved to a higher level of support for the project, and identify a strategy for doing so.
- Process Balancing
[Business:Productivity] "Process Balancing" is a procedure whereby a set of process steps are "equalized" in terms of time required to accomplish them. Process balancing tools are used where the process is contained in a defined area.
- Multi-Generation Project Plan
[Business:Change-Management] What Is a Multi-Generation Project Plan? A Multi-Generation Project Plan is a vehicle to help focus the project team's energies on a manageable project scope that can be completed relatively quickly.
- SWOT Analysis
[Business:Strategic-Planning] A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) is a tool used to provide a general or detailed snapshot of a company's health. Think of your SWOT as a tune-up that every business needs periodically to diagnose and fix what's a bit worn, what's on the verge of breaking down, or what's already broken and needs replacement--so that you can keep the business humming-even better than it has in the past.
- Team Effectiveness
[Business:Team-Building] Lean Six Sigma Team Selection, Team Effectiveness, and Team Guidelines. Ensure that meetings have useful content.
- Responsibility Grid
[Business:Change-Management] Responsibility Grid - A useful tool to help the project team sort out "who will do what" in terms of decision making. Based on the theory that not all constituents have the same vested interest in the decisions the team will make, it can help the team identify the areas where they need to be "politically" sensitive to the needs and desires of various groups and individuals as they relate to activities (execution), decisions and milestones of the project.
- Quality Control Process Chart and Standardization
[Business:Change-Management] A Quality Control (QC) Process Chart is a tool that helps you document Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) activities for the process. The Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle is a well-known model for CPI.
- Process Simulation
[Business:Change-Management] One of the greatest complaints we hear from senior managers is "projects are successfully completed, but I'm not seeing a significant change to the bottom line." Lean Six Sigma uses Process Modeling to create a simple simulated model of the process.
- Voice Of The Customer
[Business:Customer-Service] The "Voice of the Customer" in a Lean Six Sigma project is a process used to capture the requirements/feedback from the customer (internal or external) to provide them with best-in-class service/product quality. The "Voice of the Customer" is the term used to describe the stated and unstated needs or requirements of the customer.
- Elements of Define (DMAIC)
[Business:Management] Are you looking to manage your business more effectively? Try using the Lean Six Sigma Define phase. It is for the project team to complete an analysis of what the project should accomplish and confirm understanding with the sponsor.
- 5 Whys Analysis
[Business:Change-Management] 5 Why Analysis helps to quickly identify the root cause of a problem. It helps determine the relationship between different root causes of a problem. It can be learned quickly and doesn't require statistical analysis to be used.
- Elements of Analyze (DMAIC)
[Business:Management] In the Lean Six Sigma Analyze phase you will develop theories of root causes, confirm the theories with data, and finally identify the root cause(s) of the problem.
- Control Charts v Run Charts
[Business:Management] Run charts (often known as line graphs outside the quality management field) display process performance over time. There are many different subspecies of control charts which can be applied to the different types of process data which are typically available.
- Elements of Measure (DMAIC) & Prioritization Matrix
[Business:Management] One of the major benefits of Six Sigma is its demand for a fact-based and data-driven analytical approach. Most other improvement methodologies, including Lean, tend to attempt process improvement without sufficient data to understand the underlying causes of the problem.
- Kano Model & Critical-To-Quality Tree
[Business:Management] The Kano model is based on the concepts of customer quality and provides a simple ranking scheme which distinguishes between essential and differentiating attributes.
- Lean Six Sigma
[Business:Management] What sets Lean Six Sigma apart from its individual components is the recognition that you cannot do "just quality" or "just speed," you need the balanced process that can help an organization to focus on improving service quality, as defined by the customer within a set time limit.
- Six Sigma
[Business:Management] Six Sigma is a management technique that aims to develop and deliver near perfect products and services. Six Sigma can be used in service industries as easily as it can be used in manufacturing as proven by organizations such as GE, Bank of America, and Dupont.
- Chi-Square Analysis for Attribute Data
[Reference-and-Education] Chi-Squared test is used to determine if there is a statistically significant difference in the proportions for different groups. The probability density curve of a chi-square distribution is asymmetric curve stretching over the positive side of the line and having a long right tail.
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