Six Sigma Test 6 (Exam Secrets Questions)

Common problems and solutions for teams

"Common problems and solutions for teams 1) Define the team roles early in the project to reduce team conflicts.(leader's role) 2) Alternatively, have team members to settle into roles as they become familiar with one another --at the risk of possible conflict 3) Team leader responsible for keeping members are not held accountable for their actions. 4) Teams should meet only when necessary but should stay in regular communication throughout a project. 5) Team leader must prevent meeting from being hijacked by members who digress, go off on tangents, or rudely reject the ideas of others. 6) Ensure sufficient number of experts on the team to prevent "Groupthink"---- team member are reluctant to disagree or do not have enough experience to come up with alternate solutions.

"Contributions of Joseph M. Juran to quality control J

"Contributions of Joseph M. Juran to quality control 1) Emphasized that quality control should be considered customer perspective. 2) Management in quality improvement process.

Focus groups

"Focus groups 1) Answers questions about the services or products of a business or provides insight into customer perceptions 2) Typical focus group format = the attendees asked to give opinions on product sample and best when when more specific and targeted information is obtained. In most cases, the members of a focus group will be compensated, but the leaders should make it clear that participants are to be honest. ***Members of a focus group may be customers or non-customers. ----> a random group of citizens or members of a target demographic.--- or people from demographics in which they do particularly well or particularly poorly (used to learn the secrets of their success or failure)

Work breakdown structure--- Creation and interpretation

Creation and interpretation 1) A work breakdown structure is created first by breaking a problem into components which are then broken down into categories. 2) Categories represent the different ways the particular problem can occur. 3) Goal of work breakdown structure= to reduce complex problems to a collection of discrete and manageable issues. ----creates a map for problem solving that can be used by members of different departments. 4) Create material for other data-organization charts such as Pareto charts.

Creation of Gantt Charts

Creation of Gantt Charts: 1) 1st = make a list of all the tasks that have to be completed in the project. 2) Decide whether some tasks may be performed simultaneously or whether some tasks require the completion of previous steps before they may be initiated. ( jobs that can be done at the same time are placed on parallel paths, and other jobs are placed in sequence.) 3) Within each parallel path, there may be serial tasks. However, if one of the parallel paths can be completed more quickly than another, then some slack time can be built in to that path.

"Central limit theorem

""Central limit theorem 1) In some cases, there will not be enough (or good enough) data to establish a distribution. 1) Apply central limit theorem is applied when the true distribution of a population is unknown. 2) The central limit theorem, in short, asserts that the probability distribution of the sample means will approach a normal distribution as the number of samples increases, provided that they are simple random samples of uniform size. 3) The central limit theorem is applied when the number of samples is relatively small or when the true distribution is unknown. a) After about thirty samples, the data should approximate a normal distribution. b) The central limit theorem is extremely useful in control charting and in the calculation of process capability.

Analytical statistics

"Analytical statistics 1) Provide information about processes in action and distinguish common- and special-cause variation. a) Common-cause variation occurs consistently and always influences data in a similar fashion. b) Special-cause variation, on the other hand, is unpredictable in its occurrence and effects. c) Statistical process control charts create an operational definition of special-cause variation by noting the location and level of variation within a subgroup at each time in the process. a) If enough subgroups can be collected, the statistical process control chart will be able to predict the location and extent of special-cause variation. b) The key feature of analytical statistics is the consideration of time, which makes it possible to pinpoint the moments in a process that need improvement. " "

"Binomial and Poisson distributions

"Binomial and Poisson distributions 1) Binomial distributions are useful when the units in a population exist in only two states.( e.g. if the only possible characteristics of a population are "off" and "on," a binomial distribution can be used to estimate the total number of "offs" and "ons" in a population.) 2) A binomial distribution only applies when trials are independent and the number of samples in the population is fixed. 3) Distributional parameter ( average proportion)= . dividing the (number of sample items that meet the condition) / (total number of items in the sample) . A Poisson distribution, on the other hand, can guess the number of times a particular condition will occur for a given process or population or the number of events in each unit. a) The distinguishing feature of the Poisson distribution is its appropriateness for situations in which the targeted condition may occur more than once in each unit. b) The Poisson distribution accurately estimates the number of events in each sample unit. As with the binomial distribution, the trials be should be independent, and the data should be composed of positive whole numbers. In a Poisson distribution, the distributional parameter is the[...]"

"Box-whisker charts

"Box-whisker charts 1) Box-whisker charts =graphs used for the comparison of summary data from numerous data sets. ( data sets may be organized by any general principle or characteristic) 2) Analyze stage,--> box-whisker charts may be used to compare the placement and characteristics of services, products, or processes. 3) Improve stage, box-whisker charts may be used to compare process performance before and after improvement efforts. **Note that box-whisker charts do not contain statistical control limits and therefore cannot be used to baseline or set statistical controls for a process. In other words, box-whisker charts are not control charts.

Cause-and-effect diagrams

"Cause-and-effect diagrams 1) Depict the reasons for a particular even or lists the causes and effects listed in distinct boxes with arrows pointing from causes to effects. a) A cause can have more than one effect, and an effect can have more than one cause. 2) Analyze stage---->, they are used to create innovative lists of possible process factors to be explored further in a designed experiment. 3) Improve stage---->, cause-and-effect diagrams are used to create lists of possible failure modes that must be considered when crafting a solution.

"Confidence interval on mean

"Confidence interval on mean 1) Assumes that the sample represents the entire population and that it has a normal distribution. 2) Assumes that the sample should be constant or stable through time. 3) Measure stage--->, an estimation of confidence interval on mean is used to estimate the process average when a process control cannot be set because of a lack of data. This process average is used for baseline estimates. 4) Analyze stage---->, an estimation of the confidence interval on mean is used to examine the similarities and differences between the sample means taken during various process conditions."

"Creation and interpretation of Fishbone diagram

"Creation and interpretation of Fishbone Diagram 1) 1st step=make a provisional list of the possible relationships between the process and the outcome. 2) Phrasing the target in terms of a problem is better than phrasing the problem in terms of a goal. 3) All of the factors that influence a main problem will branch off from that main problem. For some problems, beginning with either the four Ps (people, plants, policy, and procedures) or the 5Ms and E (measurement, material, methods, machines, manpower, and environment) will be appropriate. 4) The main causes should be connected to the problem, and subordinate clauses should be connected to the main causes. 5) In especially detailed diagrams, several hierarchical levels of causes may exist. 6) Cause-and-effect diagrams are primarily brainstorming tools, not final assessments, so it is important to include many different possible answers. 7)Once all of the causes and effects have been outlined, the group should examine the diagram to see whether certain categories exhibit a preponderance of causes. These categories may require further subdividing, or they may become targets for problem-solving efforts.

Creation and interpretation of Flow charts

"Creation and interpretation of Flow charts 1) Flowcharts simplify communication by representing each task in a sequence with a symbol. a) Most organizations endorse the use of the symbols created by the American National Standards Institute.----> diamonds= decisions and processes =rectangles. b) Use of different colors suggest departmental divisions and time distinctions. C) Look for is a preponderance of decision points, as this occurrence may lead to unnecessary delays or adverse variations. *****The goal of process improvement is to reduce complications and unnecessary lags. Therefore, the interpretation of a flowchart always should be performed with an eye toward simplifying as much as possible.

Creating Box-whisker charts

"Creation"Box-whisker charts 1) A box-whisker chart features horizontal and vertical axes. a) Whiskers= bisected box (above each mark on the horizontal axis), that extends from the top and bottom; indicate the upper and lower limits according to special formulae. b) The upper and lower edges of the box indicate the dimensions of the first and third quartiles of data. c) Formula for lower limit: Lower Limit = Q1 - 1.5 × (Q3 - Q1). d) The upper limit is calculated with the formula Upper Limit = Q3 + 1.5 × (Q3 - Q1). 2) Typically, the box and whiskers should be based on quartiles; however, with normal distributions it is also possible to use metrics like mean and standard deviations. a) Eg-the box could define 2 standard deviations, and the whiskers could indicate 4 standard deviations. b) Some box-whisker charts will include dots beyond the upper and lower limits, indicating the greatest and least data points, respectively. c) Before creating and interpreting a box-whisker chart, establishing appropriate statistical controls is essential. "

"Identification of key decision points

"Identification of key decision points 1) Process map used to identify the most important decisions made during the process. 2) Any areas that seem to require excessive decision-making, usually a sign of inefficiency. 3) Try to reduce the number of decisions that have to be made every time a process is performed.---> All stakeholders must be aware that changes are not to be made to the process at this time. 4) When measuring the process , all measurements should reflect the process as typically performed. Otherwise, improvement efforts could be targeted incorrectly. The team leader needs to communicate this information to all stakeholders.

Enumerative statistics--Process baseline estimation

"Enumerative statistics--Process baseline estimation 1)In process baseline estimation, enumerative statistics are useful for evaluating random samples from populations----esp to determine if two samples were drawn from a known population or even from the same population. 2) Can determine if samples are free of bias and represent the population, . 3) Can provide a confidence level, an assumed distribution, and a set of confidence intervals as well. 4) CI= Upper & lower value for a given statistic data (CI= 95% in most cases) Drawback= enumerative statistical methods get data from a static, unchanging population. In Six Sigma, often it is necessary to obtain information about dynamic processes. For this, analytical statistics are required."

"Gauge repeatability and reproducibility analysis

"Gauge repeatability and reproducibility analysis 1) Assigns a numerical value to the errors caused by a particular measurement system. 2) MC in measure and control stages of DMAIC. a) Measure stage--->, this analysis 1) used to assess how much measurement error contributes to common- and special-cause variation when estimating process baseline. 2)) Also used in Measure stage to confirm gauge discrimination. 3) Control stage, ----> used to evaluate the accuracy of specific measurement systems.---> success depends on the collection of representative samples. ******* A measurement system cannot be evaluated correctly except by its performance with respect to typical samples. "

"Histograms

"Histograms 1) Presents data pictorially---. looks like a standard bar graph, except that each bar represents the total number of observations that lie within a range of ranked values. 2) Measure & analyze stages of DMAIC---. histograms are useful for identifying multiple distributions for applying a distribution to capability analysis. a) First created by placing all data in order from least to greatest. b) The number of bars in a histogram should equal the square root of the total set of data values. c) The width of each bar is the quotient of the range of data and the number of bars. d) Calculate the range of the data= (Max - Min) e) Find the number of data observations in each bar. --------->The horizontal axis = indicates the data values for each bar, and the vertical axis will indicate the number of observations. "

Interpreting Histograms

"Interpretation Histograms 1) Histograms effectively pinpoint the process location and variation. 2) Histograms also indicate when data is symmetrical or bounded. a) A symmetrical distribution= data spread evenly about the histogram's center in an arrangement similar to a bell curve. b) If data unevenly distributed--->histogram is more skewed. i) data from multiple sources --> multiple peaks. 3) A histogram only indicates the performance of the process as it is being measured.---> Get broader output by extending sample period . 4) Histograms ignore sequence of the points --> must combine with measures of statistical process control.---->use a control chart to identify statistical control before fitting a distribution.

Interpretation of process capability index

"Interpretation of process capability index is 1) influenced heavily by the distribution assumptions. a) If the value of Cp (the ratio of tolerance to process variation) is 1,---> then tolerance and process variation are equal. b) If the value of Cp is <1 , then the allowable variation is less than the process variation, which means that the normal amount of variation could be too much. This is a bad situation. c) When Cpk is used, it is possible to obtain information about the process variation and location and their relation to the requirements. ****The statistic Cpm is much like Cpk, but it also considers the relation between process average and a target value. If these values are the same, then Cpm and Cpk are equal. "

"Normal distributions

"Normal distributions 1) Used for continuous data that have neither an upper nor a lower boundary. 2) For a normal distribution, the average of a sample, X-bar, is calculated by adding all the measurements and dividing by the total number of measurements, N. 3) The standard deviation of N is calculated with the following formula:(see formula) 4) Need to calculate a z value so this particular standard deviation may be considered a standardized normal distribution with a standard deviation of 1 and a mean of zero. 5) The z value is calculated with (see formula) . Once this z value is obtained, it is possible to estimate the likelihood of being greater or less than a particular value for x. "

"Parameters of statistical distribution

"Parameters of statistical distribution 1) The four primary parameters of a statistical distribution are central tendency, skewness, standard deviation, and kurtosis. 2) Central tendency = general trend indicated by the data. 3) Symmetrical distribution ( eg. normal distribution) ---->, the mean is the best estimate of the central tendency; No skew 4) Asymmetrical distribution, the median is a more accurate site of the central tendency. ( Skew exists) 5) Skewness of a distribution is essentially the distance between the average and the mode, or the most-represented data value. 6) Standard deviation = average variation of data points from the mean. or suggests how close to the mean each data point likely will be. 7)Kurtosis = sharpness of the distribution's peak. In a normal distribution, the kurtosis is 1. A distribution with a sharper peak will have a higher value for the kurtosis."

Process capability index

"Process capability index 1) A process capability index quantifies the ability of a process to meet the expectations of customers and other stakeholders. a) This index usually is converted into a standard deviation or estimate of defects per million opportunities. 2) Measure stage--->, process capability indices can create a baseline estimate for a controlled process. 3) Improve stage--->, a process capability index can confirm process improvements and assure that process is in statistical control. 4) Control stage--->, these indices are used to monitor processes, generally to confirm that they remain in a state of statistical control. ****For all of these uses, the process must be in statistical control so measures of process capability are valid. *****If the process has both upper and lower specifications, the statistics Cp and Cpk can be used. If only one of the specifications is known, Cpk must be used. "

Process for Gauge repeatability and reproducibility analysis

"Process for Gauge repeatability and reproducibility analysis 1) When analyzing gauge repeatability and reproducibility (R & R), using samples obtained during actual operations is essential. 2) Each appraiser should receive the samples in a random order, although someone other than the appraiser should be able to identify the samples. 3) In a standard gauge (R & R),---> 3 appraisers & 10 samples:---> each appraiser measures each sample 3 times. a) Regardless of the arrangement of the test ----multiple trials for each sample need to test for repeatability. b)Large sample size is preferable but analysis is costly (limiting factor)--->. Again, it is essential to obtain a representative sample so all the potential sources of variation in the process are evident."

"Process when the historical standard deviation is known

"Process when the historical standard deviation is known 1) If historical standard deviation is known, the process of estimating the confidence interval on the mean begins with calculating the average for n sample units. 2) The confidence interval may then be calculated with the following formula: (see formula) a) Because it is assumed that the samples are taken from a population with a normal distribution., the z values are calculated according to the confidence level. b) If the confidence level is 90%, then alpha= 1 . c) The confidence interval is two-sided: that is, it extends from one side of the mean to the other. Therefore, the α value is divided in two: α/2 = 0.05. The z value, then, can be obtained by referring to a chart of areas under the normal curve.

Process when the historical standard deviation is unknown

"Process when the historical standard deviation is unknown a) If the historical standard deviation is unknown, must start by calculating the average and the sample standard deviation s for n sample units. b) The confidence interval is calculated with the formula ( see formula) . c) Similar to when historical standard deviation known, it is assumed that the samples are taken from a population with a normal distribution. d) Again, the confidence interval will be two-sided, so confidence level should be divided by two.

SIPOC (suppliers, inputs, process, outputs, and processes) analysis

"SIPOC 1) Define stage ---> when the Six Sigma team tries to identify each top-level process, as well as its stakeholders. 2) Suppliers =persons who contribute inputs to the process. 3) Inputs = knowledge, resources, and information required to produce the desired output. 4) A process =any task that translates inputs into outputs. 5) Outputs are the deliverables, or the products of the process. Finally, the customers are all of those parties that receive the deliverables (outputs). ***SIPOC is initiated with the creation of a flowchart or process map. Typically, the first category to be identified is the outputs. From there, locating the customers, inputs, and suppliers will be easier. "

"Sampling methods

"Sampling methods 1) Simple random sampling occurs when every unit in the population has the same chance of being selected. 2) Stratified Sampling= When the population is divided into groups and a sample is taken from each of the groups. 3) Systematic sampling program=, some method exists regarding the selection of samples.( eg. every third unit might be selected) . 4) Cluster sampling =a representative group is selected out of the population, and then a random sample is drawn from that group. This method depends on the ability of the sampler to select a truly representative group. 5) Judgment sampling programs rely on expert opinions in their selection of a sample group. This mode of sampling is appropriate when the samples must have particular characteristics not common to every member of the population. "

Statistical Distributions

"Statistical Distributions 1) Statistical distributions allow Six Sigma teams to make performance assumptions with a minimum of supporting data. 2) Discrete data --> use the binomial and Poisson distributions. 3) Continuous data (derived from measurement; indicates not just the number of events, but also the extent of each event. )= apply the normal, exponential, Johnson, and Pearson distributions are applicable. 4) Discrete data is obtained from processes that can be counted. ( eg. collections of error data usually will consist of the number of times the error occurred) . 5) Distributions may be useful in the measure, analyze, improve, and control stages of DMAIC. 6) The primary utility of these tools involves determining the characteristics, most notably"the sigma level, of processes and resources. ---Six Sigma professionals also may use these tools to create random data for use during process modeling.

DFSS vs. DMAIC?

1) Unlike DMAIC, DFSS emphasizes defect prevention rather than reduction. 2) Also, DFSS is more concerned with the creation of new, high-quality processes than with the incremental improvement of old processes. 3) IDOV is the methodology most commonly associated with design for Six Sigma, or DFSS.

"Value stream mapping

1) Value stream mapping is a communication tool for Six Sigma professionals. It depicts the flow of materials and information through an organization. 2) Value stream maps are effective when they identify waste and redundancy in processes. Each activity in a process should be represented with a shape on the map. 3) each activity should be accompanied by the following information: cycle time, down time, in-process inventory, path of information, and path of materials.

Affinity Diagram

Affinity diagrams 1) Organize a collection of issues, problems, or ideas so they may be utilized effectively. 2) The diagram is so called because it identifies the affinities, or similarities, between seemingly disparate ideas or problems. 3) Helps organizations to discover unforeseen relationships between variables. 4) Used at the beginning of a process to help team to gain a primary understanding of the problem. 5) Helps build a consensus when members of a team have divergent interests and knowledge bases. 6) However, affinity diagrams may be used in every phase of the DMAIC process. One common result of an affinity diagram is the identification and elimination of redundancies in thinking."

Comment cards

Comment cards and formal surveys : 1) Information about how customers view the business' products and/or services. 2) The most basic metric obtained in these ways is , how customer satisfaction is affected by various characteristics. 3) Comment cards are left in places where customers will be, and customers voluntarily complete them. ***For this reason, very satisfied and very dissatisfied customers are overrepresented, because they are more likely to be motivated enough to fill out a card.

Contributions of Kaoru Ishikawa

Contributions of Kaoru Ishikawa and Genichi Taguchi to quality control 1) Main promoters of total quality control in Japan, 2) Ishikawa Diagram ( Fish Bone) 3) Developing the quality circle, in which work groups rather than lone employees resolved problems. ****One of his most popular ideas was that employees should be involved as much as possible in quality management issues.

Creating a Pareto chart

Creating a Pareto chart 1st step --Identifying the correct ( non-overlapping and fundable.) categories. a) Data should be collected over the same interval for each category. c) Left Axis = The count/cost metric = identities of the categories will be along the bottom axis and categories placed in descending order from left to right. d) Right vertical axis = An indication of the percent demarcations, or the percent of total cost/count represented by each variable, *****Line ascending from left to right= The cumulative percentages from each bar ( cumulative aspect of the Pareto chart makes percentages and rates unacceptable data.) *** In order for the chart to work, the data must be additive"

Creation of process capability:

Creation of process capability: 1) Must use to determine the stability of the process before calculating process capability 2) The capability indices for a normal distribution are calculated , , and . In these equations, is the grand average, T is the process target, and σx is process sigma. If the subgroup size is 1, process sigma is calculated according to the moving-range statistic. If the subgroup size is greater than 1, the process sigma is calculated with the subgroup sigma statistic. The capability indices for non-normal distributions are calculated with ( see formula) , , and . In these equations, ordinate 0.99865 and ordinate0.00135 are the z values for the non-normal distribution curve at 99.865 and 0.135. Also, Znormal,p and Znormal, 1 - p are the z values of the normal cumulative distribution curve at the p and 1 - p percentage points, respectively."

"DMADV and DMAIC

DMADV and DMAIC are both Six Sigma methodologies, but they have different applications. 1) DMADV a) new products and processes (b/c includes a design phase) + bringing an existing process up to sufficient quality standards. b) If a process needs to be created from scratch or subjected to a comprehensive overhaul. 2) DMAIC= a) Suited for gradual improvements of existing processe"gradual improvements of existing processes and products. b) appropriate for bringing processes and products into alignment with customer requirements and quality standards.

"Exponential and lognormal distributions

Exponential distributions 1) used for continuous data, or data obtained by measurement. 2) MC application for this distribution is in the measurement of event rate, or the frequency with which a particular event occurs. 3) If the event rate essentially is constant, the exponential distribution is appropriate. 4) The distributional parameter is λ (lambda), calculated 1/μ, where μ is the interval between events. 5) Lognormal distributions are appropriate for continuous data that has a fixed lower boundary, usually zero, and no upper boundary. This distribution is used often for reliability data. 6) As with other distributions, a goodness-of-fit test can determine whether a lognormal distribution credibly summarizes the data.

Flow Chart

Flow Chart 1) identifes complications in a process that can lengthen cycle time or cause adverse variations. 2) Improve stage, flowcharts can be used to diagram possible improvements and changes. 3) Control stage, flowcharts can be used to map out processes that have been revised and improved.

Genichi Taguchi Contribution

Genichi Taguchi 1) Advocate of quality management in Japan. 2) Design of Experiments, which included the first signal-to-noise measurement. 3) Taguchi was employed by Japan's Ministry of Public Health and Welfare, where he promoted the use of statistics in quality management.

What % efficiency can process reach after using Lean strategies?

However, it is more typical for processes to approach 25% efficiency after the implementation of lean strategies. The reasonable value for efficiency depends in large part on the type of activity. a) Creative activities usually have efficiency values of approximately 5%, although lean management strategies have been known to increase this figure up to almost 25%. b) Transactional activities, on the other hand, sometimes can reach efficiency values of up to 50%."

Lean & Muda

In Japan, the philosophy is called muda. The general strategy of lean is to identify activities that add value and activities that do not add value. As much as possible, lean businesses try to eliminate activities that do not add value. These judgments always are made from the perspective of the consumer. Lean methodology is very similar in this respect to Six Sigma."

Kaizen & " Pull"

In this Kaizen system, pull means that each activity in a process should receive only the necessary materials and resources when subsequent activities are demanding the process be completed. In other words, instead of pushing resources through the process chain, it is more effective to have them be drawn along by the vacancies created by completed projects down the line. Finally, in kaizen the term perfection is defined as the ultimate goal of continuous improvement. By eliminating waste and streamlining processes, an organization can approach perfection."

Interpretation of Confidence Interval

Interpretation of Confidence Interval 1) An estimation of the confidence interval on the mean indicates the percentage of samples that will contain the true population mean, μ (mu). a) 97% confidence limit on the mean =an expect that 97% of samples the confidence interval will include μ. c) More samples, the more accurate the mean. d) Confidence interval and the number of samples are inversely proportionate. --especially useful with the SD is known. e) When the standard deviation is unknown, the t tables must be used. When the standard deviation is known, the z tables may be used.

3 Components of Juran's version of quality management

Juran's quality management had three main components. 1) Quality control and the use of statistical control methods for the mitigation of problems. 2) Quality improvement and the use of the breakthrough sequence for resolving persistent problems. 3) Quality planning (esp. annual quality reviews )

"Linearity analysis

Linearity analysis 1) Detects chance that error bias in particular system of measurement will be present throughout the equipment's entire operating range. ( can measurement system be trusted for large & small values?). 2)Measure stage ---> linearity analysis is useful for assessing the accuracy of a measurement system within the range of values likely to be observed during the process. 3) Automotive Industry Action Group created standard procedure for analyzing linearity e . a) 1st step = select multiple parts to examine throughout the operating range. b) Use precise equipment to find reference value c) Have different employees measure the parts throughout the range with the intended measurement system. i) Find the average of these measurements to to calculate bias: Bias= (average measurement) - (reference value) . ****This data then should be depicted on a scatter diagram. The adequacy of the measurement system is assessed using R2, the coefficient of determination. A value of greater than 70% is acceptable in most cases."

Two Types of Value Stream Maps?

Most value stream maps have two versions: a current state and a future state. 1) Future state map---- depicts the process after planned improvements have been made. (less complicated than the current state). 2) Current state value map --- examined for steps that do not non- value added.steps to be eliminated or minimized."

"Problem statement of Project Charter

Problem statement 1) Defines an adverse situation in the business, or the target of the proposed project. 2) Provide measurable evidence of the problem's existence. (problem description in terms of poor outputs. 3) should include preliminary data as possible, with the understanding that it will be updated as the project moves along and more data becomes available. ****The measure stage of the DMAIC model is an opportunity for the team to refine its charter through direct acquisition of data. ****The presence of objective data is important because it justifies the decision to direct resources toward the project.

Process cycle efficiency metric

Process cycle efficiency metric The measurement of process cycle efficiency is used to determine the most useful and positive ways to improve cycle time. The process cycle efficiency metric is used most often during the analyze stage of DMAIC.

How is Process Lead time Calculated?

Process lead time is calculated by dividing the number of items in a process by the number of times the process is completed in an hour. This calculation is known as Little's law. A process can attain a maximum process cycle efficiency of 100% if all the activities in the process add value

Process of estimating CI on proportion

Process of estimating CI on proportion 1) To estimate the confidence interval on proportion---> start calculating the average error rate for n sample units. 2) The confidence interval is then calculated with the formula (see formula) 3) As with estimate of the confidence interval on proportion, this operation assumes that the samples are taken from a population with a normal distribution. 4) Also, the confidence interval is two-sided, running from one side of the mean to the other. The z value can be obtained from a table in appendix

"Scatter diagrams

Scatter diagrams 1) Simple plot on two axes, useful for investigating the correlation between two variables. 2) Analyze stage of DMAIC--. The x-axis of a measures the independent variable (is the variable manipulated in the experiment) and the y-axis measures the dependent variable (the variable not manipulated in the experiment). 3) The general method of an experiment involves making small adjustments to the independent variable and observing the effects on the dependent variable. a) The independent variable should be manipulated throughout the entire region of interest, so data points achieve sufficient spread on the diagram. b) Also, the data used on a scatter diagram should be generated especially for that purpose. ******Experimenters should be cautious when one variable appears to change along with another, since correlation "

Scorecards

Scorecards= snapshot of organization's performance a) Performance measurement tool that break performance down into a series of categories, each of which is assigned a few top-level metrics. b) Balanced scorecard,---- financial, customer, internal, and innovation. i) Customer metrics ----> satisfaction, ii) Internal metrics ---> Company's quality performance iii) The innovation ---"learning and growth," =---->se metrics of how much the business is working to stay current and improve its processes, products, and services. "

Six Sigma

Six Sigma 1) Program for improving business processes such that six standard deviations will fit between the mean and both the upper and lower acceptable limits. 2) Standard deviation suggests the amount of variation between the members of the data set or described in sigma units 3) Imagine a process that can be represented graphically as a bell curve. The centerline of the process is a time of 25 minutes, meaning that this is the average time required to complete the process. If the standard deviation is 30 seconds, then six standard deviations, or 6σ, would be either 22 minutes or 28 minutes.

General method for calculating process cycle efficiency

The general method for calculating process cycle efficiency is to divide value-added time by process lead time.

Lean Processes & Transparency

The lean philosophy emphasizes three areas: transparency, velocity, and value. Transparency is easy access to useful information. A business has achieved transparency when processes can be observed and measured. Errors should be noticed immediately and rectified.

Tools of Lean

The tools of lean (e.g. 5S, velocity, spaghetti diagrams, level loading, and process cycle efficiency), are used in every phase of DMAIC.

Tools for top-level process analysis

Tools for top-level process analysis 1) Flowchart = The most common tool for top-level process ----> Represents process sequences graphically, with a minimum of verbal description. 2) ) SIPOC analysis identifies (suppliers, inputs, process, outputs, customers 3) Process map (more detail than flowchart) indicates who is responsible for each activity in the process. ****A comprehensive Six Sigma project might include more than one of these tools for top-level process definition. The primary aim of these representations is to inform stakeholders and other people peripheral to the project. A top-level process definition will not contain enough information to explain each process in depth."

Types of Matrix Diagrams

Types of Matrix Diagrams Types of matrix diagrams 1) Directional Matrix system----, arrows suggest the nature of the relationship between each pair of items. 2) Sophisticated directional systems ---have weighted arrows that indicate the direction of causation as well as the importance" 3) Numerical matrix diagram,----- numbers perform the same functions as weighted arrows. For example, on a ten-point scale a 5 might indicate a moderate relationship in one direction, while a 1/5 indicates a moderate relationship in the opposite direction." 4) Plus-minus system----- a plus sign indicates a relationship and a minus sign indicates the absence of a relationship. 5) Symbol system------, finally, triangles, circles, and squares indicate characteristics of each relationship. *****Matrix diagrams typically have final rows and columns that tally up the total importance of each item or process. The team then can identify the items and processes that have the most significance."

"Weibull and Johnson distributions

Weibull distributions are 1) Best for continuous data with a set lower boundary, usually zero, and no upper boundary. 2) Like the lognormal distribution, the Weibull distribution often applies to reliability data, in which the interval between failures is recorded. 3) A Johnson distribution, on the other hand, is appropriate for continuous data on which neither a normal nor an exponential distribution may be used. a) Johnson distributions often are useful for data obtained after quality improvement campaigns, because the adjustments to process create non-results. b) Assumes that the data represents the process during the period of collection and that one distribution accurately can represent the data. ***These assumptions are key because they assert that enough data has been collected to make visible any common causes of variation. ****Johnson distributions are more provisional than others, although any statistical distribution should be taken with a grain of salt.

"Responses to conflict: Avoidance

"Avoidance= Responses to conflict 1) If a person notices a conflict but fails to bring it up or pursue it, he or she is avoiding the conflict. 2) Least cooperative and assertive way to resolve a conflict. 3) If the conflict is insignificant or the outcome is assured, avoidance may be the best approach. In other words, if there is no chance of getting one's way, it may be better to avoid a conflict. 4) Avoidance may also be the correct response if tempers are already hot over some other issue. It may be preferable to avoid a conflict until the members of the team have settled down. 5) Another time to avoid conflict is when the possible consequences of disagreement vastly outweigh the benefits of resolution. 6) Finally, a team member may be justified in avoiding conflict if he or she feels other members of the team can do a better job of resolving the issue. "

"Basic objectives of the measure stage

"Basic objectives of the measure stage During the measure stage of DMAIC, the Six Sigma team will focus on gathering the information necessary to complete the project. First, the team will attempt to define each relevant process in great detail. At the same time, it will be necessary to develop a group of metrics appropriate to the processes. No metric is complete until accompanied by a measurement analysis system that identifies and quantifies any common errors in the metric. In other words, the team will need to determine the ways in which the measurement system likely is inaccurate. The final general objective of the measure phase is to estimate process baselines. This objective enables the team to identify a reasonable starting point for the project. " "Creation and interpretation On a process map, a symbol represents every step in a process. Although it is possible to use the entire set of ANSI symbols for flowcharts, it is more common simply to depict decisions with diamonds and other tasks with rectangles. All decisions should be framed as binary; that is, only two possible answers exist. In more sophisticated process maps, shading or shaping will indicate delays or measurement intervals. As with flowcharts, one of the clearest signs of inefficiency on a process map is a glut of decision points. The goal of process maps is to spot redundant, unnecessary decisions and tasks and to discover ways to simplify processes"

"Consensus-criteria method of creation

"Consensus-criteria method of creation 1) Use consensus-criteria method ---> when there are too many criteria or options or too little time to create a prioritization matrix according to the full analytical method, a ) Initial matrix discarded + team distributes a hundred points across the criteria in accordance with perceived importance. b) Less time-consuming & more subjective method in assessing importance 2) After the criteria have been weighted, they are compared with the options. 3) The final score for each option is calculated by multiplying its score for each criterion by that criterion's weight. ---->The larger the product, the more important the option. *****Both the full analytical and consensus-criteria methods of creating a prioritization matrix make an essentially subjective exercise into something a bit more structured."

Deming's 14 points on management: Constant quality improvement and on-the-job training:

"Constant quality improvement and on-the-job training: a) Deming's fifth point for management is that production and service systems should be improved continuously so costs can be decreased continuously. b) Constant quality improvement Via unceasing attention to the desires of customers. ----> Customer desires change over time, so data collection never should cease. c) Deming: & continuous quality improvement Vs. solving problems? ---problem solving=ineffective way to achieve constant, long-term improvement d) Deming's sixth point for management= all employees given on-the-job training in all areas that pertain to their work, and managers always should understand the tasks of their subordinates. d) Effective training requires steady and productive communication between all layers of the organization. e)Also, training programs should be based on concrete and specific performance standards.

"Creation and interpretation of Process Maps

"Creation and interpretation of Process Maps: Goal of process maps---> to spot redundant, unnecessary decisions and tasks and to discover ways to simplify processes. On a process map, a symbol represents every step in a process. 1) Diamonds= decisions : other tasks with rectangles. 2) All decisions should be framed as binary; that is, only two possible answers exist. 3) Shading or shaping will indicate delays or measurement intervals. 4)Glut of decision points.= signs of inefficiency on a process map (like Flowchart)

Creation of Affinity Diagram

"Creation of Affinity Diagram 1) Teams begin by identifying the target issue or problem. 2) Each member of the team list a few issues that impact this target. It is important to collect as many ideas as possible. 3) Categorization of the ideas collected into a general list (Disgard Redundant items ) 4) If argument about the logic of sorting, team leader should administer this part of the process calmly and proactively. 5) Once the categories have been labeled and filled, the group should come up with header cards for each title. The titles may be useful for nominal group technique or in the creation of a prioritization matrix. 6) If the process successful, then the main ideas listed on the header cards will indicate the most important drivers to be addressed for the achievement of objectives and goals. ****Note that affinity diagrams do not require objective information; instead, these diagrams are tools for organizing the subjective impressions of team members."

Critical-to-cost metrics

"Critical-to-cost metrics 1) Identifies areas of a process that significantly raise the expense --- should include the typical cost of a task, increased cost of errors in the performance of task, and likelihood of an error should be included in the metric. Examples = the metric for how long it will take to redo or repair a product made incorrectly + the cost of keeping materials on hand if lag time present in the process . 2) The effects of errors on cost tend to multiply as the product moves farther down the path.--- mistake design phase will be cheaper to resolve than manufacturing phase error. 3) Cost of quality = The amount of money required to align a product or service with quality baselines i "

"Critical-to-quality metrics

"Critical-to-quality metrics 1) Yield = common critical-to-quality metrics or the amount of completed product divided by the amount of product that began the process. a) Obviously, a business would like to have yield equal 1 (or 100%). b) Yield does not distinguish those salvageble pieces of scrap 2)) Scrap Rate = The difference between perfection and reality ----( eg. If a process had a yield of 95%, the scrap rate would be 5%. Yield is a useful metric, although it does not indicate where in the process errors ) 3) Throughput Yeild= average percentage of units with no defects. a) When multiple steps in a process are considered, Six Sigma teams use rolled throughput yield, which measures the expected quality level after several steps."

Critical-to-schedule metrics

"Critical-to-schedule metrics 1) Cycle time/ Delivery time/ downtime/ order-processing time (MC critical-to-schedule metric) = the duration required for the completion of a defined process. 2) The improvement of critical-to-schedule issues begins with making the distinction between value-added & non-value added steps 3) Six Sigma professionals often use process efficiency and velocity numbers to assess value added relative to cycle time. 4) In most Six Sigma projects, cycle time is considered secondary to metrics related to quality or cost. *****If project focuses exclusively on reducing cycle time , quality compromised but useful to baseline quality and cost metrics and then work to reduce cycle time. so that quality will not be affected by any time-saving adjustments.

Customer service and complaint management

"Customer service and complaint management : 1) Information about customers comes from routine customer service and complaint management. 2) Executives in Six Sigma businesses commonly meet with customers personally. 3) Some businesses establish programs in which every employee spends a certain amount of time dealing with customers-----> prevents employees from pursuing goals that are distant from the concerns of the customer. ***Six Sigma businesses pay special attention to customer complaints. ---->Any reports of error or malfunction are assessed and organized so pervasive problems can be noted + makes it easy for customers to complain and for these complaints to be heard. ****Complaints are an excellent source of ideas for new Six Sigma projects.

"Deliverables of Project Charter

"Deliverables 1) A deliverable is any fundable benefit that enables the overall success or failure of the project to be assessed. 2) Establishing targets for deliverables allows the project to be judged on its own terms. 3) Common mistake-- listing aspects of the project's method as deliverables---Do not include data or statistical process controls obtained during the project as a deliverable. 4) Best to place deliverables in financial terms.

Effective change agents and issues that diminish buy-in from stakeholders

"Effective change agents and issues that diminish buy-in from stakeholders 1) To be effective change agents, Sigma team must first acknowledge the importance of having all employees on board with changes. 2) Change agents take conscious steps to increase buy-in, commitment, and participation. a) Buy-in may be lacking if the goals of the project are unclear. b) Explain how the proposed solutions will benefit them personally to ensure employees are more likely to participate and conform. c) If employees believe the project team has prejudices and preconceived solutions or if the project team lack regular communication with the employees, the employees will lose faith in the project. d) Finally, buy-in will be reduced if the project's goals are too diffuse. Having a number of small projects with single targets is better than one giant project with several targets."

Demi's 14 points of Management: Eliminating dependence on inspection and ceasing to award business based on price alone:

"Eliminating dependence on inspection and ceasing to award business based on price alone: a) Inspection should be eliminated as much as possible.---> Inspection programs ineffective because they spot mistakes only after they occur. ( prevention is better) b) Inspection programs costly --->Deming: "better to spend this money on improving production processes. c) The fourth of Deming's points for management is that business should not be awarded solely because of price---> better create a measure of total cost and use this measure to make their buying decisions and buy top quality goods & part for savings in long-run d) Best to have single supplier for each part/ product, / service, ---> enable us monitor quality and establish beneficial relationships. (relationships with suppliers create greater opportunities for customization and optimization.

Eliminating quotas and ineffective management styles:

"Eliminating quotas and ineffective management styles: Deming's eleventh point for management is split into two parts. a) Declaration that production quotas should be eliminated. ----> For Deming, this sort of leadership is ineffective because continuous improvement always will affect the appropriateness of targets. + better to encourage employee pride and promote quality is than mere focus on quotas. b) Second part= Deming believed establishing a positive long-term plan and adhering to this plan made more sense than pursuing immediate gratification in the form of quotas or sales targets. By emphasizing continuous quality improvement, managers create the conditions for success. "

Encouraging self-improvement and universal buy-in: Deming's

"Encouraging self-improvement and universal buy-in: 1) Deming's thirteenth point for management is the creation of self-improvement programs. ----> organizations thrive when employees feel that their personal goals align with the goals of the organization. b) In-house education opportunities. Employees always should believe that effort and self-improvement can lead to promotion within the organization. 2) The last of Deming's fourteen points for management is universal buy-in. ---> all members of should subscribe to the new vision of quality improvement. a) Managers are responsible for informing and encouraging their subordinates by telling that adherence will advance the employees as well as the organization's interests. b) Moreover, Deming felt that managers always should be alert for opportunities to increase employee participation in quality improvement."

The poka-yoke philosophy =Error-proofing strategies

"Error-proofing strategies/ poka-yoke 1) System for preventing defects in production processes. ----> emphasizes error prevention so processes should be analyzed rigorously and improved so mistakes occur less often. 2) Type s of error-proofing a) Auto-correction systems= reflexive adjustments to changing external conditions. b) Automatic shutdown, which stops a machine or process if conditions for an error exist. c) Warning signal (requires human operator) = alert that an error is about to occur. *****Error"proofing strategies can be expensive to implement and may slow processes at first, but in the long run these strategies will save money and time that would have been wasted on mistakes."

Deming's 14 management tips Establishing leadership and eliminating fear:

"Establishing leadership and eliminating fear: a) The seventh of Deming's fourteen points for management is to establish effective leaders----> . The purpose of management should be to set a proper example rather than to monitor the behavior and performance of subordinates. b) If training is effective and standards are clear, employees should not need constant supervision. Managers always should do their jobs with an eye toward improving quality. c) In addition, managers should have the authority to resolve issues they observe in "always should do their jobs with an eye toward improving quality. In addition, managers should have the authority to resolve issues they observe in the workplace. d) The eighth of Deming's points for management is that fear should be eliminated as a source of motivation. --->Deming observed that employees were terrorized with the constant threat of demotion or firing; ineffective way to inspire loyalty & quality e) Employees should feel comfortable enough in their jobs to consider possible innovations or to raise questions with their superiors. Likewise, managers should not be afraid of receiving comments or complaints from their subordinates.

"Evaluation of process failure modes

"Evaluation of process failure modes The initial goal during the improve stage of DMAIC is to optimize the process flow. 1) Failure Modes ----New operating conditions or process flows examined for possible sources of deviation after completing optimization 2)Brainstorming for solutions to conditions or flows identified as having deviations---> problems and potential solutions often are depicted on a process decision program chart, which looks a bit like a tree diagram. 3) FMEA is used to supplement process decision program chart 4) FMEA concludes with the generation of a risk priority number (RPN), indicating the influence of a particular failure on overall performance. The team then must develop mitigation or elimination strategies for the most significant potential failures. "

"Full analytical method of creation

"Full analytical method of creation: 1) List options and the criteria required to evaluate those options. 2) It Phrasing the criteria as targets such as lower cost or greater employee satisfaction is important 3) First matrix = comparisons of every criterion with every other criterion. ***Six Sigma teams uses a numerical rating system in which 10 (most importan), 1 the average level of importance, and 1/10 the least importance. 4) Second matris=, each option then is evaluated with respect to each criterion. Each option receives a final score compiled of his or scores on the weighted criteria. *****Most statistical software programs provide a summary matrix in which all of the options are ranked."

"Gantt charts

"Gantt charts 1) Identify the critical path of each dependent task in a particular project. 2) Includes everything that has to be done to maintain the project's timing. 3) Any process not on the critical path may be slightly delayed without extending the overall duration of the project. These activities are said to have built-in slack time. 4) At the beginning of a Six Sigma project, distinguishing the tasks that are on the critical path is important. 5) Gantt charts typically is restricted to the define stage of DMAIC. ---> identify those tasks that, if truncated, would lead to an overall cycle time reduction. + place all project activities on the schedule. 6) May be used during the improve stage to confirm the reduction of critical path cycle time.

Interpretation of Gantt charts

"Interpretation of Gantt charts 1) Gantt charts help businesses create the fastest-possible schedule for a process. 2) Key benefit =indicates areas within the process that can tolerate lag. ---- For every task, though, there will be some time by which it must be initiated and some time by which it must be finished. 3) To obtain a precise measure for the duration of a particular task.,use PERT analysis to gauge the probability of a task being completed within a certain amount of time."

"Interpretation of Pareto Chart

"Interpretation of Pareto Chart 1) Isolate the categories that contribute the most to count or cost. 2) Cumulative line aspect of the chart= degree to which resolving problems with the most pressing issues would improve performance. a) Steep cumulative line is better because values concentrated in the left-most categories. b) Flat cumulative bar not helpful, because this arrangement indicates no problems as more important than the rest.---> aka the categories have been subdivided too much.--Solution= regroup into a few large categories for better result. 3) The traditional method for using a Pareto chart involves identifying the left-most categories that approximate 80% of the count or cost( most important areas).

"Inventory

"Inventory 1) In lean methodology, inventory and work-in-progress are setbacks on progress---> strives to respond quickly to customer orders without relying on the storage (little inventory) or works-in-progress. 3) A general habit involves finishing work in progress before handling new orders, which slows down production. 3) Lean emphasizes other strategies for improving velocity. ( ie. increase the number of completions per hour or eliminate redundant or unnecessary process steps) 4) Velocity improved by decreasing errors, waiting time, or decreasing need for personnel or moving resources and indirectly increases value.

"Matrix diagrams

"Matrix diagrams 1) Table in which the value in each cell indicates the strength of the relationship within multiple categories. 2) Matrix diagrams often are used during the define and improve stages of DMAIC. a) Define stage---> these diagrams are used to pick projects that will contribute to the achievement of organizational objectives and goals. + b) used in the define and improve stages to examine the similarity between customer desires and process metrics. The first step in the creation of a matrix diagram is to identify the items for comparison. Six Sigma teams often transfer the categories from some other chart, such as an affinity diagram. The next step is to use consensus decision-making rules to evaluate the relationships between each pair of values. In this subjective process, the team should perform carefully and according to an organized protocol.

"NGT

"NGT 1) Nominal group technique (NGT) is a system for ranking non-objective data and is used primarily to create consensus or agreement in groups. most commonly during the define and analyze stages of DMAIC. 2) Define stage--->used to simplify project loads by combining redundant projects and eliminating unnecessary projects. 3) Analyze stage-->, helps teams agree on which solutions should be pursued. 4) NGT Process: a) The first step in nominal group technique is to distribute paper to each team member. In the event of more than 35 options, each team member should receive eight pieces of paper; if there are 20 to 35 options, each member should receive six pieces of paper; and if there are less than 20 options, each member should receive four pieces of paper. Following discussion, each team member will select one option for each piece of paper he or she has received and indicate the option's rank on the paper. Then the papers are collected, and the weighted rankings are tabulated. The group then can focus on the most important and preferred options.

"Obtaining customer information

"Obtaining customer information 1) Areas businesses tend to ignore a) Fail to gather information about non-customers.-- > Attract non-customers by focusing on characteristics of people who choose not to buy their products b) Customers who switch to a competitor without notice or complaint ---> possibly due to disliking some aspect of their original purchase or special offer from competitor c) Product features that cause customers to defect. d) Reasons customers become dissatisfied with a product after its warranty period ends. ----> Information about customer desires and product failures lost when customers don't contact manufacturer

"PERT analysis

"PERT analysis 1) Used to estimate the time required by various processes. 2) PERT is an essential part of scheduling and cycle time analysis in which hard data on the duration of certain process steps may be unobtainable. 3) Uses probability techniques to determine a best guess about durations. 4) Used during the define, analyze, and improve stages of DMAIC. a) Define stage,----PERT analysis identifies the process steps with the most influence on the overall duration of the process. b) Analyze stage,--- PERT analysis determines the critical path of a process cycle. c) Improve stage, ----PERT analysis confirms improvements in the cycle time."

"Prediction of benefits

"Prediction of benefits The Six Sigma team must justify their proposed solutions by predicting the benefits to be obtained. 1) Prioritization matrix used to show how proposed solutions are aligned with the most pressing needs of the business. 2) EBIT =A common metric for proposed solutions that requires fixed and variable cost figures. 3) Formula for EBIT EBIT= (Volume) [(Per-unit price) - (Per-unit variable cost) ] - Fixed Cost 4) Use NPV-- to evaluate proposed solution with varying benefits over time, 5) Calculate IRR ---> if the net present value is invested. ****These sophisticated methods allow the team to determine the probabilities of achieving various levels of savings or profit. "

Prioritization matrix

"Prioritization matrix 1) Ranks choices to build consensus in a group setting primarily are used during the define and improve stages of DMAIC. 2) Six Sigma teams typically use one of two methods for creating a prioritization matrix: either the full analytical method or the consensus-criteria method. . 3) Define stage--->,prioritization matrices helps groups pick the projects most important to the organizational objectives and goals. + effective tool for comparing customer desires with process also metrics. ***** As much as possible, a business wants to measure the qualities of a process or product important to clients. 4) Improve stage---> a prioritization matrix confirms the alignment of projects with customer requirements."

Process decision program charts

"Process decision program charts 1) Break a process down into its component tasks, with special emphasis on potential problems and solutions. 2) Brainstorming Tool protocols for handling crises that emerge during processes. 3) Analyze stage---> effective for identifying the underlying causes of recurrent problems. 4) Improve stage--->, effective at linking possible problems with probable solutions, so contingency plans can reinforce process. 5) Process decision program charts structure: a) Process name (top) b) Steps required to complete the task are found. below this top line the chart. c) Order of the steps from right to left. Below each step, one or two sub-steps will list some potential problems. Provisional solutions should accompany each of these possible problems."

"Process metrics

"Process metrics 1) Must be reliable, repeatable, and reproducible to be considered effective illustrations of process characteristics. 2) Must be specific and detailed enough to distinguish between the effects of process alterations and process noise. 3) Metrics should relate to actual targets of business strategy, relate to actual services given to customers and result from cooperation between employees. 4) Before any metrics are applied, employees from several different departments should judge them. 5) Metrics should pertain to values critical to quality, schedule, or cost, as these factors are the three most important variables in any process.

"Project scope of project charter

"Project scope 1) Better for projects to have a limited scope to prevent team objectives from being disgruntled and resources being wasted when a project stretches out indefinitely. 2) In general, Six Sigma projects should take no more than four months. --->Longer projects = risk of losing key members. 3) If the team members have a vision that cannot be realized within four months,---> consider dividing grand project into multiple smaller projects. 4) If solving a particular problem depends on solving a collection of smaller problems---> conduct a series of smaller projects rather than grouping the entire problem in one project.

Project statement, scope, and deliverables of Project Charter

"Project statement, scope, and deliverables Project charter = documents project details and can be revised; hallmarks of the DMAIC structure, and Six Sigma itself, is a willingness to rethink first principles at any time. 1st step in project charter= Clarify the problem and why the project necessary a) Includes deliverable (actual output and in a manner approved by the financial department of the organization. b) Must confirm the reasonableness of the estimate with the finance department before writing it into the charter. c) Should include a reasonable estimation of the project scope, based on the data collected.

Project status report

"Project status report a) begins with a current schedule and brief description of the project. b) includes a list of the action items, or the tasks to be completed by assigned team members at particular times. c) Lists of roadblocks, or hindrances to progress not yet resolvable by specific actions. d) list of the data obtained during each phase of the project. e) List outstanding items. ****Project status reports typically are issued once or twice a week and every time one of the DMAIC phases is completed. Copies of the report are sent to the sponsor, team members, and any other relevant stakeholders."

Promoting employee pride and emphasizing quality over production:

"Promoting employee pride and emphasizing quality over production: 1) The twelfth of Deming's fourteen points for management is divided into two parts. a) 1st part= employees will do a better job when they are given the chance to feel responsible for their work.+ businesses should look for opportunities to link employees with their work ( giving employees control over over multiple tasks in production or service provision. Deming felt that fear and anxiety in the workplace were obstacles to employee pride and therefore to quality. Employees always should be taught to emphasize quality over numerical production. b) 2nd part= the promotion of quality over production. ----> via abolition of merit systems, which reward success within the business rather than improvement of the business. ----->rewarding employees for the volume rather than the quality of their work set up bad incentives. In other words, this improper emphasis would encourage employees to make decisions that harm quality."

Quality function deployment

"Quality function deployment, ---- 1) system for ensuring that customer requirements are aligned with product and process requirements. 2) used in the analyze and improve stages of DMAIC. and to plot strategies for fulfilling customer requirements. Basic function of QFD= establish customer requirements, known as whats ( what needs to be achieved) , and design requirements, known as hows (how to achieve it) ***A number of tables are used to assess the importance and significance of various design requirements in the promotion of customer requirements. ***If a customer requirement, or what, has very few or no design requirements, or hows, then improving the process may be possible. ******When there are hows without whats, the process may contain some non-value-added activities that can be eliminated.

Deming's fourteen points for management Reducing interdepartmental barriers and reducing pressure on the workforce:

"Reducing interdepartmental barriers and reducing pressure on the workforce: a) Deming promoted interdepartmental communication as a method for reducing waste and improving quality in all areas.--->, employees trained in all other departments + managers ' familiarity with the tasks and responsibilities of the other departments. c) Deming observed that many businesses segmented their departments and evaluated performance as such, so departments in a failing business might appear to be thriving. + Deming favored linking all departments together. d) The tenth of Deming's fourteen points for management = don't pressure workers with short-term production goals---> better to embrace a holistic, long-term program for quality improvement. e) Constant exhortations and work targets, in Deming's view, contribute to anxiety and lower production among workers. Goals never should be set for individual employees, but instead for larger groups. "

Responses to conflict: Accommodation

"Responses to conflict: Accommodation 1) Accommodation is the suppression of one's own interests in order to serve the interests of another person may be served. 2) Accommodation can be a valuable tool in conflict resolution, as long as it does not engender resentment. 3) One should accommodate if he or she a) recognizes personal error. b) If the issue is clearly much more important to the other person. c) When an issue is trivial to one person in a disagreement, d) when the group is fragile and more conflict could be very damaging. **** Drawback = Of course, excessive accommodation can inspire some members to dominate the team, and in some cases accommodation will lead the team to accept the incorrect solution."

Responses to conflict:

"Responses to conflict: Collaboration 1) Collaboration is the response to conflict wherein team members work together to find a solution and is effective when: a) both parties have good points. b) When members of a team have different areas of expertise, and so it is a good idea to combine their perspectives. c) When the conflicting parties have some personal disharmony; collaborating may help them work through these problems. . d) when cooperation will increase buy-in from other team members and stakeholders. ***Time-consuming b/c makes room for too many viewpointsOne problem with collaboration is that it can take a long time. For this reason, it should not be used to resolve unimportant conflicts."

"Responses to conflict: Competition

"Responses to conflict: Competition 1) Competition=conflicting parties do their best to win. a) Dispute settlement and generate excellent work if fair competition. b) . Competition can be as simple as civilized argument during a meeting. 3) Competition as a response to conflict is appropriate : a) when some members of the team are undecided. (A team member also should be ready to compete when an issue is vital to the success of the business. ) b) When conflicts that need a clear resolution ---An objective form of competition settles a dispute for good. ****When competition is used to settle disputes, the team leader should ensure that team members are fair and nice to one another. *****Competition sometimes becomes a habit in a team, which can be detrimental to cooperation in the future." l

Responses to conflict:

"Responses to conflict: Compromise 1) Compromise is a useful response to conflict: a) when maintaining team harmony is more important than coming up with the best possible solution. b)) Not the right approach to ending crucial conflicts. c) when two important members of the group are diametrically opposed on a key issue.( If neither of these parties will give ground, a compromise may be the only way for the group to move forward) d) When no time exists for a lengthy debate or collaboration. Drawback of Compromises---can leave the participants with lingering regrets, may disillusion team members, may produce mish-mash solutions that fail in the long run due to a lack of clear, unified approach,

"Schedule of Project Charter

"Schedule of Project Charter 1) Includes the date on which the charter was approved by the sponsor as well as the start and completion dates. 2) Phase-gate Review = Indicates the dates on which each phase of the DMAIC schedule will be complete. Each of the phases of the DMAIC schedule should be subdivided into a set of activities. 3) Critical path or program evaluation and review technique (PERT) analysis to set the target dates. 4) The schedule typically is expressed as a Gantt chart, in which each phase of the project is defined, and the prerequisites and required resources are listed.

Schedule, stakeholders, and team composition of Project Charter

"Schedule, stakeholders, and team composition 1) Project charter----> includes schedule made at the beginning of project with specific dates on which established objectives and goals are to be met. 2) Should include a complete identification of the stakeholders in a project ( persons who influence a project or are affected by a project) 3) list of the team members (may overlap with stakeholder list)

"Team leader

"Team leader 1) Establishes & maintaines protocol, the set of rules by which the team will operate. 2) Continuously realigning the team's efforts with the original goals and objectives by reviewing first principles to stay on track. 3) Resolving conflict 4) Planning and administrating the team's meetings. 4) Keeps stakeholders and project sponsors informed of group's progress. 5) Must continuously to improve the team's performance, first by helping members brainstorm and then by refining solutions through the use of data analysis."

Theory of constraints

"Theory of constraints 1) Approach to improving processes by focusing on their most problematic areas ( constraints). 2), Theory of constraints encourages businesses to improve continuously by diagnosing weaknesses and addressing them. a) No end to work -----=>once one area improved, must be address another constraints. b) Exploiting the constraint= term for develop effective strategies for maximizing the potential of the constrained area.

Work breakdown structures Defined

"Work breakdown structures 1) Diagram that breaks the problem into manageable subparts or processes when a problem seems overwhelming, 2) Most useful during the define and analyze stages of DMAIC. a) Define stage----> work breakdown structures combined with Pareto analysis to organize problems before solutions are applied. ---Aids in eliminating less important areas of a project to ensure adherence to a schedule. b) Analyze stage---->,work breakdown structures organize all of the issues and complaints to be handled during the improve stage. ---> Suggests that different solutions should be applied to different parts of a general problem.

Define the 3 types of actives mapped in the value stream map

1) Value-added activities= create value for the customer. 2) Business-value-added (BVA) activities do not create value for the customer, but are necessary anyway (Type 1 waste) ---->. examples of BVA activities are marketing, design, and delivery. 3) Non-value-added (NVA) activities create value for neither the customer nor the business. ----> Six Sigma project goal is to eliminate NVA activities

Formal Surveys

A formal survey a) Gather information from a more representative sample of customers than focus groups, b) Like focus groups, surveys are often returned by the same highly motivated customers (very unhappy customers) c) Surveys are more effective when they ask customers for specific information about their preferences."

"Contributions of Armand V. Feigenbaum to quality control"

Armand V. Feigenbaum of total quality management. Four key actions businesses needed to take in order to implement TQM programs: 1) establishing standards; 2) measuring conformance to these standards; 3) resolving issues hindering conformance; and 4) continuously planning for improvement. Feigenbaum was one of the first quality specialists to insist that quality standards be assessed from the perspective of the qualities for which a customer would be willing to pay.

Creating PERT Analysis

Creating PERT Analysis 1st step (PERT) analysis = isolate activities on the critical path using any number of charts, such as an activity network diagram. a) In PERT analysis, assume that activity times follow a β distribution. ---> The estimated duration of each activity calculated with the formula , in which a is an optimistic estimate of the time, b is a pessimistic estimate of the time, and m is the most likely time. i) The calculation for estimated standard deviation for each activity is calculated with . ii) The central limit theorem suggests that the total time for all tasks should be in a normal distribution. iii) Adding up the times for the tasks on the critical path yields a measure of total time. iv) The upper predicted limit for total time is equal to the total time + 1.96 × standard deviation. The lower predicted limit for total time is equal to the total time - 1.96 × standard deviation. These are good estimates for the best and worst possible durations."

Project Charter & Defining the business need

Defining the business need 1) Identifies business processes that will be improved by the successful completion of the project and with the use of objectionable data. 2) It may be difficult for the author to estimate the value of the project to specific business processes, particularly if this estimate is based on minimal and preliminary data in the problem statement. 3)Charter should refer to specific metrics ( number of defects, schedule, or profit) **** Many Six Sigma theorists recommend that all projects have a clear and measurable benefit to the customer. Comprehensive project charters will address business needs related to the customer, stakeholders, and other employees."

Factors critical to schedule (CTS)

Factors critical to schedule (CTS) 1) Identification of process metrics= key tasks of the measure stage ---. need few process metrics get information about schedule, cost, or quality of a process. 2) Factors critical to schedule (CTS) --->directly impact completion date of the process. 2) Factors critical to quality (CTQ)----> direct effect on the desired characteristics of the product or service. 3) Factors critical to cost (CTC) ----> impact on materials, labor, delivery, overhead, inventory, and/or the cost to the consumer of the good or service. ***Metrics should be customer-focused and transparent (aka should provide immediate objective data that can be analyzed). ***Metrics need to be obtained with measurement systems that are repeatable and reproducible.

Feigenbaum : Nine M's of quality:

Feigenbaum was also known for his Nine M's of quality: 1) markets, management, men, 2) money, motivation, 3) materials, machines, modern information sources, 4) mounting product requirements. (By mounting, Feigenbaum means consistently improving).

Field intelligence

Field intelligence a) Information obtained by employees through their normal interactions with customers. Employee who talks or works with customers will pick up valuable information. b) The key for a business is to establish and maintain channels for this information so field intelligence can reach the higher levels of the organization. c) Some businesses establish mechanisms for gathering extra field intelligence i.e., video cameras in to study customer behavior.

Finalizing a project charter

Finalizing a project charter 1) Project charter includes appointment for an initial meeting, at which the team members will discuss and consent to the scope, deliverables, and provisional schedule to be included in the charter. 2) mMeeting allows team members to become acquainted with one another if they are not already and to voice any initial concerns or ideas related to the project. 3) Team then maps the top level of the process to be improved which is entered into a revised charter, before sponsor approval. ---approval allows any initial misgivings can be addressed without much loss of resources.

"Team formation

Four stages of Team formation 1) Forming stage=, the members of the team are getting to know one another, and on their best behavior---->the team has not yet begun working seriously enough to inspire much conflict. 2) Storming,----> the team begins its work in earnest, and differences between the members begin to emerge. During this stage team members will begin to assume different roles. The team leader must exercise control during this stage so conflicts can be resolved beneficially. 3) Norming stage--->,Agreement on normative behavior ----> the team members settle their differences and settle on compromises that make effective work possible. 4) Performing stage--->, the team operates at an optimal level because members have learned to work together."

IDOV

IDOV =( Six Sigma method) = identification, design, optimization, and validation. In the identification phase, the business determines the needs of customers. 1) Also, the business will create an effective business model and establish a Six Sigma team. 2) Design phase= the team uses critical-to-quality metrics to determine the best methods for processes. 3) Optimizing phase= the Six Sigma adjusts the factors that contribute to processes until the best outputs are achieved. 4) Validation phase, the Six Sigma team makes any necessary changes to the new process.

Kaizen & Flow

Kaizen & Flow 1) . The goal of kaizen is to create continuous flow (improvement) through the organization rather than improving limited areas of a process. 2) When a process has good flow, materials and information do not wait between activities. 3) Businesses tend to create inefficiencies when they focus only on flow in one or two areas. Instead, flow should be considered from the perspective of the entire business.

"Kaizen philosophy vs. US. business model

Kaizen is a Japanese philosophy that governs all aspects of business; more effective TQM systems 1) Continuous, small improvements. 2) Improvements based on the insights and experiences of lower-level employees, in contrast to the Western business model, in which changes typically result from executive orders. 3) The initial concern of the kaizen business is attracting and maintaining good employees essential for good processes 4) Kaizen requires with adequate training, defined operating practices, and buy-in from all employees. 5) Constant communication exists between employees at all levels.

Lean

Lean is a comprehensive system for decreasing waste and increasing cycle times and quality. Many of the ideas of lean date back to Henry Ford, but the credit for assembling and updating the system goes to Taiichi Ohno, an employee of Toyota in the 1970s.

Lean Processes & Value

Lean states that : 1) value is the set of qualities or characteristics for which a customer is willing to pay. 2) The goal of lean is to increase value and diminish waste. Value always is assessed from the perspective of the customer.

Lean Processes & velocity

Lean states: 1) Velocity is the speed with which processes are completed. The ultimate measure of velocity is the interval between a customer's order and the delivery of the good or service. 2) In lean methodology, velocity is sometimes called flow. The goal of lean is to reduce process lead times and enable the business to respond quickly and agilely to customer requests

Objectives of "Measure Step"

Measure Stage----> primary concern is to create an accurate map of the process as currently performed. 1) Create a comprehensive process level map of processes with participation of expert employees ----group defines and clearly describes all of the activities they aim to improve. (more detailed and comprehensive version of the top-level process map created in the define stage 2) Participation of expert employees is important especially because employees may have a vastly different conception of process sequence than their superiors. 3) Employees will have streamlined / modified a process without notifying management. Judging the beneficiality of customizations made by employees is unnecessary and potentially harmful.

Objective of "Define" Stage

Objective of "Define" Stage 1) Fcuses on identifying and articulating a project's important characteristics, including identification of the goals, objectives, and scope of the project. 2) Selection of the team members and sponsors, as well as the proposed schedule for the project. 3) Project deliverable (desired result) is defined.The Six Sigma team should define the desired result of the project, otherwise known as the deliverable. 4) Stakeholders, the input/output structure, and the functions involved are identified 5) Selecting and assembling a team able to accomplish all of the proposed goals. (must be able to work together and have a solid understanding of the task , should all desire to successfully complete project.)

Project Charter

Project charter =overview of project a) Changes as the project moves along, so team members and sponsors will remain on the same page. b) Has clear deliverables, so its success or failure can be measured. c) Directs employee efforts to the right areas because it will identify the key variables that affect performance at all levels. d) Ensure that a proposed project does not interfere with other work performed in the company, because it will make public the intentions of the team. e) Ensures that Six Sigma efforts are directed to the most important aspects of performance, and that they deal with processes integral to the business in the future. " ****** Requires Management approval to give the project legitimacy and informed guidance.

"Sponsors

Sponsors 1) Provide guidance. & funding to the project, 2) Gives the team members access to resources, and inform other managers about the project's existence and intentions. 3) Creates enthusiasm and support for the project, so the project will receive any possible assistance from other employees 4) Select sponsors from the departments most relevant to the project. --->avoid selecting sponsors who are already involved in several other projects. 5) If the project participants are drawn from a number of different departments,---> draw the sponsors from the ranks of those managers who oversee multiple departments. to ensure project team receives all the required support.

"Stakeholders and team members

Stakeholders and team members 1) Stakeholders are all of the people and groups affected by the problem being addressed and potentially affected by the project as it progresses. 2) In Six Sigma, the team should use a top-level process map to identify all of the affected groups (customers, suppliers, other employees, and specific departments within the organization) . 3) Most projects are headed up by a single black belt, with one or more green belts representing each relevant department. 4) Some projects may require the participation of experts or skilled employees. 5) In rare cases, a Six Sigma project team will include a facilitator to ensure that all members of the team work together effectively. "

Statement of objective and identification of resources

Statement of objective and identification of resources 1) A complete project charter should include a statement of objective in which the author provides a definition for the intended result of the project. a) Six Sigma experts recommend expressing this result in financial terms. b) Other measures (defects per million or return on investment) have more variation and unforeseen influences. 2) A complete project charter also will identify the resources ( equipment, materials, computer time, databases, and other employees) required for the project but excludes the team's efforts/ time ***Resources required by a project are not only those resources necessary to improve the process, but also those necessary to collect and analyze data along the way.

value stream analysis

Value stream 1) Sries of activities that create value in a product or service from the perspective of the customer rather than from the perspective of employees or management within the company. 2) During process mapping, the Six Sigma team will divide the activities into three categories: value-added activities, business-value-added activities, and non-value-added activities.

Demi's 14 points of Management: "Maintaining consistent purposes and adopting a new philosophy"

W. Edwards Deming outlined fourteen points for management. ----basic guidelines for the promotion of quality. 1) Managers should maintain consistent purposes to maintain high product or service standards, to be competitive in the marketplace, and to keep people employed. a) Deming was reacting to what he perceived as pervasive short-term thinking in the business world. b) He advocated the establishment of research and development programs enable constant innovation and progress within the organization. 2) Deming's second point is that businesses (meaning the entire organization from senior to new employees) must embrace whole-heartedly the new quality philosophy, including lobbying governments for laws that foster quality. ------- a) This point was in part fueled by nationalist sentiment during a period in which American businesses felt threatened by foreigners, particularly the Japanese

Walter A. Shewhart

Walter A. Shewhart, 1) Combined economics, engineering, and statistics in his work. 2) Known as a top engineer at Western Electric and Bell Telephone Laboratories and as the author of Economic Control of Quality of Manufactured Product. "