Six Sigma Project Considerations

Organizational Goals and Project Selection

When initiating a Six Sigma project, it's crucial to ensure it aligns with organizational objectives. This involves several key considerations:

Project Alignment with Organizational Goals

  • High-Performance Department: Ensure the department running the project is high-performing, characterized by goal-driven and ambitious employees. Evaluate previous results from similar projects as an indicator.
  • Linkage to Organizational Goals: Verify the project's benefits are substantial enough to justify the time and resources invested.
  • Impact Assessment: Consider how implementing Six Sigma will affect the achievement of organizational goals. For example:
    • How will processes be impacted?
    • How well is the project design suited to Six Sigma?

Example

A manager evaluating a project where the department aims to increase market share by 5% should ensure the project aligns with this goal. If the project focuses on maintaining customer satisfaction (as satisfied customers drive market share), the manager should consider:

  • How will customers be affected during the implementation of Six Sigma?
  • How does this impact the overarching organizational goal of increased market share?

Prioritizing the Project Portfolio

After confirming project alignment, prioritize the Six Sigma project portfolio based on the following criteria:

  • Alignment with Business Strategies: Determine if the project aligns with high-level business strategies.
  • Urgency: Prioritize urgent problems over less urgent ones.
  • Problem Size and Duration: Give higher priority to projects addressing large or long-standing problems.
  • Financial Impact: Prioritize projects dealing with significant financial loss or resource wastage.
  • Risk Assessment: Evaluate the risk and impact of not addressing the problem (both high and low priority scenarios).
  • Implementation Difficulty and Gains: Easier projects receive higher priority due to quicker completion times.
  • Resistance to Change: Lower priority should be given to projects where strong resistance to Six Sigma application is expected.

Example

A manager evaluating two projects:

  1. Project 1: A single large, long-standing problem causing downtime, but with a relatively easy fix.
  2. Project 2: Newer project with many small problems and processes established a long time ago, likely to face considerable employee resistance.

In this case, the manager should prioritize Project 1 due to its ease of implementation, despite both projects being suitable for Six Sigma.

Methodologies Applied

Within Six Sigma, there are two primary methodologies:

1. Design for Six Sigma (DFSS)

  • Used when designing new Six Sigma projects or completely redesigning existing ones that don't meet customer expectations.
  • Focuses on creating Six Sigma-compliant processes within projects.
  • Involves identifying the project need, aligning it with strategic goals, designing, optimizing, and validating the new process.

2. Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control (DMAIC)

  • Used to improve existing processes.
  • If a new, Six Sigma-compliant process is needed, DFSS is more appropriate.

Team Allocation

  • Allocate the Six Sigma project to a team with the appropriate level of expertise.
  • Black Belts typically lead the most critical projects.