Page 34 - Design for Six Sigma for Service (Six SIGMA Operational Methods)

16 Chapter One

Project Team Members Project team members participate on the
project teams and support the goals of the project, typically in the
context of their existing responsibilities. Team members are expected
to continue to utilize learned Six Sigma methodology and tools as part
of their normal job.

Training
All Six Sigma professionals undergo various trainings depending on their
duties. For example, Black Belt training usually takes 4 weeks. Black Belt
candidates learn some basics of business processes, project management,
team leadership skills, process maps, and many statistical methods. In order
to get a Black Belt certificate, the Black Belt candidate needs to complete
one or several projects, and these projects should show verifiable financial
benefits to the company.

Project Execution
Six Sigma activities are featured by doing projects, a lot of projects. The
goal for each project is usually about improving one process at a time.

In Six Sigma there are sophisticated operation procedures for the following
project aspects:

• Projection selection
• Projection flowchart
• Project management
• Project evaluation

Project Selection
The Six Sigma leadership team will select projects based on the following
characteristics:
1. The project should have a strong tie to business bottom lines. The
projects should have a substantially positive impact on profits, have
strategic importance, and enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.
2. Project results should be visible and measurable. For a regular Six Sigma
process improvement project it is desirable to see meaningful results
within 6 months. The project goals can be quantified and measured.
3. Project should be feasible. The project scope should not be too big, the
project tasks should not be too difficult to be handled by the current
Six Sigma project team members, and the potential solutions should
be relatively low cost.