Page 385 - Design for Six Sigma for Service (Six SIGMA Operational Methods)

Design and Improvement of Service Processes—Process Management 345

although important, is less of a concern. Customer feedback is frequent and
can have an impact on the priority and scheduling of remaining activities.
Customer commitment is very high because it is difficult to find another
producer or to start from scratch once the project is under way.

Projects are typically modeled using the critical path method (CPM),
program evaluation and review technique (PERT), or Gantt charting. Many
project management software packages have become available to help
organize and track the progress of projects.

Examples of Project Shop Processes
Software development, R&D projects, book writing, building construction,
shipbuilding, aircraft manufacturing, satellite construction

Project Shop Performance Measures
Quality of the Project
Quality of the project usually refers to the functionality and reliability of the
finished entity. For example, the quality of the software includes func-
tionality, satisfaction of customer needs, and reliability.

Time to Complete the Project
Because the time to complete the project usually means the time to market
or time to users, a shorter completion time, given the project quality is not
compromised, is very important.

Cost to Complete the Project
An excessive project cost could be caused by excessive project delays, poor
resource allocation, waste, and rework.

Utilization of Resources
Highly utilized or overutilized resources could be indicators for bottleneck
resources. Underutilized resources could be sources of excessive project costs.

Errors and Rework
Errors and rework in critical path activities will usually cause both project
delays and cost overrun. Errors and rework in noncritical paths will also
cause cost overrun.

Project Shop Process Analysis
A project usually consists of many activities. Some of the activities can
be worked on simultaneously, and some depend on the completion of