Page 18 - Six Sigma Demystified

Introduction

There are now many excellent books on Six Sigma. Many of these emphasize
the deployment issues of Six Sigma, providing valuable insight into the
big- picture issues required for successful implementation of Six Sigma at an
organizational level. These issues, including management responsibility, resource
allocation, and customer focus, are summarized in Chapter 1.
Successful Six Sigma deployment involves continual success of projects, each
incrementally moving the organization closer to its strategic goals of shareholder
return, employee growth, and customer satisfaction. Each project, in turn, pro-
gresses from its initial definition through the define, measure, analyze, improve,
and control (DMAIC) cycle to the maturity of financial reward. This project
evolution requires much attention to detail by the project team, including its
black belt, green belts, and sponsor. Unfortunately, many Six Sigma books fail to
develop the detail of the tools necessary for practical use, or they cover only a
small handful of the tools required for an organization’s projects. Readers are not

provided clear benefits for the tools or may wonder if the tools may be applied
to their specific processes and projects.
I am often asked by clients, “How does Six Sigma apply to us?” Each industry
tends to approach problems as if no other market segment has experienced the
same problems, now or ever. Even if the problems were the same, the solutions
certainly can’t apply across industries.
Some books provide far too much statistical back-ground for the tools. Readers
are forced to endure aca-demic derivations of formulas or statistical tests that have
limited use in today’s computerized world. This tends to force the focus away
from the practical use and limitations of the tools.

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