Page 12 - The Six Sigma Project Planner

Preface

My goals for The Six Sigma Project Planner are:
• Help the user identify worthy projects and move them steadily to successful
completion.
• Help the user identify poorly conceived projects before devoting any time or
resources to them.
• Help the user identify stalled projects and provide them with the attention they
need to move forward again.
• Help the user decide when it’s time to pull the plug on dead projects before
they consume too much time and resources.
• Provide a record for the user that helps improve the project selection,
management, and results tracking process.
Notice that I use the word “user,” not “reader.” The Planner isn’t a textbook to be
read; it is a working guide. Too often we read books or sit in classrooms and
passively absorb the material. But a huge chasm exists between understanding the
material intellectually and knowing how to use it to achieve results. Think of the
Planner as a bridge over that chasm.
In the classroom the instructor says, “You must carefully evaluate a project proposal
before deciding to pursue the project.” Upon hearing this, your likely response
would be to think, “Of course. That’s obvious.” However, you may not actually
translate this thought into action when the proper time comes.
If you use the Planner properly, you’ll be guided through a rigorous feasibility
analysis (Figure 3, p. xvi) where you will assign a numerical rating to the project’s
sponsorship, benefits, timetable, resource availability, and much more. The proposed
project will be assigned an overall score that can be used to compare it with other
projects. You might choose to have the project evaluated by others on the team,
providing a basis for discussion and consensus-building. In the end, you will make
an informed decision. That decision may well be to pursue another project, thereby
avoiding a false start and a waste of your time. If the decision is to go ahead with the
project, it will be because the chances for success are excellent.

In other words, the Planner is about getting results rather than merely learning for the
sake of knowledge acquisition. It’s about using what you learned in your Black Belt
or Green Belt training. The Planner provides brief overviews of some topics, but for
the most part it is assumed that you have received training in the tools and
techniques of Six Sigma. If you haven’t, you’ll need to attend classes or consult in-
depth reference books, such as The Six Sigma Handbook.

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