Page 142 - The Six Sigma Project Planner

Quantify the Capability of the Current Process

Six Sigma is a data-driven approach to business process improvement. Data often
indicate that the capability of the existing process far exceeds its actual performance
level. In some cases the process can be dramatically improved at little or no cost. It is
not uncommon to find that, once it is optimized, the process can meet the project goal.

Conduct a Process Audit
Before preparing a project plan, the Six Sigma project team should perform a detailed,
physical audit of the process. One way to accomplish this is to form a process audit
team. Six Sigma project team members who have in-depth knowledge of the proper
way to operate the process should be members of the team, of course. However, it is
also helpful to have team members who are less familiar with the project on the team.
These “non-experts” often ask the ‘dumb questions’ that lead to true breakthrough
thinking. The audit check sheet shown on the following pages can be used for simple
process audits. The audit team should add additional items as required.

Process owners should be notified in advance of the audit, they should be kept
informed during the audit, and they should be the first to receive the audit findings. We
are interested in improving processes, not assigning blame. It may be helpful to have
the project sponsor arrange the audit.

125