"Six Sigma: Maximize the Benefits"

Sophronia Ward and Sheila Poling

Quality

October 2005, pp. 44-47

This article provides an interesting comparison of the "ideal" Six Sigma initiative versus the current reality in many organiztions:

• "Top management involved from the outset and leading the initiative" vs. "Top management gives permission for others to take the first steps"
• "Projects are selected for strategic importance" vs. "Projects are selected to tackle the latest problem"
• "Champions are trained to launch the initiative" vs. "Some champions may be trained in an overview"
• "Champions own the project. Black Belts run the project" vs. "Champions select the projects. Black Belts own and run the projects"
• "The best people are selected to be trained as Black Belts and Green Belts and run Six Sigma projects" vs. "Several people are selected to be trained as Black Belts and Green Belts and work on a project"
• "Black Belts and Green Belts and other team members are given time to work on the projects" vs. "Black Belts and Green Belts struggle to find the time to meet with their team and work on the project"
• "Project charters are written carefully to reflect the goals, scope, boundaries and anticipated benefits" vs. "Project charter often remains incomplete and is not used as a reference to keep the project on track"
• "Project goals are achieved or exceeded in the four- to six-month time frame" vs. "Project goals are revised to accommodate the available resources and can take nine to twelve months to complete, if they are completed at all"
• "Champions and project leaders work together to prevent the scope of the project from expanding to include additional problems or issues" vs. "Champions and other process owners or management expand the project scope to include the latest problem or issue because there is already a team in place"
• "Champions are available for support and have regular communications with the project teams" vs. "Champions are sometimes too busy to be available for support"
• "A training system is put in place to include everyone in the organization" vs. "Training is done for a select few who are expected to pass the methodology along"
• "A Six Sigma council is established to recommend and keep track of potential projects and prioritize them" vs. "Projects are initiated, based on the next major crisis"
• "Six Sigma is a path for building future leaders of the organization" vs. "Six Sigma operates off to the side of the main development path for the organization"

Recommendations are given in the article for how to refocus Six Sigma initiatives so that they becomes more like the "ideal."

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