Category: Concepts

When it comes to process capability, the more tools you have, the better. An L2 spreadsheet can help to make working with your capabilities a simpler endeavor. L2 Spreadsheet An L2 spreadsheet is just one of many spreadsheets that can help you be more knowledgeable about the ins and outs of your business. Overview: What […]

In-control is not referring to the behavior of your children. It’s about whether your process is exhibiting common or special cause variation. Let’s explore how this works.

Six Sigma is a method for process improvement that aims to minimize variation. Organizations with multiple departments such as finance, manufacturing, and sales with different definitions of a defect can use these universal metrics to identify processes that are not operating at a Six Sigma level. Overview: What is an L1 Spreadsheet? An L1 spreadsheet is […]

Have you ever had to shut down your manufacturing line because major components haven’t arrived from your supplier? Have you ever had to rent extra warehouses for your finished goods? Just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing would prevent that from happening. Let’s see how that works.

If your organization is too impatient to use a formal DMAIC approach to continuous improvement then Kaizen may be the tool for you. 

You may remember seeing or having a Jack in the Box toy when you were a child. It looked much like a box and would have a crank on its side that you could turn. It would play a little song, and suddenly the top would fly open and the head of a clown (or […]

How does your organization track and monitor organizational performance? Do you have key metrics that you frequently look at to make decisions? Using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is a common method for tracking your most important metrics. Let’s see how. A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a measurable value that demonstrates how effectively a company […]

Does your organization just focus on today’s operational and tactical issues, or is there a process for developing a strategic plan for the future? Hoshin Kanri is a method for ensuring an organization’s strategic goals drive progress and action at every level within that organization. 

Having a clear comprehension of all the costs you incur when creating a product is integral to running a successful business. This includes both your direct and indirect costs. When making a product or providing a service, it may be obvious what your direct costs are since you are paying for parts, labor, and so […]

Will having a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt help you break boards? No. But a trained and experienced Green Belt will help improve what your organization does so you can defeat waste, process defects, and much more. Let’s see how.

Goals are pretty simple. In sports, reaching the goal adds points to the scoreboard. In business, reaching the goal means doing what you set out to do. In your personal life, it’s finding a sense of purpose, belonging and completion. Overview: What is a goal? Even though the concept is easy to define and understand, […]

Now that you have brainstormed and gathered a list of random ideas, how do you make sense of them? KJ is a tool for helping you establish the themes and relationships between your ideas. 

Marketing is crucial for most organizations in their efforts to acquire new customers and maintain their relationships with their existing ones. There are many factors involved in developing proper marketing strategies. One of them is the collection and proper analysis of interactional data. Interactional data is not used to its full potential by many organizations […]

Are all your organization’s problems and issues of equal importance? Probably not. How should you handle those that are the most critical and important? Let’s find out. A Key Business Issue (KBI) refers to a critical problem or challenge that your organization faces, which can significantly impact your performance, growth, or competitiveness. KBIs are specific […]

Fitted values are, in short, predictions. In Six Sigma terms, they are the expected value of Y for a specific combination of Xes and allow the practitioner to estimate what to expect even when those predictor values have never been observed.

Sometimes we need the input of others in order to make a process easier. We also often could use someone who can bring a group together when working toward a goal. When this is done, that person is someone who facilitates. In a meeting, it can be easy for a group to lose direction. Having […]

Key business requirements are everything. They are the measure by which your product, process or company lives or dies, so ignorance is not an option.

Virtually every business decision is a matter of investment and success is based on how companies deploy resources like employee time, capital and brand image. The authority to make independent decisions is also a type of resource that can and should be invested by delegating it to team members. Overview: What is empowerment? Employee empowerment […]

The pursuit of knowledge is not relegated solely to the individual. Businesses regularly gather staff and other stakeholders with the intent of working together to gain knowledge that can assist in the goals of the organization. When an organization puts together a knowledge-based community, it shows that it is not only invested in the advancement […]

STOP THE PRESSES! Jidoka will immediately stop equipment upon discovering an abnormality in the process. Let’s explore this a little deeper.

Is your Lean Six Sigma training accomplishing what you want it to do? How do you know? Those questions can be answered by using the Kirkpatrick Model of Evaluation. Let’s see how.

The word factor, in the context of Design of Experiments (DOE), has several other names. Let’s learn more about what a factor is and how it is used in DOE. One of the most common formulas in statistics is Y = f(X) which states that Y is a function of X. If you define Y […]

The landscape of how business is done is ever-evolving. The way that businesses interact with customers and how those customers purchase goods and services is unrecognizable from how things were done just a couple of decades ago. A big component of these changes is the rise of information communication technology. Any time you make a […]

Error that concludes that someone is not guilty, when in fact, they really are. (Ha true, but I concluded Ho). BETA Accept an hypothesis or statement as true when it is false: Ho is false, but I conclude Ho is true. Error that concludes that someone is not guilty, when in fact, he or she […]