Category: Concepts

See Cost of Non-Conformance.

Is there a relationship between wearing your seatbelt and whether or not you survive an auto accident? Is there a relationship between studying and whether you pass an exam? These are the types of questions a Chi-Square Test can answer.

The term COC can mean two different things in lean six sigma management. It can either refer to “cost of conformance” or a certificate of conformity. Since “cost of conformance” has already been defined on isixsigma.com at the link listed above, this article will discuss certificates of conformity. What Is a Certificate of Conformity? A […]

C-level has a vastly different definition than sea level. One refers to the levels of senior management in an organization and the other is a measure of elevation. Let’s explore this in a little more detail. When walking through the halls of your organization’s offices, have you heard someone say, “Hey Chief”? Does that mean […]

This article will introduce you to common cause variation, one of the foundational concepts in quality improvement. We’ll explore guidance for the successful use of common cause variation in process improvement.

If you look at the dashboard of your car, you will see information related to the car’s performance and the progress of your journey. When you look at your business dashboard, you can see examples of similar information.  

There are some set characteristics that make something what it is. We look for common characteristics that make a door a door. We look for certain characteristics in order to be able to call a type of vehicle a car. There are set characteristics for most common things that, when looked at together as a […]

If you have a non-conforming or defective product coming off your production line, what do you do with it? Utilizing a strategy of containment might be the way to go. Let’s learn more about this. Containment of non-conforming products refers to the actions you take to prevent the distribution or use of products that do […]

The use of center points in your designed experiments can be valuable in determining the actual relationship between your input factors and your response variable. Let’s explain this in a little more detail. 

Finding the center point of your data set can be deceptively simple. There are a few different methods that you should be aware of when determining the central tendency, which come into play depending on the nature of your data. Determining the center point of your data set can be helpful in a variety of […]

Getting to grips with the many different causes of defects and quality issues is key to ensuring business success and avoiding customer dissatisfaction. The cause and effect diagram is a clear, visual representation of all possible causes and keeps the team focused upon quality improvement.

Cost models provide a wealth of vital information about the overall state of a business as well as details of specific operations, which makes them a powerful tool for any streamlining agenda.

Back-dating is like starting at the center of a maze and working your way outwards instead of starting at the normal exterior point. This term describes a type of scheduling process entirely oriented around established dates for final deliverables. Back-dating may seem like doing things backwards, but it’s actually the logical and often necessary perspective […]

Capacity refers to how much work a company can take on and how fast it can grow. To improve efficiency and reduce waste, learn how to pay attention to your maximum output and how to manipulate it.

When determining how to apply Six Sigma methodology to your business, you do not need to reinvent the wheel. A lot of research, testing, and work has already been put in to sort out some common best practices that are proven to work for most organizations. In any industry, there are others that have come […]

Do you feel that implementing change in your organization is going too slowly? So did Jack Welch of GE, which is why GE developed the Change Acceleration Process (CAP). Let’s explore how the concepts of CAP might help your organization.

We have all heard the phrase “garbage in, garbage out.” AOQ is defined as the expected average quality level of an outgoing product for a given the value of incoming product quality. 

Every business is unique and has its own requirements for meeting its definition of success. Being able to list the requirements of your specific organization provides a clear picture of the needs for your company’s success and can aid in the planning stages of the projects required to meet goals. There are needs and then […]

There is only one way for businesses to stay relevant in today’s world, and that is to constantly seek for opportunities for change. This concept can get and keep you in that mindset.

The capability maturity model (CMM) was conceived during the 1980s as a way to improve the way US government departments interfaced with technical contractors. The rapid onset and development of computer technology forced many agencies, including the Department of Defense, to develop a new model to adapt to the more demanding and fast-paced nature of […]

Finding bugs during the testing phase of software is paramount to making sure customers receive a product that works as it is intended to.Having bugs in software is not uncommon. It is, however, extremely important to do rigorous testing to find them ahead of the release of the software or product to the public. Overview: […]

Will being a Black Belt help you beat up your competition? In a way, yes. A skilled and experienced Lean Six Sigma Black Belt will help your organization improve all you do. Let’s see how.

During the Six Sigma Improvement Stage of DMAIC, you will need to develop strategies and ideas for improving your process. There are three steps to coming up with viable improvement solutions. These steps are idea generation, organization, and assessment.  Brainstorming can be defined as a structured method of generating unconstrained ideas/ solutions and gaining engagement/involvement […]

Balanced experiments are a common class of designed experiment where the factors that are manipulated are set at levels that occur equally within each level of the other factors. This setup provides several advantages, including the need for few experimental runs, lack of correlation between factors, and simplicity.