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Process time is the time it takes for one or more inputs to be transformed into a finished product or service by a business process.

A process map is a hierarchical method for displaying processes that illustrates how a product or transaction is processed. It is a visual representation of the workflow either within a process — or an image of the whole operation. Process mapping comprises a stream of activities that transforms a well-defined input or set of inputs into a pre-defined set of outputs.

Lean can be of great value in office environments. However, the use of complex jargon and statistics, plus a focus on manufacturing, have hindered the adoption of these tools in other settings where they can be useful.

Not an expert in Lean? No problem! Learn a few simple tools you can use in any setting, and help your organization save time and money.

What do Goldilocks and statistical analysis sample size have in common? A razor-sharp focus on “just right.” A sample size that is too big or too small leads to inaccurate data and wasted resources (although hopefully not three bears).

If your goal is control at all cost, or faster and deeper analysis, automation might be just the strategy for you. But if you need to retain and motivate your people to boost business performance, such a strategy of people avoidance is likely to come to a sticky end.

PowerPoints, spreadsheets and lectures don’t grab an audience for long. After 30 minutes, you’ve lost the attention of 25 percent of your attendees. A Lego competition teaches Lean and engages your audience.

“So much to do, and so little time to do it” might be a good way to describe multi-generational product planning, or MGPP. Sometimes it makes sense to stage your improvements over a longer period of time.

One of the best ways to introduce people to new concepts is through a hands-on, team experience. Better yet, a game! Dig out some Legos and let the Lean Lego Game begin!

Drinking beer can be fun, but you can also use beer as a training tool. Use this beer distribution game simulation for groups as small as four and as large as 60.

A box plot may seem like a simple tool, but as this example shows it can help reveal common and special cause variation that may not have otherwise been noticed. Be sure you’re looking below the surface to optimize your performance!

Depending upon the particular organization, quality may or may not be influential in management decision-making. Ultimately, it depends upon what is understood as quality. There may be more urgent tactical actions than those related to quality if the organization’s product or service quality is acceptable – it may not be perfect, but if it’s acceptable then that’s good enough.

Construction projects are always a challenge. Inspections are needed (often several), but if you’re trying to schedule one in Brevard County, Florida, you’re competing for the attention of 14 inspectors in a 500 square mile environment. Lean Six Sigma to the rescue!

TRIZ (pronounced “TREEZ”, the Russian acronym for the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) is an established science, methodology, tools and knowledge- and model-based technology for stimulating and generating innovative ideas and solutions for problem-solving. It is short for Teoriya Resheniya Izobreatatelskikh Zadatch.

Your organization may have any number of possible areas for improvement. How do you pick which project to start with? The value index can help you prioritize by measuring optimization between performance, quality and cost.

In the midst of a financial crisis, a California County had to contend with its aging fleet of vehicles. The County’s application of Lean Six Sigma has allowed for an initial $3 million in cost savings with more on the horizon.

DMAIC is a data-driven process-improvement methodology. Let’s look at how DMAIC compares to other problem-solving processes as well as the benefits of using DMAIC when solving a complex problem.

How a company organizes and runs project teams can have as much effect on speed of delivery as the teams themselves. These four ingredients will keep your program focused and efficient.

The word scrum (short for scrummage) is usually used in the context of rugby. But how would it be used when talking about process improvement? Let’s find out. In rugby, a scrum is a method of restarting play after the ball goes out of bounds or there is a penalty. It involves players packing closely […]

You will commonly hear the word scrum used when you are watching a rugby match. But it is also used in the context of an agile project management framework that helps teams structure and manage their work through a set of values, principles, and practices. A Scrum Master is a role in the Scrum framework, […]

By understanding some of the components of Agile, you can learn to incorporate them into DMADV projects and drive positive results.

Looking for good books to read on the topics of quality, Six Sigma, Lean and OpEx? This reading list shares the best quality-topic books of all-time and book recommendations by topic.

It is a time of change. The world is developing faster with each passing day. Continuous process improvement technologies, which could make these changes more significant and effective, trail far behind this trend. Who suffers? Companies that lose competition, people who cannot find a new place in the changed labor market and countries that are […]

iSixSigma.com is pleased to introduce its new Editorial Advisory Board.

Lean Six Sigma Green Belts are part-time improvement professionals who complete Lean Six sigma projects in their area of work experience.

Healthcare is a heavily regulated industry and requires substantial amounts of paperwork. Paperwork may not be as pressing as patient care, but it must be done in a timely fashion. A Lean Six Sigma project reduced the task delinquency rate in its residency program.

A Green Belt project aimed at reducing the cycle time for purchase orders finds the bottleneck and dramatically improves the process, exceeding the project’s original goals, and even realizes bonus benefits.

Using the DMAIC methodology, a Green Belt project aims to reduce the cycle time for purchase orders and straighten up a direction-less process.

SigmaXL Inc., a leading provider of user-friendly Excel Add-ins for Statistical and Graphical analysis, announces the release of SigmaXL Version 8.1.

In order to achieve White Belt certification, 21 students works on eight projects ranging from improving the taste of chocolate chip cookies to increasing tourism in Nauru and having more successful birthday parties.

Why wait until college or later to learn Lean Six Sigma? Twenty-one middle and high school students in Cary, North Carolina, achieved their White Belt certifications in the summer of 2018.

Here’s the story about how the hypothesis testing flow chart was developed in Barcelona in 1995, as told by Mike Carnell.

The City of Fayetteville, North Carolina, faced a staffing crisis in its Finance department. Thanks to a DMAIC project, in just 14 weeks the City was able to turn the department’s chaos around.

There are seven success factors for why Six Sigma is a proven effective business change initiative.

Although many LSS organizations focus their improvement efforts solely on reducing costs, cost savings are chump change when compared to the revenue implications of delivering an enhanced customer experience. Learn how to quantify – and achieve – five categories of financial benefit beyond cost savings.

The best of iSixSigma 2018 features the highlights of this year’s content – those best loved by our readers.

A form is a document that has a set template for the presentation of data or information. Format is the layout with which the data is presented.

Part 2 of this series presents a case study of the redesign of a bracket’s fatigue model. The case study shows how UQ techniques can be used to perform robust risk estimation, identify key drivers of manufacturing variability and gather more information for critical decisions.

Learn to combine Six Sigma with UQ – advanced statistical techniques that, when applied to simulations of complex systems, generate actionable results to reduce process variability.

After more than six months of hard work, iSixSigma is celebrating its relaunch today and I’m excited to announce the brand new, redesigned iSixSigma.com.

Is the variation in your process data to be expected, or has something special occurred? A control chart will give you the answer. The X-bar and R chart will give you the details.

In business, it is necessary to have a solid understanding of what, exactly, is going into your processes. After all, if you do not know your inputs, how can you expect to be able to keep your output outcome desirable, repeatable, and consistent? Your X’s play a massive role in the outcomes you achieve. In […]

You may have heard of “white noise” when it comes to signal processing, but this is not the only application for the term. It is also a way to describe data in modeling. When we reference “white noise” in modeling, the “noise” is in reference to there being no set pattern and all variations being […]

Some say that Z is the sign of Zorro (Spanish for fox), the fictional sword wielding masked vigilante who defended and helped the poor. In statistics, it is something different. In statistics, z usually refers to the standardized score or z-score of a data point in a normal distribution. The z-score measures the number of […]

A Z value is a data point’s position between the mean and another location as measured by the number of standard deviations. Z is a universal measurement because it can be applied to any unit of measure. Z is a measure of process capability and corresponds to the process sigma value that is reported by […]

Have you seen the Lean Six Sigma rainbow of Belt colors? There is White, Yellow, Green, and Black. Let’s explore Yellow.

The letter Z is not just the sign of Zorro or a segment on “Sesame Street.” It also has a number of statistical connotations. Let’s explore those and more.

Work cells are a key lean six sigma strategy designed to improve quality, eliminate waste, and enhance the end-user experience.

Z bench is not where Zorro rested after saving another town. There are a number of Six Sigma terms associated with the letter Z, such as Z score, Z bench long term, Z bench short term, and Z shift. Let’s explore the A to Zs about Z.

Y=f(x) is a concept regarding the setup of a formula used to perform analysis during problem-solving efforts. Let’s look at how Y=F(x) works within the problem-solving process, the benefits of Y=F(x), as well as some frequently asked questions.