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Finance Six Sigma & Quality Article Archive
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Quality Spotlight Archive | Management Spotlight Archive | Tools Spotlight Archive Readers' Choice: View All Top-Rated Articles Archives by Year: 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 - Lessons from T.M.I.T.E. (The Most Ineffective Team Ever)
Effect teamwork does not happen by magic. Becoming a better Six Sigma project team - no matter what the starting point - only takes a little discipline and a lot of practice. Here are some principles help provide the needed structure Read the full article. December 27, 2006
- How to Turn Resistance into Support for Lean Six Sigma
While some resistance to change is inevitable, there are ways for Lean Six Sigma project teams to accelerate change through best practices using tactical tools to gain acceptance, change old habits and increase the company's bottom line Read the full article. December 13, 2006
- Goldilocks Dilemma: Getting Project Scope ‘Just Right’
The best scoped project is one that can be completed in three to four months and that will contribute towards achieving an important strategic goal. How to set that scope? There are several simple tricks of the trade that can help. Read the full article. November 29, 2006
- Top 10 Questions for Lean Six Sigma Integration Partner
Choosing the right Lean Six Sigma partner is critical to success in implementing any program. Thus, it seemed only reasonable to consider a top 10 list of questions to ask when evaluating potential partners. Here is just such a list. Read the full article. November 15, 2006
- The Customer, Trust, Quality and the Bottom Line
The link between a Six Sigma project and the ultimate customer is sometimes difficult because of the vagueness at the strategic level. It was interesting and relevant to see the results earlier this year from the annual Edelman Trust Barometer. Read the full article. November 1, 2006
- Scorecard Can Balance Different Measures of Success
A company using Lean Six Sigma must, for optimal impact, balance both financial measures of success (voice of the business) and customer measures of success (voice of the customer). The balanced scorecard is a great tool for doing exactly that. Read the full article. October 18, 2006
- Five Big Levers for Long-Term Success of Lean Six Sigma
Many factors can play a role in corporate initiatives that succeed over the long haul and those that fail. But, five factors appear to have the biggest leverage in determining whether a company can achieve long-term success with Lean Six Sigma. Read the full article. October 4, 2006
- Basic Strategies for Avoiding and Overcoming Resistance
Every company runs into resistance that can slow down, or even rail, a new Lean Six Sigma initiative. That is why part of every executive's repertoire needs to be the knowledge, skills and tools to minimize the occurrence and impact of resistance. Read the full article. September 20, 2006
- Pre-work and Prioritization Mean Fewer Failed Projects
A lack of pre-work is at least partially responsible for most abandoned Six Sigma projects. Additionally, projects are often not adequately prioritized to determine relative ranking for purposes of focus and allocation of finite resources. Read the full article. September 6, 2006
- Why a Team Cannot Afford to Overlook the C in DMAIC - An iSixSigma Case Study
The initial results of a new quality improvement effort at a Midwest lockbox operation were disappointing - the error rate seemed to be increasing. When the SixSigma team got to the Control phase it began solving the problem of excessive errors. Read the full article. August 23, 2006
- Learning to Recognize Process Waste in Financial Services
To help Six Sigma practitioners in financial services begin developing a “waste-sensing” ability, here is a description of seven specific types of process waste that someone is doing somewhere in virtually every company right now. Read the full article. August 9, 2006
- Improving Project Cycle Times Requires Right Variables
In the Six Sigma methodology, the equation Y = f(x) shows that the output (Y) is dependent on several variables (x). The same can be said about cycle times for process improvement projects. The correct variables mean improved project cycle times. Read the full article. July 26, 2006
- Course Correction? Tips for Doing a Deployment Review
Sometimes the results from a Lean Six Sigma deployment are not as good as what a company hoped or expected. What often helps in that situation is a formal deployment review, much like a tollgate review on an individual project. Read the full article. July 12, 2006
- Challenges of Discrete and Attribute Data Measurement
Measurement is more important than ever. How measurement systems are evaluated is influenced by the types of data gathered. A Gage R&R evaluates systems for continuous data, attribute data can be analyzed using MSA to deal with discrete data. Read the full article. June 28, 2006
- Involve Finance in Project Selection, Not Just Validation
Most companies using Six Sigma are used to including financial staff at the back-end of projects to validate results. But the savviest organizations are getting their finance departments involved in what projects to work on in the first place. Read the full article. June 14, 2006
- Integrating Lean Six Sigma into Culture Is Like a Merger
While it is essential for a company to create familiarity with Lean and Six Sigma disciplines by training its employees, it is even more important to integrate Lean Six Sigma into its change culture. Read the full article. May 31, 2006
- Value Stream Map Without All the Data Still Offers Gains
A value stream map can look daunting, especially for anyone who has not worked much with flowcharts. But, alot can be gained from starting a value stream map, even if there is not enough data to do the perfect map the first time through. Read the full article. May 17, 2006
- Using Triage to Manage Process Workloads in Services
Finding ways to manage workflow and minimize congestion, and the delays it causes, is a common challenge in service businesses. One of the most effective tools for dealing with congestion is triage. Read the full article. May 3, 2006
- Using Blended Optimization to Quantify the Qualitative
Some large U.S. financial institutions have sought in recent years to develop risk-rating scorecards to help them become much more quantitative in how they evaluate and assign risks. Six Sigma can provide that path to better risk-rating scorecards. Read the full article. April 19, 2006
- Teaching Six Sigma Awareness/Methodology in Workplace
In teaching Six Sigma awareness and methodologies in the workplace, it is most important to tell the audience no degree in statistical analysis is needed. From there, just keep it simple and use common, everyday examples to which they can relate. Read the full article. April 5, 2006
- SIPOC Leads to Process Mapping and Project Selection
Companies new to Six Sigma need to build a foundation for repeatable continuous improvement (infrastructure), as well as an agreed-upon, easily communicated picture of current processes ("as is" state). Building a SIPOC diagram a good starting point. Read the full article. March 22, 2006
- Black Belts Can Help Allay Panic from Sarbanes-Oxley
Six Sigma can be used to solve process problems of every magnitude -- including overwhleming concerns such as those that might come from federal legislation like Sarbanes-Oxley. Here's how one Master Black Belt helped address her company's worries. Read the full article. March 8, 2006
- Improving Debt Collection Rate, or How to Gain $865,000
A collection agency was not only able to retain a complaining client's business thanks to a Lean Six Sigma project, but used the capability improvements it gained from the project as a selling point with both current clients and prospective ones. Read the full article. February 22, 2006
- Understanding the Purpose and Use of Benchmarking
It is important for Six Sigma practitioners to understand the purpose and use of benchmarking. Thus they can help their companies use the information to identify gaps in the organization’s processes in order to achieve a competitive advantage. Read the full article. February 8, 2006
- Slashing Product Development Time in Financial Services
Once it is clear that there is a financial justification for increasing the speed of a process, take the time to develop a good value stream map. Making changes may be the easy part. Figuring out what changes to make takes the time and discipline. Read the full article. January 25, 2006
- More Value: Value Stream or Detailed Process Mapping?
Project goals, resource availability and deadlines are some factors in deciding which tool -- value stream mapping or detailed process mapping -- fits a Six Sigma project best. Also, project experience helps determine which tool to leverage. Read the full article. January 11, 2006
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