Since the first day of Six Sigma Training you’ve been hearing about a “project charter”. Well once you have your Six Sigma certification you are in the driver’s seat and it’s all up to you. So what makes up a good charter? Do you really need it?
Since the first day of Six Sigma Training you’ve been hearing about a “project charter”. Well once you have your Six Sigma certification you are in the driver’s seat and it’s all up to you. So what makes up a good charter? Do you really need it?
Remember back in the 5th grade when you were asked to write a paper? The teacher would tell you to:
Well you are never too old for that advice and you can never be overly prepared and organized. When you went through your Six Sigma training you undoubtedly learned that control over a process is required for profitability. And with anything else… to properly control something you have to first properly define it. A solid project charter should include the following:
The Basics – The project name, date, organization, and target completion date should all be listed on the top of the project.
The Team – The Six Sigma project charter should not only list the team members from the Green Belts to the Black Belts, but it should also list any additional key members involved with the project and what their role will be. At the bare minimum it should at least list their contact numbers.
The Stakeholders – Remember hearing about them from your Six Sigma Training? From the customers to the union officials, there might be some individuals that have a lot to gain or lose. Be sure to put their information in as well!
The Goal – Include the main point of your initiative. What are you hoping to achieve?
The Problem – What is keeping you from reaching your goal? List all of the obstacles that are interfering with your current process.
Scope – What will your project involve? What will it exclude? Be sure to set up these important boundaries for your project.
The Importance – Why should this project matter more than any other possible project? Will it increase sales? Lower costs? Increase competitiveness?
Resources – What will you need to carry out your project? This is where the support of your organization’s leadership will really come into play. Be sure that you have everything you need to carry out your Six Sigma project.
Remember, the key point here is to keep it organized. Don’t go overboard with information overload. You are just looking for a good outline of all of the necessities of your project.
By keeping in mind all of these key points you should run into very few problems with you Six Sigma project structure.