Changing the way in which a company does business, in order to better serve the customer, is a huge undertaking and shouldn’t be done without solid evidence to support the change.   Enter the Kano Model, often used within the Six Sigma Methodology.

The six sigma quality improvement method is deeply rooted in statistical theory.  It is important to understand this statistical frame of thought before approaching a Six Sigma Project for your company.  This article is an introduction to Hypothesis Testing, a concept that is crucial to success when it comes to quality control.

The Hawthorne Effect had its birth in research studies that were held in 1924 at the Hawthorne Plant where the Western Electric Company made telephone hardware for AT&T.  The experiments, designed to study worker productivity under different circumstances, uncovered what is now known as the Hawthorne Effect of human behavior. It was at this same time and place that many of the rudimentary principles of Six Sigma were also developing.

Six Sigma projects are often developed and executed to enhance production tests. A key part of this process is developing the right metrics. Metrics involved in enhancing production tests need to consider the strengths and weaknesses of both traditional and alternative production test metrics.

The Ishikawa diagram also known as the cause and effect diagram is a tool used in the Six Sigma quality control concept for discovering all the possible causes of a problem – especially the root cause. The aspect in focus is normally related to service quality or efficiency of a factor of production such as machine compatibility, specification, and variance in delivery time and so on.

There are many tools within the toolbox of a Six Sigma Professional.  The difference between a good practitioner and a great practitioner is the ability to know which tool should be used and when to use it.  This comes with training and extensive experience with Six Sigma Projects.  All of these tools also fit within the DMAIC Process for Project success which is an acronym for: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control.

Six Sigma tools are business management strategies meant to improve the productivity of a company. This process is accomplished by reducing the defects that may be causing errors leading to variability in overall production. Management methods and high quality training programs are applied to create an infrastructure of employees who are perfect at applying these strategies.

Category Importance Weights can be a confusing topic when it comes to six sigma.  This article provides an easy-to-understand example of how to execute it.

When a Six Sigma professional is called in to improve the quality of teamwork in a business atmosphere, the first thing that will be encouraged is the use of a good team leader.  Six Sigma methods take advantage of creating knowledgeable, efficient and effective team leaders when creating plans of action. 

Often, when a company has been struggling for some time, it will do a complete upheaval of its management staff in order to implement some kind of change in the business functioning.  It is a fact that bringing in fresh minds can sometimes bear new light on the problems of a business.