Six Sigma DMAIC Training

(excerpts)
Presenter: Bruce Berger (386) 852-9054 BergerConsulting@aol.com
Six Sigma is a proven methodology that will help us
improve our work in order to consistently ensure
Our products and services meet (or exceed)
customers needs
Our Processes are cost-effective
DBS employees are well-trained and motivated
State and federal statutory requirements are met
Why do we need Six Sigma?
Six Sigma Overview
What is Six Sigma?
Six Sigma Overview
A philosophy for systematically improving quality,
and therefore efficiency.
A standard of performance equal to 3.4 defects
per million outputs (i.e. near perfection).
Most operations are about 2.8 sigma (100,000
defects / million).
Very good operations are about 4 sigma (3,500
defects / million).

1) Providing Customer Satisfaction through the total
involvement of ALL employees
Making Line Graphs move in the direction you
want them to go.
Target
GOOD
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Six Sigma is all about
2)Or put another way
Line Graphs Help Us Understand Our Performance
Six Sigma Overview
We know were Successful when
Our costs for doing business are the lowest possible.
GOOD
Target = 80%
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96%
95%
92%
95%
Q3 04 Q4 04 Q1 05 Q2 05
Our customers tell us
that they are pleased
with our services.
% Customer Satisfaction
Six Sigma Overview
Our Employees are efficient.
Our Services are Delivered On-Time.
Moving line graphs requires efforts in three (3) areas
Process Management
helps us maintain
good results as we
perform our
Mission.
Strategic planning helps us
focus on key projects
to reach our Vision.
Process
Improvement
using the DMAIC
process helps us
fix work problems
and improve our
Performance.
To be successful as an organization, we must learn how to
effectively apply ALL three (3) areas.
Six Sigma Overview
Strategic
Planning
Process
Improvement
Process
Management
Six Sigma
Todays training will overview the DMAIC process.
Process
Improvement
utilizes a 5 step
problem solving
DMAIC process:
2) Measure
5) Control
4) Improve
1) Define
3) Analyze
DMAIC 5 Steps
DMAIC Overview
Display Problem ...
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Stratify Problem ...
1. Define 2. Measure
3. Analyze 4. Improve
Results Standardization Future Plans
Checksheet
or Spreadsheet
Line Graph
Month
GOOD
Target
GAP
%
Histogram
n=63
21 Late
n=21
Pareto
B C A D
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Identify & Verify Root Cause ... Identify & Implement Countermeasures ...
Countermeasures Matrix Single Case Bore Contingency Table
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Present
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Scatter Diagram
Cause "C"
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CM
BARRIERS AIDS
High A1a A1b
HOW WHO
1. Dev
2. Impl
WHEN
CONTROL CHARTS
FLOW CHART
LESSONS LEARNED
WHAT'S NEXT?
GOOD
%
CM IMPL'M
Before After
n=21
n=10
Overall Effect
B C A D C B A D
Target
Standard
Action Plan
5. Control
4. Improve
Lets look more closely at the two important tools used in Define.
The objective of step 1 is to Demonstrate the importance
of improvement needs in measurable terms.
Display Problem ...
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1.Define
Checksheet
or Spreadsheet
Line Graph
Month
GOOD
Target
GAP
%
Define Measure Analyze Improve Control
DMAIC Overview Step 1: Define
MS Excel is used to construct unique spreadsheets to record
data for analysis
Spreadsheets segment information into four key sections:
Demographics (contain who, what, where or when--information about the
process)
Milestone Dates (key completion dates/times of steps in the process)
Durations (Performance Results calculated from the milestone dates
automatically)
Outcomes (Performance results of the process)
Data collection can be either manual or downloaded from
existing systems
Can be used for ongoing monitoring of process performance
after the project is completed
Process Status Summary
WHEN
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#
MILESTONES DURATION OUTCOME
WHERE WHO WHAT
DEMOGRAPHICS
Step 1: Define - Spreadsheet Tool
Step 1: Define - Line Graph Tool
GOOD
Target = 80%
%

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96%
95%
92%
95%
Q3 04 Q4 04 Q1 05 Q2 05
Gap
Used to display performance trends
Relates performance to a target that is established by either
customers or the business
Displays the Gap between the observed performance and the
target
DMAIC Overview Step 2: Measure
Lets look more closely at two important tools used
in Step 2: Measure
The objective of step 2 is to Investigate the features of
the indicator, stratify the problem and set a target for
improvement.
Stratify Problem ...
2. Measure
Histogram
n=63
21 Late
n=21
Pareto
B C A D
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Standard
Step 2: Measure Histogram Tool
Customer Service Document Requests Between Week 31 and Week 38 that Were Delivered
Late
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
-1.55 0.55 2.65 4.75 6.85 8.95 11.05 13.15 15.25 17.35 19.45 21.55 23.65 25.75 27.85 29.95
# of hours to deliver request
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x
n = 162 (2 outilers of 79 and 64 hours not shown)
mean = 7.139
std dev = 8.538
USL=0.5 hours
MS Excel and QC Tools software used to construct graph
Fits data into a frequency distribution
Can show upper and lower specification limits and denote data that
falls outside those limits (the area on which the story should focus)
Used for data breakdowns by hours, minutes, dollars, etc.
Step 2: Measure Pareto Tool
MS Excel and QC Tools software used to construct graphs
Tool used to rank data by groups from the group that contains the most
data points to the group that contains the fewest data points.
Look for a large bar or young mountain
Customer Service Requests Between Week 31 and Week 38 that Were Delivered Late
162
29
25
12
9
7
5
2
99.2%
97.2%
94.4%
90.8%
86.1%
76.1%
64.5%
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DOCS LLR RS NFL O&E START QUESTION RS, DOCS
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Team Operations and Group Dynamics
The following are a few dynamics that all teams need
to be successful
P-A-L (Purpose Agenda Limit)
Parking Lot
Recognition
4 Stages of Team Growth
Consensus and Brainstorming
Rules of Conduct
P-A-L
What Is An Effective Meeting?
Because organizations spend 7.15% of their personnel budgets,
35% of middle management's time, and 60% of top
management's time in meetings.
Why Are Effective Meetings Important?
An effective meeting is a meeting:
which is necessary.
which includes all individuals required to accomplish the
intended PURPOSE.
which covers the AGENDA*.
where people know what is expected of them.
P-A-L (Cont.)
What Is An Effective Meeting? (Cont.)
An effective meeting is a meeting:
where the real issues are on the table and being dealt with
and where most hidden agendas are legitimized and
surfaced for discussion.
where decisions and commitments are made, plans are
developed, problems are solved.
where people leave knowing what was accomplished and
what they are to do.
which meets its intended PURPOSE*.
which respects people by starting and ending on time
(LIMIT*).
P-A-L (Cont.)
When Are Meetings Needed?
Meetings are useful:
for group problem solving.
for sharing information or advice.
for building commitment to a common goal.
for addressing problems or issues that involve a number
of people.
for planning.
for defining accountability and responsibility.
for group decision-making.
P-A-L (Cont.)
How Are They Created?
Send a draft of the agenda. The person calling the
meeting should send out information on the agenda so
that the purpose, time frames and topics are clear before
people come to the meeting.

Start the meeting on time.

Revise and agree on an agenda. Add agenda items
suggested by others attending the meeting, as appropriate.
Finalize and agree on the agenda.

Agree on ground rules.
P-A-L (Cont.)
How Are They Created? (Cont.)
Encourage active participation from all members.

Choose a process facilitator. To ensure an effective
meeting, someone needs to take responsibility for
managing the process portion of the meeting.

Focus the discussion. Clarify and summarize as
necessary to facilitate mutual understanding of
perspectives and ideas.

Decide how to decide. Determine how decisions will be
made in the meeting - by consensus, by multi-voting, by
majority voting, or by the team leader.
P-A-L (Cont.)
How Are They Created? (Cont.)

Address all items raised. Insure that all items raised are
addressed by the end of the meeting and that the person
who raised the item knows what the next step will be,
specifically.

Check with the person who raised the issue to ensure they
know what needs to happen next to get the issue
addressed and that the proposed plan meets their needs.
Parking Lot
Parking Lot is a strategy for recording and postponing
items raised during a meeting. Create a side list of items
to be addressed later. Before the meeting adjourns, review
ALL "parked" items and decide:

whether this group will address the item or refer it
elsewhere, and if the item will be addressed by the
group, decide when and how it will be addressed - (e.g.,
agenda next meeting, assign).

communicate decisions to the person who raised the
item.
Parking Lot (Cont.)
Summarize results, agreements, and next steps.
Acknowledge agreements. At the close of the meeting
review the decisions and agreements and other
accomplishments that happened in the meeting, and
review the next steps. WRITE IT ALL DOWN!
Acknowledging and celebrating what was accomplished
at a successful meeting gives people a sense of progress,
and rewards them for the time and effort the meeting
required. It also encourages them to work to make the
next meeting productive.

End the meeting on time.
Recognition
Two major forces help drive Quality Improvement. These
are:
Personal satisfaction from participation in the process and
the knowledge that you can make constructive changes in
your work environment, which help meet the needs of the
customer.
External recognition, which honors those who contribute
to quality improvement.
The purpose of recognition is to formally
acknowledge the accomplishments of teams or team
related activities.
Recognition (Cont.)
Recognition is meant to be a "Win-Win"
situation, but it is often difficult to implement
in a way that everyone perceives it as such.
Teams should recognize that successful long-
term recognition is most applicable on a local
level. Peer recognition and recognition by
your local management have a more direct,
lasting impact.
Team Growth
When small groups of people come together for the first time or when
other events occur, these groups are said to be in transition and will
undergo some predictable phases of team change or growth. A
corresponding change in individual comfort levels brings tension
and a sense of uneasiness to the whole team.

The net result is usually some form of undesired or dysfunctional team
behaviors. An awareness of these stages of group development and
their related behaviors is important, especially for people leading
teams in transition. The transition can be triggered by numerous
events, including:
A small group coming together for the first time
Changing team leaders on an existing team
Member turnover
An unexpected surprise visitor sits in with the team
Team Growth (Cont.)
Stage I: Form: This is where the group comes together either
for the first time or after being apart for long periods.

Stage II: Storm: This phase is characterized by intra-team
conflict as members become more familiar and more
comfortable with the team environment. They take more risks,
and often begin to become competitive with each other.
FORM STORM NORM PERFORM
Team Growth (Cont.)
Stage III: Norm: This phase is typified by the development
of team cohesion. After all the conflict of phase II, the
members begin to recognize and accept the team norms, their
roles and the pecking order established in stage II. The
personal "quirks" of other members also become accepted, or
at least better tolerated and torn relationships get patched back
up.
Stage IV: Perform: This is when the team really begins to
operate smoothly like a well-oiled machine. Members now
know one another well; they freely depend on each other for
support and can thus focus on solving the problem and
objective decision-making instead of each other.
FORM STORM NORM PERFORM
Team Growth (Cont.)
What Does This Mean To You?
Because the Form, Storm and Norm stages of group
development result in less than optimum output, teams often try
and push through these phases before their chemistry is ready to
move on in order to improve team productivity.

This might seem like a good idea, but it is really dysfunctional.

It is natural for people to go through predictable phases of
growth depending on maturity, experience, and other factors. It
is natural for teams to do so too. They must go through these
predictable phases as they mature and gain experience with each
other and the DMAIC Story.
Team Growth (Cont.)
What Does This Mean To You? (Cont.)
The duration of each phase depends on individual and team maturity,
task complexity, leadership, and the sponsor's support.

While it is natural that teams go through these stages some teams can
get stuck in different stages. Given that the stages are unavoidable, an
idea to consider to help reduce the time needed for a "team in
transition" to go through the stages and be fully productive, is to share
expectations about the group and its preferences and direction.

Specifically, the team can establish (as part of their rules of team
conduct) for example, there will be no "surprises". This can help
establish an atmosphere of trust earlier in the evolutionary process
allowing for some interpersonal issues to be put aside so people can
focus on team objectives.
Team Growth (Cont.)
FORM STORM NORM OR PERFORM
INDIVIDUAL ISSUES
What am I doing?
Who are these people?
Who is in charge?
How effective am I?
How much influence do I have?
I know how I belong
I know what I contribute
GROUP ISSUES
What is the charter?
Is this the right group?
Is this the right structure?
How do we work together?
What is each member responsible
for?
What should we be working on?
What changes might increase our
effectiveness?
Give and take
Celebration when it is earned
WHAT YOU WILL
SEE
Testing boundaries
Establishing rules
Caution
Politeness
Superficiality
Dependency/
Counter Dependency
Focus on methods
Conflict/tension
Cop out (quick agreement and
silence)
Polarization
Resistance
Win-Lose
Increased comfort
Role shifting
Little need to discuss methods
Identification with the group
Shared power and information
Fun
LEADERSHIP
STRATEGIES
Break the ice!
Get involved and participation
Elicit examination of differences
Model and support influential, not
aggressive communication
Provide positive and critical
feedback
Create celebration
Consensus and Brainstorming
Consensus is a group decision-making process that takes
each member's ideas and opinions into account and results in
a decision that everyone in the group can support. It is an
effective method for decision-making because it involves
every member's participation. Consensus improves decision
quality, equalizes power, causes examination of alternatives,
increases commitment to implement the decision and
promotes unity among the team members.

Brainstorming is a method used by a group of people to
produce a large number of creative ideas in a relatively short
period of time.
Consensus (Cont.)
How To Reach Consensus:

The leader clearly lists the alternatives the group has to choose from
and opens the topic for discussion.

Each member of the group shares her/his ideas opinions and known
facts about what each feels the group's decision should be.

When the leader feels that the team is beginning to come to a
common agreement, he/she will clarify the position and ask the team
if there is a consensus. If everyone agrees that it is the best decision,
or feels that it is a decision that they can support, they state their
agreement and the leader confirms the decision. If a member has
new information or clarification of previous information that may be
helpful to the team, time is spent discussing the concern and the
process continues until consensus is achieved.
Consensus (Cont.)
THE GOALS OF CONSENSUS
Eliminate a we-they feeling.
Focus on the problem, not on personalities, position, or points of view.
Reach a win-win decision.
Develop team ownership to the decision.
Key Guidelines For Decision Making By Consensus:

Avoid arguing based on opinion. Strive to focus on facts and objectivity.
Don't change your mind to avoid conflict. Change it based on facts and
objectivity. Look at differences among the group as positive ways to make
change. Coach each other to be honest, open and data based as much as
possible.

The following is an exercise to practice the decision-making technique of
consensus in a group setting. Pay special attention to member
involvement, as this will drive your success.
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is an effective technique because of two main
principles:

1. Delayed Judgment - People are able to produce more
ideas when they delay evaluation of ideas until a later
time.

1. Extended Effort - More original and useful ideas are
created when the group continues to generate ideas
beyond the initial, more obvious responses by filling an
agreed upon time limit or an agreed upon number of
ideas. The emphasis in the Generation Phase of a
brainstorming session is always on the "quantity" of ideas
not the "quality." The quality will come later when ideas
are clarified and evaluated.
Brainstorming (Cont.)
How To Brainstorm:

The leader selects the method of brainstorming that will be used
and informs the team. It will usually be one of two popular types:
Structured or Round Robin
Unstructured Open Forum or Green Lighting

The leader clearly states the topic and purpose of the brainstorming
session. Everyone agrees on the topic or issue. The topic is then
written and placed in a prominent, visible position.

A recorder is selected to record all ideas on a flipchart or
viewgraph transparency for all to see. Always having the words
visible to everyone at the same time avoids misunderstandings and
helps to inspire other new ideas.
Brainstorming (Cont.)
How To Brainstorm (Cont.):

The leader reviews the following "Rules for Brainstorming" with
the group:
No discussion, comments or evaluation of any idea during the
generation phase.
All ideas will be recorded.
Quantity not quality is important during the generation phase.
State ideas briefly and clearly.
Build on recorded ideas.

Generation Phase- Begin the brainstorming session by posting
ideas on the flip chart. Make sure all ideas remain visible to the
team. Continue until the agreed upon time is used or the agreed
upon number of ideas are generated.
Brainstorming (Cont.)
How To Brainstorm (Cont.):

Clarification Phase- During the Clarification Phase of
Brainstorming, the team goes over the list to make sure that
everyone understands all of the items. Do not discuss ideas.
Criticism and discussion will take place during the
Evaluation Phase and in Multi-voting.

Evaluation Phase- Finally, during the Evaluation Phase, the
team reviews the list to eliminate duplications, irrelevancies
and issues that are off limits or cannot possibly be addressed
or acted upon by this team.
Rules of Conduct
Rules of Conduct:
One practical way to reinforce the principle of Respect
People is to establish and follow Rules of Conduct during
meetings. Your team can either adopt the Rules of
Conduct, shown below, or modify them to best suit your
team's needs.
Rules Of Conduct
Respect others
Keep an open mind
Listen without interrupting
Share the load
Constructively criticize
ideas, not people
Question and participate
Attend all meetings
Follow the P.A.L.



Rules of Conduct (Cont.)
With the ground rules established, the team can
begin the continuous improvement cycle, P-D-C-A,
but meetings must be effectively managed to ensure
progress and success.
Rules Of Conduct
Respect others
Keep an open mind
Listen without interrupting
Share the load
Constructively criticize
ideas, not people
Question and participate
Attend all meetings
Follow the P.A.L.



1. Draw and label each axis. Label the horizontal axis with the frequency of
measurement (i.e., hour, day, week, month, etc., or by occurrence). Label
the vertical axis with the indicator to be displayed. Construct appropriate
measurement scales on each axis.
2. Title the line graph with full Indicator Description including Location
and Time Period.
How to Construct Line Graph Outcome Indicators
GOOD
Week Ending
% =
100%
25%
50%
75%
%
Q3 % of Product Orders Delivered On-Time
Source: XYZ Data Base
Bruce Berger 2/09/07
2006
# of Product Order Delivered On-Time
# of Total Orders Delivered
9/8/06 9/15/06
Target = 90%
X 100
9/22/06 9/29/06
26.4%
60.7%
61.1%
57.1%
Average = 49.8%
3. Show indicator formula if the indicator results from a calculation.
4. Draw a good arrow and target. The target is displayed as a dashed line.
5. Fill in the source block and include source of the data, who collected the
data and the time period that data was collected from the source.
Construct Line Graph Outcome Indicators (Cont.)
Data Collection Spreadsheet
MS Excel is used to construct unique spreadsheets to record data for
analysis
Spreadsheets segment information into four key sections:
Demographics (contain who, what, where or when--information about the process)
Milestone Dates (key completion dates/times of steps in the process)
Durations (Performance Results calculated from the milestone dates automatically)
Outcomes (Performance results of the process)
Data collection can be either manual or downloaded from existing
systems
Can be used for ongoing monitoring of process performance after the
project is completed
Process Status Summary
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MILESTONES DURATION OUTCOME
WHERE WHO WHAT
DEMOGRAPHICS
The ParetoBackground
1897 . . . Italian Economist, Vilfredo Pareto, presented
a formula showing that the distribution of income is
uneven (i.e., the largest share of the world's income is
held by small number of people).
1907 . . . U.S. Economist, M. C. Lorenz, expressed a
similar theory in a diagram.
Later . . . Quality Control expert, Dr. J. M. Juran,
applied Lorenz's diagram method to classify problems of
quality into "vital
How the Pareto Diagram was Born
The ParetoBackground
The Pareto is a graphical tool used to rank datasets
within a data group. It helps us distinguish between the
significant few and the trivial many datasets. It is
primarily used to identify the most serious or most
frequently occurring dataset(s) and is based on the
concept that 80% of the data group problems (or, at least
a large percentage) result from 20% of the datasets.
Pareto diagrams are to be constructed for only discrete
(or countable or attribute) data.

What is a Pareto Diagram?
1. Draw a box.
2. Display the number of items in the upper left corner as shown below (n=101).
3. Title the PARETO by describing the data that is being stratified.
(Hint: answer the Question, What is n?(i.e What are the 101?)
4. Label three (3) sides of the box as follows:
1. Left side: Number of __________ Construct a measurement scale on the left side starting
with zero at the bottom and the n (e.g., 101) value at the top. Add additional appropriate
scale values on the left side.
2. Bottom side: Label with the name of the What, Where, When or Who data group to be
displayed (e.g., County). Draw each bar at the appropriate height descending from the left
starting with the biggest bar. Label each bar and display bar height values above each bar.
3. Right side: Label this side Cumulative Percentage and display measurement grids at 0%,
25%, 50%, 75% and 100%.
4. Construct a Cumulative Percentage line: Line starts in lower left corner at zero and
connects labeled data points plotted at or directly above the upper right corner of each bar
and at a height equal to the cumulative percentage, calculated as follows: % = (bar heights of
all bars to left data point) (the total n) * 100 (e.g., (76+20) (101) * 100 = 96%).
5. Add a source box.
The ParetoConstruction
The Pareto Example
Customer Service Requests Between Week 31 and Week 38 that Were Delivered Late
162
29
25
12
9
7
5
2
99.2%
97.2%
94.4%
90.8%
86.1%
76.1%
64.5%
0
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100
150
200
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DOCS LLR RS NFL O&E START QUESTION RS, DOCS
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