Stephen R. Covey

To apply Six Sigma to your business and produce the best results, you need to understand what Six Sigma is, the principles of Six Sigma, and the DMAIC problem-solving method. The correct tools and use of the Six Sigma scale and methods will keep your data dependable and reusable.What is Six Sigma?Generally, Six Sigma is a set of techniques and tools that help businesses improve their processes.

A cause-and-effect matrix — sometimes called a C&E matrix for short — helps you discover which factors affect the outcomes of your Six Sigma initiative. It provides a way of mapping out how value is transmitted from the input factors of your system (the Xs) to the process or product outputs (the Ys). With these relationships visible and quantified, you can readily discover the most-influential factors contributing to value.

The term Six Sigma comes from the statistical basis of the approach and methodology used to address quality concerns: the roll-up of characteristic behaviors and the natural increase in variation in each characteristic over the long term. The sigma scale is a universal measure of how well a critical characteristic performs compared to its requirements.

The primary SPC tool for Six Sigma is the control chart — a graphical tracking of a process input or an output over time. In the control chart, these tracked measurements are visually compared to decision limits calculated from probabilities of the actual process performance. The visual comparison between the decision limits and the performance data allows you to detect any extraordinary variation in the process.

If you apply control charting as a part of your Six Sigma process control plan, you can use the control chart itself to trigger action or to leave things as they are based on what the control chart tells you. Sample data, also called subgroup data, is collected from the process characteristic in which you’re interested.

Having the right tools and knowing how to apply them to your Six Sigma projects will help you produce accurate, acceptable, and reusable outcomes. Here’s an overview of the Six Sigma landscape:

The Six Sigma scale shows how well a vital feature performs compared to its requirements. The higher the sigma score, the more efficient the feature is. This table shows the universal Six Sigma scale: Sigma Level (Z) Defects per Million Opportunities (DPMO) Percent Defects (%) Percent Success (Yield %) Capability (CP) 1 691,462 69 31 0.

Generally, Six Sigma is a problem-solving methodology that helps enhance business and organizational operations. It can also be defined in a number of other ways: A quality level of 3.4 defects per million opportunities A rate of improvement of 70 percent or better A data-driven, problem-solving methodo

The DMAIC (Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control) project method is a formalized problem-solving process of Six Sigma. It’s made-up of five steps to apply to any procedure of a business to improve effectiveness. Define: Set the context and objectives for your improvement project. Measure: Determine the baseline performance and capability of the process or system you’re improving.