What you will learn?
Introduction
Project selection & kick-off
Define
Measure
Analyze
Improve
Control
About this course
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification
Become an Internationally Certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt 100% online. A modernized approach teaches you the skills necessary to identify and solve real problems and achieve truly meaningful and sustainable results. A very powerful feature of Six Sigma is the creation of an infrastructure to ensure projects are managed professionally and results and behaviors support your efforts to change!
Who Should Enroll?
Candidates for Green Belt certification are typically those who participate in a team with colleagues to solve problems or to achieve ambitious goals, or Individual Contributors tasked with objectives that require expertise and collaboration to be successful. If you or your team are working towards goals to improve quality of service, quality of products, cost of operations, speed to market, speed of service, process efficiency, customer satisfaction, employee engagement, process transparency, internal communications, smooth handoffs between departments, meaningful and accessible documentation, audits and certifications or any other improvements in your organization, a Green Belt certification will provide the skills needed to successfully get the job done.
- How to kick off your project.
- Solidify measures of the current state and target/goal.
- How to perform root cause analysis.
- How to develop innovative solutions.
- How to sustain and expand the improvement.
Key feature of this globally accredited certification:
- 64 PDU's
- 100% online video.
- Globally accredited, fresh and modern approach.
- Master Black Belt instructors, examples and practices from diverse industries.
- Interactive workbook.
- On-demand online coaching, study and learn at your own pace.
- All templates are in Excel for easy access.
The biggest indicator that a person or team needs Green Belt certification is wasted energy. Individuals and teams may work extraordinarily hard, but their efforts do not efficiently translate into meaningful results. Empowering individuals or teams without a common structure and skill set worsens the chaos and makes achieving goals even more difficult. When individuals and teams work within a common structure and tool set that Green Belt certification provide, their tight alignment provides the capacity to deliver significant results...on time...and then do it again...and again!
Lean Six Sigma Green Belts are project leaders capable of forming and facilitating Lean Six Sigma teams and managing larger root cause analysis projects from concept to completion. Green Belt training consists of the instruction and practice and is best learned by completing a project along with the training. This will allow you to apply the concepts as soon as you learn them, so you can ask better questions and gain a better understanding.
Forming and facilitating Lean Six Sigma teams and managing larger root cause analysis projects from concept to completion. Green Belt training consists of the instruction and practice and is best learned by completing a project along with the training.
Why do you need Lean Six Sigma?
In order to succeed and to get the greatest return, there has to be a support system. Some experts estimate that failure to provide this infrastructure is the #1 reason why improvement efforts fail. The Lean Six Sigma infrastructure makes improvement and changes the full-time job of a small but critical percentage of the organization’s personnel. Then supplements the full-timers with enough expertise and a support system to make it all work.
Behaviors X Results = Sustainable Growth!
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Top companies suggest this course to their employees and staff.
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Here is your Workbook for this course - Please download and print, or use Electronically, but do make sure you take notes and participate in the exercises as you only have to attempts to pass the Final Exam!
Templates for you to download and use for the DEFINE Phase.
Templates for the MEASURE Phase for you to download and use!
Templates for the ANALYZE Phase of Greenbelt for you to download and use!
Templates for the IMPROVE Phase of Greenbelt for you to download and use!
Templates for the CONTROL Phase of Greenbelt for you to download and use!
Lean Six Sigma Green Belts are project leaders capable of forming and facilitating Lean Six Sigma teams and managing larger root cause analysis projects from concept to completion.
Green Belt training consists of the instruction and practice and is best learned by completing a project along with the training.
This will allow you to apply the concepts as soon as you learn them so you can ask better questions and gain a better understanding.
Way before the start of an improvement project, many steps were taken, and decisions made. Most organizations and most functions within organizations are constantly working on multiple efforts to make things better. These efforts may be formal or informal, but to do it right, it must be managed well to ensure that our efforts are not a big waste of time and resources.
Selecting improvement projects means that we identify areas to improve, strategically plan the resources and timing, and ensure that we have strong leadership support throughout the project life cycle. One of the biggest decisions that any organization will have to make is selecting projects they will undertake.
As a Green Belt, you will be responsible for leading or participating in an improvement project. However, you may or may not be involved in the selection of your project. Whether you are a part of project selection or not, it’s important that you have a good understanding of how projects are selected.
One Point Lesson/How to Guide - Project Kickoff
One Point Lesson/How to Guide - Project Selection Criteria Matrix
One Point lesson/How to Guide - Project Team Selection
Welcome to the first phase of DMAIC, Define. This is the first major milestone of a root cause analysis project and the first step to becoming a certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.
This phase is all about the team getting their heads wrapped around this project. This is the preparation phase where the team aligns on all the foundational aspects so that delays, rework, and mistakes can be avoided.
This phase might seem like the easiest, but it’s the most important because it sets the project up for success.
A weak Define phase will mean that the team will struggle and find themselves wandering in all directions throughout the entire project.
The Define phase is the first phase of a DMAIC root cause analysis project.
In this phase, the team will make sure that they are have a solid project foundation so that they can effectively and efficiently get to improvement results.
In the Define phase, the team will get all the details of the project in order so that they can minimize delays, mistakes and rework.
We will kick off the Define phase by understanding the process. This is the time for the team to understand which process - or processes - their improvement project will focus on…where it starts, where it ends and all the stuff in between.
We’re not getting into the details in this early phase. Rather, we are taking a 30,000 foot view to help us frame our project.
Understanding requirements is the basis for understanding where we need to improve. What are the standards that need to be met for our customers, our people and our business to thrive?
We will focus on Requirements in every phase of DMAIC…
In the Define phase… we understand our opportunities to improve based on what the customer and business need and want.
In Measure…we turn those requirements into something tangible and measurable
In the Analyze phase…we focus on specific aspects of our process that are causing problems with us delivering requirements
The Improve phase focuses on designing our process to deliver to requirements. We test our products and processes to ensure that every requirement is met
And in the Control phase…the Requirements become our KPIs – our Key Performance Indicators – that we monitor regularly
We will focus on Requirements in every phase of DMAIC…
In the Define phase… we understand our opportunities to improve based on what the customer and business need and want
In Measure…we turn those requirements into something tangible and measurable
In the Analyze phase…we focus on specific aspects of our process that are causing problems with us delivering requirements
The Improve phase focuses on designing our process to deliver to requirements. We test our products and processes to ensure that every requirement is met
And in the Control phase…the Requirements become our KPIs – our Key Performance Indicators – that we monitor regularly
With the SIPOC completed and a solid understanding of the requirements, the team has the information needed to draft the initial Charter.
The completion of the Project Charter is a major milestone for an improvement project team.
It may be the most important, as it sets the trajectory for the remainder of the project.
There are multiple pieces of information that the team must agree upon and compile, using the project information shared with them by their sponsor.
The Charter is a collaborative effort by the team, maintained by the Project Leader and is an ongoing key communication tool for the team.
To properly care for our Stakeholders, we need to understand who they are and we need to understand their perspectives.
Thinking this through early in the project is the only way to have a successful implementation in the end. Define this properly NOW and you will save yourself a massive headache later on.
A storyboard is used to arrange or organize illustrations or images that are created to tell a story. Storyboards are used in the filmmaking industry, in theaters, and in creating comics.
A storyboard provides a preview of the story being made before it is finalized and produced.
This allows filmmakers or ad agencies to clearly communicate ideas and to save time and costs.
The Tollgate meeting with the Project Sponsor means that the team believes that they are ready to move to the Measure phase…and they need to ensure that the Sponsor has approved the Define milestones and that the team is aligned with organizational leadership before taking the project any further. Let's explore.
As you begin to take action toward the fulfillment of your goals and aspirations, you need to realize that not every action will be perfect. Not every action will produce the desired result. Not every action will work. Making mistakes, getting it almost right, and experimenting to see what happens are all part of the process of eventually getting it right.
As a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, you may need support when faced with challenging or unique scenarios or when applying tools or methods that are not often used. If you should need support, you can contact us to schedule a private coaching session through our website.
Just look for the “Coaching with Cannsult” link.
We are your partners in Continuous Improvement and are a resource to help you quickly and effectively reach your goals.
This checklist will help to guide you through the phase to ensure that you are not skipping critical milestones.
If you decide to move forward when you still have some statuses at yellow or red, it’s a great indication that you have some risk factors that will put the timeline or the quality of your project at risk.
This checklist can easily be used as the basis for a Gantt chart, which allows you to add names and dates to each of these phase milestones.
Define One Point Lessons/How to Guides - The Kano Analysis
Define One Point Lessons/How to Guides - SIPOC
Define One Point Lessons/How to Guides - The Tree Diagram
Define One Point Lessons/How to Guides - The VOC Translation Matrix
Define One Point Lessons/How to Guides - Stakeholder Management
Define One Point Lessons/How to Guides - The Affinity Diagram
With the Define phase completed, the team now has a solid understanding of the process, the customer and the problem.
They have solidified the project charter and have created their Stakeholder communication plan. In this next phase, the team will focus on two major things; a measure for the baseline of the problem AND a plan to collect data to expose the root cause of the problem.
Facts and data and Measures play a part in all phases of DMAIC, but the objectives during each phase are a bit different.
Lean Six Sigma is all about Fact-based decisions and that really starts to take shape here in the Measure phase.
Building upon the framework that was set in the Define phase, Measure will set us up for strong root cause analysis and to make sure that our improvements are meaningful and measurable.
Instead of wasting our time making decisions based on gut feeling, guesses, prejudice and assumptions, our eyes and our minds can be opened to a fact-based view of the world around us!
This makes statistics one of the most exciting subjects around!
Understanding the basics of statistics makes you a better-informed contributor and will strengthen your ability to accurately evaluate situations that affect you. Statistical literacy is a critical component of creating real improvements.
As with any improvement effort, the only way to verify that you have a problem AND to determine if your fix worked, is to measure it!
The before picture is called the baseline.
This gives is a specific and measurable description of the current scenario – the problem that we are working to solve.
We’ve talked a lot about different measures, and now we’re going to cover different ways to display your data in a meaningful way.
Selecting the right chart takes a little thought about why we are studying the data.
Showing it in a crisp manner that allows the intended user to easily understand and analyze the data without getting into the granular details is the prime objective behind using Charts.
With the measure identified, the team can select the chart or charts that will best graphically tell the story of the data.
For example, if we are focused on reducing variation, we might select to show the data on a run chart to illustrate the pattern over time.
Then also display that same data on a histogram to show the snapshot of the center, shape and spread.
The point is that you can select multiple ways to tell the story of your data!
We’ve solidified your Project Y – or the outcome that your project will improve.
Now, we will begin exploring the causes of the problem…these are our X’s.
The X variables come from the Input or the Process Steps and and are brainstormed and prioritized in the Measure phase so that data can be collected for X and Y at the same time.
The goal of a DMAIC project is to identify what few process and input variables (X's) mainly influence the output measures (Y's).
Developing a data collection plan assures that the data that we collect is really the data that we need. It prevents us from simply using whatever data are already available and makes sure that we the data that we are using is accurate and good data…because we’re going to be making a lot of decisions based upon this data!
The alternative to analyzing an entire population – or every possible unit or piece of information, is Sampling. In statistics, a sample is an analysis of just those parts that we choose to represent the whole.
When we gather a portion of the population – or sample - we use the sample data to draw conclusions about the entire population. This is called Inferential Statistics.
Inferential statistics means that we are inferring a conclusion or prediction using a subset of the data.
Our project storyboard is used to arrange or organize graphics that tell the story of our project.
At this point in our project – at the end of the Measure phase, we should have some great info to add to our storyboard.
The Tollgate meeting with the Project Sponsor means that the team believes that they are ready to move to the Analyze phase…and they need to ensure that the Sponsor has approved the Measure milestones and that the team is aligned with organizational leadership before taking the project any further.
And here is your final template for the Measure phase.
This checklist will help to guide you through the phase to ensure that you are not skipping critical milestones.
If you decide to move forward when you still have some statuses at yellow or red, it’s a great indication that you have some risk factors that will put the timeline or the quality of your project at risk.
As a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, you may need support when faced with challenging or unique scenarios or when applying tools or methods that are not often used. If you should need support, you can contact us to schedule a private coaching session through our website. Just look for the “Coaching with Cannsult” link. We are your partners in Continuous Improvement and are a resource to help you quickly and effectively reach your goals.
Measure One Point Lessons/How to Guides - Common Baseline Measures
Measure One Point Lessons/How to Guides - Informal Hypothesis Table
Measure One Point Lessons/How to Guides - Fishbone Diagram
Measure One Point Lessons/How to Guides - Multi-Voting
Measure One Point Lessons/How to Guides - Derive Sigma Level
Measure One Point Lessons/How to Guides - Basic Brainstorming
Measure One Point Lessons/How to Guides - Filter Matrix
Welcome to Cannsult Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Training…you are now entering the Analyze phase of DMAIC
Let’s get started with this chapter; About the Analyze Phase.
The great news about the Analyze phase, is that if you did a thorough job in the Measure phase, this can be a really interesting and fun part of your project.
We’ve laid all the groundwork and have done all the prep in the first two phases…now it’s time to dig in and find out – for sure – what are the main causes of the problem that we intend to solve.
Welcome back to the second chapter of the Analyze phase… Hypotheses.
In this section, we’ll learn how to build upon the work that we did in the the Measure phase by formalizing our hypotheses so that we can test and verify the vital root causes of our problem.
We’ve formalized our hypotheses and have decided whether we will investigate them using process analysis or data analysis.
No matter what type of problem you’re trying to solve, knowing what you are looking for – that is – formalizing your hypotheses allows you to narrow your focus and quickly and accurately target the root causes.
Process Analysis is about diving into detail on those areas of the process where we suspect the root causes live – it’s about understanding what’s really happening in the process.
Another type of high-level map is called a Value Stream Map.
To understand value stream mapping, we need to first understand what a “value stream” is. Simply put, a value stream is a series of steps that occur to provide the product or service that their customers want or need.
Gemba (also known as Genba with an “N”) is a Japanese term meaning “the actual place”. Japanese TV reporters sometimes refer to themselves as reporting “from the Gemba.”
In business, it refers to the place where value is created.
For a news anchor, that would be the studio; for an actor, it would be the stage; and for a business leader, this would be where the work happens.
The term Gemba is often is used to stress that real improvement requires that the team focus on direct observation to thoroughly understand the current conditions where work is done.
Open Issues often come up in meetings or discussions.
Open Issues are those items that should be addressed, but not during the current meeting.
We can break Open Issues into two types; Parking Lot Items and Action Items.
Let’s first cover Parking Lot Items.
In the Analyze phase of a project, Detailed Process Mapping is method to visualize what is really going on in the process. It’s not about how things should be or could be working.
It’s about really understanding all the many details that are contributing to the problem we are working to solve.
We recommend starting with a high level process map (such as a SIPOC) so that the team can identify which areas of the process they will need to analyze in greater detail.
Every process contains some amount of waste – the most important step is to identify the waste. A few seconds here…a few minutes there...Multiplied by the number of people involved, number of days.
Pretty soon, we’re talking about hours, days and years of wasted time.
If your project is focused on Time or Efficiency, you’ll likely be very focused on identifying Non-Value-Added Steps and Time.
In your templates, you will find a form to organize a Time and Value Analysis using your detailed process map.
When analyzing a process, we will use all sorts of tools and techniques to understand what’s really going on in the process.
To validate what is causing the problem that we are working to solve.
One of the techniques used to understand problems with work flow is a spaghetti map (also called a spaghetti chart, spaghetti diagram).
Whichever way, it’s got spaghetti in the name.
Certain problems – or shall we say opportunities – are best told with photos.
For example, when you see a work area covered in sticky note reminders, that means that the process is not quite mistake-proof.
Why is there so much variation in this process?
In this module, we will teach you how to interpret the six basic data display tools and we will introduce two new tools that are used to test hypotheses.
Before we get into the specific charts, we’ll cover a couple general statistical topics that will help you to analyze and interpret your data.
When we learned about determining the minimum sample size in the Measure phase, we mentioned the topic of Inferential vs Descriptive Statistics.
Descriptive statistics describes data (for example, a chart or graph) and inferential statistics allows you to test theories or make predictions (or inferences) from that data. With inferential statistics, you take data from samples and make generalizations about a population
When we analyze data, we want to know if our findings are “significant”…do we have facts or data to support our hypothesis?
Statistical significance helps quantify whether a result is likely due to chance or due to some relevant factor. When a finding is statistically significant, it means you can be confident that the difference you are seeing is real, not that you just got lucky (or unlucky).
In the Measure phase, we covered 6 common charts to display your baseline. We can also use these same tools in the Analyze phase to uncover and validate root causes of the problem that we are trying to solve
Once significant root causes have been verified, the team will need to pull their heads out of their…data… and begin to formalize and solidify the root causes of the problem.
This is an important milestone in the project… In the Define phase, we clarified the Problem and Goal, in the Measure phase, we added some meat to the problem and validated that it’s worth our effort, and in the Analyze phase, we are confirming that we have found the culprits of the problem.
Our project storyboard organizes graphics that tell the story of our project. At this point in our project – at the end of the Analyze phase, we should have some great info to add to our storyboard.
The Tollgate meeting with the sponsor means that the team believes that they are ready to move to the Improve phase…and they need to ensure that the Sponsor has approved the Analyze milestones and that the team is aligned with organizational leadership before taking the project any further.
Your final template in the Analyze phase is the checklist to help you to keep your actions and milestones in order.
Analyze One Point Lessons/How to Guides - Formal Hypotheses Table
Analyze One Point Lessons/How to Guides - Value Stream Map
Analyze One Point Lessons/How to Guides - The Gemba Walk
Analyze One Point Lessons/How to Guides - Detailed Process Map
Analyze One Point Lessons/How to Guides - Swimlane Process Map
Analyze One Point Lessons/How to Guides - 8 Wastes
Analyze One Point Lessons/How to Guides - 8 Wastes Spaghetti Map
Analyze One Point Lessons/How to Guides - 8 Wastes Value and Time Analysis
Analyze One Point Lessons/How to Guides - Control Chart
Analyze One Point Lessons/How to Guides - The Run Chart
Analyze One Point Lessons/How to Guides - The Histogram
Analyze One Point Lessons/How to Guides - The Box Plot
Analyze One Point Lessons/How to Guides - The Pareto Chart
Analyze One Point Lessons/How to Guides - Chi-Square
Analyze One Point Lessons/How to Guides - The Scatter Plot
Welcome to Cannsult Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Training…you are now entering the Improve phase of DMAIC
You’re going to learn some ideas that you can use – not just right now – but well into tomorrow ;)
The great thing about using a structured and rigorous structure like DMAIC, is that– structure sets you free!
A structured approach consists of things like tools, sequence, checklists and approvals.
When these things support and guide our project, it allows us to focus on the substance of work.
The idea behind this section on proven solutions is that many of the problems that you are likely to encounter have been solved before.
There’s no need to re-invent the wheel or come up with a unique solution for every project. Through the many years of applying and perfecting these solutions, they can be seen almost as a ready-to-go solution.
Of course, any solution will need to be adapted to your specific scenario.
So let’s start with our first proven solution, 5S
Why does disorganization lead to stress and frustration? Clutter, Disorganization and Missing Information……play a significant role in stress and frustration. Disorganized workspaces leave us feeling anxious and overwhelmed yet clutter is rarely recognized as a source of stress in our lives.
Kanban is a workflow management method for defining, managing and sharing knowledge about work waiting to be done, work in progress, and work that has been done.
The goal of Kanban is to help you visualize your work and the work of the team, to maximize efficiency, and to continuously improve the flow, efficiency and quality of work.
The Just In Time (or JIT), inventory ordering process has been around since the 1970s, but much newer examples show how much more efficiently a business can run when it adopts the practice of ordering what is needed only when it is needed.
JIT inventory management is a system of purchasing or manufacturing goods only when they’re needed to avoid a large amount of inventory in your warehouse.
Business owners, managers and employees are usually painfully aware how difficult it can be to maintain a stable flow of work.
Heijunka is a Lean method for reducing the unevenness in a process and minimizing the chance of having more work that we can handle or not enough work to keep us productive.
The term Heijunka is a Japanese term that means leveling and it can help us to react to demand changes and utilize our capacity in the best possible way.
Does the order of our workspace and tools matter?
The order and layout of our tools and work needs to be aligned with current ways of working and living. In this section, we will take the opportunity to explore some methods to guide our thinking process about where things go.
As I’m sure most of you have experienced, workplace information can change quickly and often: production schedules, incoming volume of requests, customer patterns and requirements, technical specifications, material availability, work-in-process, and a thousand other details on which the daily life of our processes depends.
In any single day, literally thousands of informational transactions are required to keep work current, accurate, and timely.
We like automation. It’s a great way to help optimize your business processes, to help the team to be most productive and feel good about their work, and to provide consistency and quality for our customers.
That said, automation is very easy to misuse!
When we automate a manual process that is inefficient or ineffective, we just create more problems…we end up automating our mistakes and cranking out defects faster!
When creating solutions, we explore the many different proven solutions (such as 5S, Kanban, Just in Time processing, etc.) to determine whether those methods might solve the specific root causes of our problem.
And while they often will, sometimes, we need to add unique solutions or ideas to make it work for our specific scenario. This is when we tap into Brainstorming…. But this doesn’t mean just sitting around a meeting room listing ideas. We’ll cover a few advanced techniques to generate strong solutions!
When creating solutions, we explore the many different proven solutions (such as 5S, Kanban, Just in Time processing, etc.) to determine whether those methods might solve the specific root causes of our problem.
And while they often will, sometimes, we need to add unique solutions or ideas to make it work for our specific scenario.
This is when we tap into Brainstorming…. But this doesn’t mean just sitting around a meeting room listing ideas. We’ll cover a few advanced techniques to generate strong solutions!
Let's make "assumption busting" a little more concrete by looking at one of our favorite examples of an industry with assumptions ripe for busting, the glamorous world of Laundromats.
Through the exploration of Proven Solutions and through Brainstorming Advanced Techniques, you will have identified multiple options to minimize or eliminate the root causes of your proble
In this module, we will go the different methods and tools used to weigh the solution ideas and to select the best ones.
Towards the end of the Improve phase, you will have ruled out multiple solutions and you will have found at least one to implement on a large scale.
By this point in a project you will have explored many options for solutions and you will have selected the best option based upon specific criteria.
Now is the time to work out all the details for the new ways of working.
In this section on Implementing the New Way, we will cover the two critical steps: Piloting and Implementation.
A pilot is a must – it is critical, because an idea that sounds wonderful in a room on paper never quite turns out the same way in reality. Piloting saves time, money and frustration by eliminating failed ideas before they’re implemented on a large scale.
Our project storyboard is used to arrange or organize graphics that tell the story of our project. At this point in our project – at the end of the Measure phase, we should have some great info to add to our storyboard.
The Tollgate meeting with the sponsor means that the team believes that they are ready to move to the Control phase…and they need to ensure that the Sponsor has approved the Improve milestones and that the team is aligned with organizational leadership before taking the project any further.
And here is your final template for the Improve phase.
This checklist will help to guide you through the phase to ensure that you are not skipping critical milestones.
If you decide to move forward when you still have some statuses at yellow or red, it’s a great indication that you have some risk factors that will put the timeline or the quality of your project at risk.
This checklist can easily be used as the basis for a Gantt chart, which allows you to add names and dates to each of these phase milestones.
Improve One Point Lessons/How to Guides - 5S
Improve One Point Lessons/How to Guides - Kanban
Improve One Point Lessons/How to Guides - Just In Time Inventory
Improve One Point Lessons/How to Guides - Load-Leveling (Heijunka)
Improve One Point Lessons/How to Guides - Work Cell Design
Improve One Point Lessons/How to Guides - Visual Workplace
Improve One Point Lessons/How to Guides - Selecting the Solution Criteria Matrix
Improve One Point Lessons/How to Guides - RASCI Assignment Matrix
Without these pieces that we’ll cover in the Control phase, all the hard work that you have done up until now will have very little chance of materializing into meaningful benefits or improvements.Welcome to Cannsult Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Training…you are now entering the final phase of DMAIC – CONTROL.
In many Lean Six courses, this phase is taught as a bit of an afterthought without much emphasis.
However, at Cannsult, we place a big emphasis on the Control phase because it is the key to realizing truly sustainable results.
Elements of the control plan have been created throughout the project. In the Define phase, we clarified the problem and goal.
In the Measure phase, we defined the baseline of the problem. In the Analyze phase, we gained an understanding of the factors causing problems with our results.
And in Improve, we developed and documented new ways of working. In the control phase, we will build upon all the work that we have done so far, with a focus on successfully sustaining our results.
In the Control phase of a project, one of the main objectives is to determine whether your project was successful.
But to do this, we have to understand a bit about the time and distance between cause-and-effect, the learning curve and human behavior.
In this module, we will cover the essential elements necessary to create process documentation that works and that stands the test of time.
What do we mean by documentation? In order to improve results, we have to make changes. All improvement requires change, but not all change results in improvement.
Documentation is the content that you provide the people in the process or the customer of the process to help them be more successful with the process, the product or the service.
As a part of our improvement, we have focused on at least one outcome or result measure - that’s our Goal. And in the Analyze phase, we discovered key factors in the Input and Process that impact our results.
In the Control phase of an improvement project, we must identify those key Input, Process and Output measures that are related to our project, and that must be monitored on an ongoing basis to ensure that our improvement is sustained.
At many companies, it can feel as if there are hundreds of miles between departments. As a unit is progressing through a process (whether it’s a person, or a request), it typically goes through multiple hands.
If these hands are not tightly coordinated, it can cause repetitive and significant problems.
To create and maintain healthy and productive processes, Leader Standard Work is key.
To effectively engage people in change; getting them to do something new, unique, or different, we MUST define the behavior we expect for managing the process.
Therefore, we need Leader Standard Work.
It doesn’t matter what our process is; whether it’s easy or difficult. If we expect the ‘normal’ process to change, a fundamental requirement is to decide how the process owner and the leaders of the process will manage the ‘new’ process.
We are at the final chapter of your project storyboard…let’s see the milestones in storyboard form.
The Tollgate meeting with the sponsor means that the team believes that they are ready to close the project.
They need to ensure that the Sponsor has approved the control milestones and that the team is aligned with organizational leadership before the project can be formally closed.
The Control Checklist…this is your last of the Green Belt templates. This final phase of DMAIC is one that is often rushed through or ignored.
And it’s the one that allow you to experience what it’s like to see all your hard work come to life when you see that your improvements created sustained results.
This is the time in our improvement project where we reflect on our experience so that we can learn from it, we formally close the project and we CELEBRATE!
Control One Point Lessons/How to Guides - How to Validate Results
Control One Point Lessons/How to Guides - Finalize Process Documentation
Control One Point Lessons/How to Guides - Visual Performance Management (Project)
Control One Point Lessons/How to Guides - Service Level Agreements
Control One Point Lessons/How to Guides - Leader Standard Work