Project Management: Six Sigma Model - Term Paper Example

Project Management Introduction In the wake of globalization, a lot of changed in terms of organizational processes, customer relations and advertisement amid the emergence of faster and more efficient means of accessing, retrieving a delivering information about products and services. Subsequently, this has also changed customer relation networks in a way that old business models are either inefficient or they no longer work at all. The contemporary competitive business environment leaves no room for error. To survive in it, an organization must invent smart ways of gaining a core competitive edge against rivals by relentlessly searching for new ways to exceed customer expectations. This is the reason why Six Sigma has become an integral part of organizational culture. With the emergence of Six Sigma as a model for improving process efficiency, it is now possible for organizations to adopt processes that produce products and services that exceed customer expectations. In essence, a six sigma process is one in which the margin of error is zero or insignificant in terms of the products manufactured. The margin of error is 3.4 defects per million, which translates into 99.99966% efficiency (Hahn et al 209). What is Six Sigma? Going by the definition in the Harvard Business Review, the Six Sigma Process Improvement is described as a business management stratagem initially devised by Motorola in 1986. Afterwards, the Six Sigma Process Improvement became a popular business strategy after Jack Welch incorporated it into General Electric’s organizational mainstream in 1995. Six Sigma has since become a widely used approach in contemporary sectors of many industries. The Six Sigma approach aims at improving and enhancing the quality of process outputs by discovering and getting rid of defects and errors and the causes of those errors and defects (Hahn et al 209). Six Sigma also seeks to minimize inconsistencies in manufacturing and business processes. In the Six Sigma improvement process, there is a set of quality management methods that includes a wide range of statistical methods and people with special expertise in those methods. Each Six Sigma process undertaken within an organization has quantified financial targets and it follows a designated chain of steps to achieve the selected goals such as cost reduction or maximizing returns. The phrase ‘Six Sigma’ was coined from terminology related to manufacturing; specifically terminology linked to statistical modeling of manufacturing processes. The maturity of any given manufacturing process is assessed through a sigma rating indicative of the amount of defect-free products it yields. In essence, a six sigma process is one in which the margin of error is zero or insignificant in terms of the products manufactured (Hahn et al 211). DMAIC For all Six Sigma projects, there are two methodologies that follow Demings Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle. These methodologies bearing the acronyms DMAIC and DMADV consist of five phases each. The DMAIC methodology is deployed for projects that are aimed at enhancing a business process that already exists while the DMADV methodology is used for those projects that are aimed at introducing a new product or process design. The DMAIC methodology is basically a data driven cycle aimed at improving, stabilizing and optimizing business processes and designs. Though it is not exclusive to the Six Sigma cycle, DMAIC is the basic process that businesses use to drive Six Sigma projects. The acronym DMAIC is an abbreviation denoting five process improvement milestones: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control that must proceed in that given order (Hahn et al 211). Define The first step, “define”, involves delineating or writing down and articulating facts and milestone objectives. What needs to be defined is ‘a problem statement,’ which indicates and articulates the current problem that needs to be addressed through the six sigma framework (Hahn et al 211). The target customers must also be defined. Project targets, target process, project boundaries, along with other critical process outputs must also be defined. The Define phase also includes the creation of a project charter. Measure The second phase, Measure, is a basically a data collection phase. Here, a decision is made on what to measure and how it is to be measured. A data collection plan is articulated beginning with the definition of the critical inputs (Xs) and outputs (Ys). Subsequently, the team defines the measurement plan after which they test the measurement system (Hahn et al 211). The next step is collection of data. Finally, the team performs a gauge study referred to as a Measurement System Analysis. Analyze This phase involves analyzing the data collected during the previous phase in an attempt to determine the root causes of various defects. The initial step in this phase is identifying gaps between the goal performance and current performance. Subsequently, the team seeks to establish the effect that the process inputs (Xs) have on the process outputs (Ys) (Hahn et al 211). The next step involves listing and prioritizing the opportunities that require improving. After that, the team identifies sources of variation. Finally, data analysis is done with the aid of histograms and box plots Improve During this phase the goal is to establish creative solutions to prevent process problems or to fix the existing ones through brainstorming techniques such as Random Word Hats and Six Thinking. The focus is on obvious solutions but in case of complex solutions, complex analysis tools like Designs of Experiments (DOE) can be useful. This phase also involves the use of FMEA to test solutions. After this, the team comes up with a detailed implementation plan. Experts advise that Ishikawa diagrams can be useful to help brainstorm useful solution during this phase (Hahn et al 211). Control The final phase, Control, involves monitoring improvement. Monitoring improvement is vital since it enables the organization to assess success of using the Six Sigma (Hahn et al 211). During this phase, it is important to create a control plan. Experts advise that it is always essential to have a control chart to ease the process. A CASE STUDY OF MOTOROLA’S PURSUIT OF PERFECTION Background As discussed earlier the Six Sigma Improvement Process was initially devised by Motorola in 1986 before becoming a business platform for other organizations over the years. Motorola’s journey towards process perfection under the auspices of the Six Sigma approach was engineered by Bill Smith as part of a larger organizational goal to devise a methodology that would enhance improvements in manufacturing while standardizing defect measurement. Engineering this methodology was the initial step in the company’s journey. Six Sigma granted the organization the tools to begin comparing and measuring quality improvement rates of its business groups. Six Sigma subsequently became Motorola’s performance metric (Hahn et al 212). Digital Six Sigma The year was 2003 when Motorola undertook a project of elevating Six Sigma to a management system. The company subsequently rebranded this project as “Digital Six Sigma.” This project was to be undertaken under the auspices of the DMAIC methodology as discussed earlier. From the outset, the company began by defining the goals and objectives of the Digital Six Sigma. They instigated a business-wide balanced scorecard. Afterwards, a select-team was set up to define the activities required to achieve the designated goals. Information retrieved from company annals illustrates that Motorola assigned their Black and Master Black Belts, laying much emphasis on their statistical capabilities change management skills, to work on the projects bearing complex problems with an unidentified root cause. Each of these experts sponsored the efforts while providing the ongoing governance required to eliminate the barriers and to realize results (Hahn et al 212). The integration of the term “Digital” was intended to show that the solutions were to be implemented through a non-manual, systematic control mechanism. The use of systematic control was devised to ensure sustainability and efficiency. In 2005, Motorola added Lean concepts to the hitherto DMAIC Six Sigma process improvement framework as part of the Digital Six Sigma program. The rationale behind this addition was to reduce cost and cycle time as well as to discover redundancies. The insistence on minimizing waste and non-value added activities became useful while increasing the productivity of Digital Six Sigma and addressing emerging competitive pressures. Following Motorola’s split into two independent, publicly traded companies: Motorola Solutions and Motorola Mobility in January 2011, a critical decision had to be made whether to carry on with Six Sigma as a management system, discontinue it altogether, or scale it back (Hahn et al 212).  Decision was made to undertake a “back to basics” approach at Motorola Mobility focusing on delighting consumers by delivering products and services that exceeded their expectations as was the essence of the traditional Six Sigma. Amid this change, Motorola Mobility’s Six Sigma program transformed into a grassroots effort where it was used as a methodology to solve day to day problems in functional areas. Through consistent training coupled with constant mentoring, Motorola employees are now able to use a wide range of techniques such as graphical tools for more complex analyses. The quest for perfection at Motorola continues. The manner in which Six Sigma will be deployed is expected to keep evolving as the contemporary business world moves more and more closer to unprecedented technological advancement (Hahn et al 212). Experts agree that the potential of Six Sigma is inexhaustible. Milestone accomplishment at each DMAIC stage Motorola’s Digital Six Sigma process improvement registered remarkable progress in each of the phases of the DMAIC methodology. To begin with, they defined the problem and articulated the project goals from the outset. The project goal was to move from the traditional ‘six sigma’ by adopting a non-manual, systematic control mechanism in order to enhance efficiency. Second, they measured the key aspects of the previous process. It was established that in the previous quality paradigm, the process’ natural spread, give or take three sigma, fell short of the engineering tolerance. In the third phase, an analysis was made; under the conjecture of normality, the aspects measured in phase two translated to a process yield of 99.73 %. “On to the next phase: Improve. 99.73 % efficiency still fell short of the target margin of error of 3.4 defects per million, which translates into 99.99966% efficiency” (Hahn et al 209). “Motorola set out to improve this efficiency in the production of the super-slim Razr phone. “As a result, the company moved from controlling a 15.4% market share in the cell phone market to 22.4% by December 2006 “(Hahn et al 209). Finally yet importantly, the company set out to control future processes to ensure that any future deviation does not result into uncontrolled defects. They achieved this in 2011 when the company split into Motorola Solutions and Motorola Mobility and decided to adopt a ‘back to basics’ approach as discussed earlier. Lessons Learnt: New Techniques, Tools and Methods Following the broad study on Six Sigma as a business approach aimed at enhancing processes to achieve an almost negligible margin of error in producing products and services without defects, at lost has been learnt that might have not been included the running project. The role of professionalizing management functions, for instance, should have been incorporated in the running project. Executive leadership is crucial in implementing the Six Sigma approach. It worked so well for Motorola that Jack Welch incorporated it into General Electric’s organizational mainstream in 1995 (Hahn et al 212). Likewise, it is crucial to distinguish between projects that require the adoption of a new process and those aimed at improving a business process that is already being used. This is plausible with the incorporation of Demings Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle. From the extensive research, it becomes evident that for all Six Sigma projects, there are two methodologies that follow Demings Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle. These methodologies bearing the acronyms DMAIC and DMADV consist of five phases each. The DMAIC methodology is deployed for projects that are aimed at enhancing a business process that already exists while the DMADV methodology is used for those projects that are aimed at introducing a new product or process design (Hahn et al 211). As Motorola perfected their Six Sigma approach over the years, another important lesson is learnt: the need establish creative solutions to prevent process problems or to fix the existing ones. In order to achieve this there is a wide range of brainstorming techniques that would have been suggested in the running project. These techniques include the Random Word Hats and Six Thinking. Finally yet importantly, it is always vital to keep a scorecard. Keeping a scorecard helps in monitoring the progress – or lack thereof - that the organization is making as part of incorporating the six sigma process improvement model. Failure to monitor progress defeats the entire purpose of implementing change in the first place. Keeping track of organizational improvement involves identifying gaps between the goal performance and current performance. Subsequently, it is important to establish the effect that the process inputs (Xs) have on the process outputs (Ys). Subsequently, list and prioritize the opportunities that require improving and identify sources of variation. Finally, data analysis is done with the aid of histograms and box plots (Hahn et al 212). Conclusion In the wake of globalization, a lot of changed in terms of organizational processes, customer relations and advertisement amid the emergence of faster and more efficient means of accessing, retrieving and delivering information about products and services. Subsequently, this has also changed customer relation networks in a way that old business models are either inefficient or no longer work at all. The contemporary competitive business environment leaves no room for error. To survive in it, an organization must invent smart ways of gaining a core competitive edge against rivals by relentlessly searching for new ways to exceed customer expectations. This is the reason why Six Sigma has become an integral part of organizational culture. Works Cited Hahn, G. J., Hill, W. J., Hoerl, R. W. and Zinkgraf, S. A. The Impact of Six Sigma Improvement-A Glimpse into the Future of Statistics, The American Statistician, Vol. 53, No. 3, 2012, pp. 208–215 Read More