Relationship between Project Management and Six Sigma (part 12)
| Posted in Marketing Essay | Posted on 05-12-2009
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With its focus on facts, cause-and-effect thinking, and documentation, every element of the Six Sigma framework (process improvement, process, product and service design, process management, and dashboards) can substantially increase the organization’s knowledge capital in the following ways:
· By improving or designing processes, Black Belts and Green Belts learn how the process works and create process knowledge.
· By listening to the Voice of the Customer, translating it into project management strategies, and aligning processes with those requirements, the organization substantially increases its knowledge about customers.
· By mapping out core processes, gathering performance data, and linking processes to strategic goals, the organization as a whole increases its knowledge about the way the business works (Peters 2003, 83).
Six Sigma is a key tool for implementing business strategy. Starting with strategic business goals and customer requirements, individual projects can help close the gap between the current state and the desired future state.
Processes are the vehicles that deliver value to the customer, and a business competes through process capabilities. By evaluating process capabilities from a strategic point of view, the organization can identify leverage points that can help it compete more effectively. The systematic evaluation of process capabilities versus customer requirements can help identify opportunities that can change the business model from a product or service focus to one that offers solutions.
Regardless of the deployment focus, leaders must act to stabilize Six Sigma after the initial launch phase. Extending the reach of the program poses an entirely new set of challenges. And finally, to truly integrate Six Sigma into the organization, leaders must take actions that help overcome an exclusive project focus, involving leadership in process management and adopting a dashboard system. A well-planned approach to Six Sigma, established from the very start of the launch, can help a company achieve its long-term vision.
