CMD Six Sigma Pass Methodology

CMD Corporation

Background on Six Sigma Methodologies

Organizations expect wonders from their Six Sigma efforts, and they should. Six Sigma principles and methodology bring statistical discipline to the business processes. What that simply means is process improvement must be measured and proven – we can’t depend on just anecdotal evidence. Six Sigma has helped organizations achieve many fold increase in productivity and quality, making them competitive by reducing defects, costs and time to market.

Over the years the technical aspects of the Six Sigma methodology have be applied on thousands of projects worldwide. With this level of deployment and documented success by countless organizations, the actual Six Sigma technical process is not a mystery. You can visit a number of websites and pick up books to construct a very good Six Sigma Methodology.

There are two important Six Sigma methodology streams and then there are a number of variations:

DMAIC Methodology: This methodology is used when an organization wants to improve existing business processes. The acronym DMAIC stands for Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control.
DFSS Methodology: This methodology is used when organizations want to introduce a new business process. The objective of DFSS is to design the new process(es) from the outset to be compliant with the Six Sigma principles. The acronym DFSS stands for Designed for Six Sigma.

There is also a Lean Six Sigma, and ……. The variations are basically around the same theme but add specific best practices from different experiences of the authors.

But how do you convert these methodologies and Six Sigma processes into “actionable steps” for the Six Sigma team members? This is where our Process Accelerator for Six Sigma comes in. But first...

What is Missing from Six Sigma Methods?

What is lacking in these off the shelf methodologies (available over the web and in books) is the discipline of Project Management and making them actionable for the team members. Some organizations dive into Six Sigma based on classroom training and expect all team members to follow the generally overworked Black Belt. Many Black Belts are trained in the Six Sigma tools and techniques but lack Project Management skills.

The Project Management Institute (PMI) in USA, PRINCE in the UK, and many other organizations have studied the best practices that must be followed to ensure project success. The PMI has published its Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK) that outlines the processes necessary to ensure that the major stages of a project are successfully executed. They are: Project Initiation, Project Planning, Project Execution and Control, and Project Closeout.

In Six Sigma projects there is also the added need to clearly define the roles and responsibilities, and deliverables. Project teams need to have descriptions of the tasks at their fingertips along with standardized templates and tools so that they can effectively complete their assignments. PASS makes all this possible and easy!

Process Accelerator for Six Sigma (PASS)

CMD’s Process Accelerator for Six Sigma leverages Microsoft Project EPM and CMD Symphony products to provide a single seamless environment for Six Sigma teams to manage their Projects, processes, deliverables and roles and responsibilities.

Process Accelerator for Six Sigma gives organizations the entire DMAIC methodology with all necessary tools inside the Microsoft Office Project 2003 EPM environment. It is designed to work with or without the Microsoft Office Project Accelerator for Six Sigma.

When is CMD PASS needed?

When an organization wants to implement a Six Sigma Methodology in a department or enterprise wide

When an organization is trying to manage a number of Six Sigma projects and it is necessary to have a unified view of the different initiatives

When it is imperative that everyone on the Six Sigma teams have a clear understanding of how to perform a task, use the tools and produce standardized deliverables

When an organization has weak standard processes, Tools-deliverables and techniques are used inconsistently by Project Managers and teams

When an organization is committed to “Managing by Projects” and wants to benefit from repeatable processes across projects

When an organization is seeking to implement a Process Improvement culture and wants to harness the learning from each Six Sigma project

What are the benefits of using PASS?

Consistent use of Six Sigma Tools and Techniques

Projects success and acceptance increases with standard Project Management deliverables. Templates that are part of PASS include: Business Case, Project Charter, Project Scope, Communications Plan, Risk Plan, Kickoff meeting agenda, and tools needed specifically for DMAIC.

Clear understanding of each person’s Task specific Roles and Responsibilities

Reduced learning time and Rework - information available at the time most needed

Fast generation of Project Plans with all tools linked to tasks from a Central Process Asset Library

Executive and worker views of what is expected from each task

Integrated inside Microsoft Project – no import/export

Tool learning is minimal – interface is intuitive

PASS is offered as a value added solution with our CMD Symphony product.

For more information, please contact us.