The Six Sigma method aims at understanding the needs of customers better. It also plays a very crucial role in the identification and elimination of defects or wastes. These objectives are fulfilled by underlying systems and processes with the help of Knowledge in the field of project management, engineering, and statistics. Improvements in the products and processes like production, finance, administration, marketing, and disciplines in an organization are the main aim of the Six Sigma process.
Benefits of using Six Sigma
- It helps in understanding the requirements of the modern customer, which keeps changing.
- It ensures improvement in the quality of the product and delivery procedure.
- It helps in effective waste management and reduces the wastage of raw materials used in production.
- It makes the product cheap yet, not compromising with the quality to win a competitive advantage in the market.
- It ensures the development of greatly valued processes and products.
- It helps in providing a competitive advantage through continuous improvements in all spheres of business and enhances the position of the product in the market.
Six Sigma project management tools are:
- Project selection and identification methods.
- Basic strategies of team development.
- Basic tools for planning and controlling any project.
- Evaluation methods after the completion of the project.
The Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification projects are selected wisely and analyzed rigorously to make sure that they achieve the financial objective set forth for them.
Organizational structure
Green belt professionals work in six sigma projects as a specialized team member on a part-time basis. They are also well trained Six Sigma methodology professionals.
Master Black Belts, the most experienced black belts, act as the source of Technical help and supply to the green belts, black belts, and other members of the team.
Champions are the tactical and strategic business leaders of any organization. Their job is to overlook project progress, approve Six Sigma project charter, and ensure the success of the projects in their business units.
Quadruple Constraints of Project Management
It consists of four constraints. They are:
- Scope- Every project is undertaken and dealt with adventure completion of certain scopes of work.
- Time- Along with every project comes to a deadline. It is the target date within which the project is expected to be completed and submitted.
- Cost- Budget is another essential component needed for the completion of the project. The project is expected to be completed within a given cost in terms of money or efforts. The ideal output of a project is unused emergency funds and project completion at a lower cost than the proposed budget.
- Quality- Every product obtained from a successful project needs to have a specified quality level and specification to satisfy the needs of the customers.
Quality of product and scope of business improvement has a very strong relation between them. A similar relation is shared between the cost of production and the time of delivery. You could complete a project faster with additional cost. Quality and cost also walk hand in hand. Poor quality of the product increases the cost of the total project as it calls for a rework to recover the failure money. So we can say that all these constraints are interdependent on each other. The failure of one of the constraints can cause depletion and imbalance in the others as well by Sprintzeal.
Six Sigma Application in project management
Scope- A clear definition of Change management and requirement could be enforced if Six Sigma is involved in scope management. Its application could also result in the inhibition of innovation.
Time- When Six Sigma is applied to time management, it will enhance resource management, risk management, progress monitoring, and better scheduling to finish the project before the suggested date. The only problem is, it could increase buffer and add scheduling pads.
Cost- Upon application of Six Sigma to cost management, effective forecasting, careful cost control, and absolutely effective budget deductions could be ensured. The risk is, that it might increase Reserves to encourage additional budget pads.
Quality- Application of Six Sigma in management of scope would lead to a careful selection of standards, realistic assessment of capability, and would enforce unyielding quality targets. But the shortcoming is that the application could cause height problems and blame others for the defects.