DEFINE

1
DEFINE
Contents

• Explain the role &

importance of the DEFINE
phase.
• Define the Voice of the
Customer.
• Determine the project
CTQ.
• Set-up a Six Sigma project
team.
• Make a Six Sigma project
charter.
3
Six Sigma methodology: DMAIC

1. What is the project about?

D EFINE 2. What is the defect and what does the customer want?

3. Can I measure it? How do I measure it?

MMEASURE 4. What is the baseline performance?
5. What do we want to achieve?

6. Where does the potential variation come from?

A ANALYSE
7. What are the root causes? (Vital Few X's)

8. What are the solutions? What are the optimal settings?

I MPROVE 9. Validation of the solution(s)

10. How can I measure my X’s and ensure them?

C ONTROL 11. What is the new Process Capability and further implementation?
12. Completion of project, replication and transfer.
4
Step 1:What is the project about? - Project selection and Scope

Deliverable:

• Project selection
• Voice of the Customer (VOC)
Screening the initial list of project ideas

Voice of Customer
- “Customer service is very poor, It takes too long to deliver etc.”

Voice of Business
-”We need to increase our profits, Our product cost is too high etc.”

Voice of Employee
-”We need higher salaries, The working conditions are not good etc.”
Screening the initial list of project ideas

VOB ▪ Indentify value

VOC
criteria for the
organisation
VOE ▪ Identify
opportunities

▪ Investigate and
list /rank potential
projects

7
Screening the initial list of project ideas
Voice of the customer (VOC)

Used to describe customer needs and their perceptions of the quality of

your product or services
• Properly focuses your improvement project
• Provides data to help develop appropriate measurements
• Identifies critical features for products or services
• Identifies key drivers of customer satisfaction

VOC CTQ PROJECT Y’S IDENTIFY X’S OPTIMISE X’S

Only a customer can define what a defect (and, hence, quality) is!
Example of VOC

• “We need reliable delivery on confirmed dates.”

• “I want shorter lead times on specialty products.”
• “I don’t like the changing delivery dates.”
• “We need faster answers to our queries”
• “The customer service didn’t have an answer to my question.”
• “Communication is critical even when there are no problems”
• “You need to speed up certain procedures.”
• “It would be good to get hold of standard services more quickly”
• “It should be easier to place an order”
The pathway to CTQs

VOC VOC VOC CTQ CTQ

Identify Collect
Analyse
customers reactive Translate
data to
and system customer Set
generate
determine data, fill needs into specifications
key list of for the CTQ’s
what you gaps with CTQ’s
customer
need to proactive
needs
know data

Voice of the Customer Critical to Quality

 Voice of the Customer Critical to Quality

VOC VOC VOC CTQ CTQ

Identify Collect
• Prioritise Analyse
customers reactivestakeholders. Make sure the needs of intermediate and end
Translate
data to Set
and system
users customer
of your product / service are consistent.
generate specifica-
determine data, fill
• Usually there is no single VOC. needs into
key list of Use market segmentation tions
to deal
forwith
what you gaps with CTQ’s
customer
multiple needs and priorities. the CTQ’s
need to proactive
• Decide needs
know data what you need to know about your stakeholders.
 Voice of the Customer Critical to Quality

VOC VOC VOC CTQ CTQ

Identify Collect
customers reactive • Reactive data (customer initiated)
and system
determine data, fill customer complaints, service calls,
what you gaps with warranty claims
need to proactive
know data • Proactive data (company collected)
interviews, surveys, site visit report
 Voice of the Customer Critical to Quality

VOC VOC VOC CTQ CTQ

Identify Collect
Analyse • The most important themes
customers reactive
data to will be the basis for your
and system
generate
determine data, fill project CTQ’s.
key list of
what you gaps with • Use an Affinity Diagram or
customer
need to proactive
needs Kano to categorise (themes)
know data
and summarise the data.
Affinity Diagram

A tool that gathers large

amounts of language data
(ideas, opinions, issues) and
organizes them into groupings
based on their natural
relationships.
Affinity Diagram Example
(Customer feedback)
“We need faster answers to our queries”

“The customer service didn’t have an answer to my question.”

“It should be easier to place an order”

“They should give us a more reliable delivery time.”

“I don’t like changing delivery time.”

“They should deliver faster”

“Others are delivering faster than them”

“Your new product doesn’t taste good! ”

“Too spicy”

“Less cheese”

“You keep on reducing the size of pizza!”

Affinity Diagram Example (Grouping)

Bad “We need faster answers to our queries”

customer “The customer service didn’t have an answer to my question.”
service “It should be easier to place an order”

Poor “They should give us a more reliable delivery time.”

delivery “I don’t like changing delivery time.”
time “They should deliver faster”
“Others are delivering faster than them”

“Your new product doesn’t taste good! ”

Bad “Too spicy”
product “Less cheese”
quality “You keep on reducing the size of pizza!”
KANO Model
Excitement
Unspoken and unexpected by customers but can result in high levels of
customer satisfaction, however their absence does not lead to
dissatisfaction. In a competitive marketplace where manufacturers’ products
provide similar performance, providing excitement attributes that address
‘unknown needs’ can provide a competitive advantage.

Eg. Car Cup holders, Sun roof, Retract mirrors

Performance
More is generally better and will improve customer satisfaction. Conversely
an absent or weak performance attribute reduces customer satisfaction.

Eg.
Customer would be willing to pay more for a car that provides them with
better fuel economy.
Length of the queue, shorter the queue happier the customer

Basic
Expected attributes or ‘must’ of a product. Increasing the performance of these
attributes isn’t enough to create a satisfied customer. The absence or poor
performance of these attributes results in extreme customer dissatisfaction.

Eg. Brakes on a car, Tyres

NORIAKI KANO
KANO Analysis for Fresh Milk

19
Six Sigma Methodology: DMAIC

1. What is the project about?

D EFINE 2. What is the defect and what does the customer want?

3. Can I measure it? How do I measure it?

MMEASURE 4. What is the baseline performance?
5. What do we want to achieve?

6. Where does the potential variation come from?

A ANALYSE
7. What are the root causes? (Vital Few X's)

8. What are the solutions? What are the optimal settings?

I MPROVE 9. Validation of the solution(s)

10. How can I measure my X’s and ensure them?

C ONTROL 11. What is the new Process Capability and further implementation?
12. Completion of project, replication and transfer.
20
Step 2: Definition of the Defect-
What is the defect and what does the customer want?
Deliverables:
• CTQ
• Process Map
• Project Charter
Critical to Quality (CTQ)
The CTQ refers to the performance standard that has to be met to satisfy the customer. The CTQ has to
be expressed in an objective measurable way, though not necessarily numeric.
Usually, there are 1 or 2 CTQs in a project.

VOC Candidate CTQ

Respond to customer inquiries
Slow response time within agreed time.

Delivery time must be on or

Slow delivery before agreed date

Confusing customer Customer should easily get

interface their questions addressed
Step 2: Definition of the defect- What is the
defect and what does the customer want?
Deliverable:
 • CTQ
• Process Map
• Project Charter
SIPOC

Supplier(s) Inputs X(s) Process Outputs Customer(s)

X1
Y1
X2
Y2
X3
Y3
X4

A process is…
A series of steps or activities that,
uses one or more kinds of INPUT
and changes them into an OUTPUT
that is of value to the CUSTOMER.
High Level Process Map

Key characteristics:
• Use of symbols or geometric shapes to represent specific types of
activities
• Identification of the nature of different activities.
• Connecting lines to join activities and indicate flow of process
• Describes the true “as is” process and not (previously documented?)
“should be” process.
• Typically 4-7 steps.
Using SIPOC to construct a High-Level Process Map

S Supplier: A person or organization that provides the inputs to your process.

I Input: Materials, resources and data required to execute your process.

Process: A collection of activities that takes one or more kinds of input and
P creates output that is of value to the customer.

O Output: The Tangible products or Intangible services that are the result of a
process – which ought to satisfy.

C Customer: A person or organization receives the outputs of your process -

internal or external.
S I P O C
SIPOC (Use Nouns) (Use Nouns)
 Making a SIPOC map
1. Start by identifying the starting and ending points of the process.
2. Fill in the main process steps between the starting and ending points, so you
have a total of 4-7 steps
3. Identify the outputs from the process. what product / service does this
process make? At what point does this process end? What information does
this process produce?
4. Identify the customer for each output. (who uses the products / info supplied
from this process?
5. Identify the key process inputs. (what triggers the process to start?)
6. Identify the key suppliers Who are the suppliers? What do they supply? Where
do they affect the process flow? What affect do they have on the process and
the outcome?
7. Validate the map. Does it represent how things actually work today (not how
you think it is, or how it should be)?
Example 1
SIPOC
Making a Cup of Tea

Supplier Input Process Output Customer

Hot
Water
Milk
Electricity Board

Water Board Sugar

29
Example 2 SIPOC
Making a Photo Copy

S I P O C
(Use nouns) (Use nouns) (Use verbs) (Use nouns) (Use nouns)
Photocopy
Manufacturer Machine Put original on glass Copies You

Paper Close lid

Stationary Supplier
Toner

Adjust settings
Yourself Original

Power Press start

Company Electricity

Remove original + copy

Benefits of SIPOC

• Insight into the high-level process (Helicopter view)

• Team selection for the process improvement projects
• Identification of stakeholders
• Project scope identification

31
Step 2: Definition of the defect- What is the
defect and what does the customer want?
Deliverable:
 • CTQ
 • Process Map
• Project Charter
Team Selection: Team Structure

Other Team
• Skill requirements can change by phase Supporting skills
Part-time
• Social Style requirements can change
by phase
Core Team
Critical skills
• Balance size Prefer full-time
- Large enough to provide skills Prefer co-located
- Small enough to be effective Lead efforts
Stakeholder Analysis

Finance 1. Identify the stakeholder

2. Understand their views

IT Employees 3. Understand their stakes
Project
4. Understand their attitude towards the intended change

5. Determine what the desired attitude is towards the intended change

6. What is your action plan to get (them) there

Sales Marketing

34
 Stakeholders are people with a vested interest in the execution and/or
results of the project.
They are not part of the project team.

“The stakeholder assessment, which is a subjective assessment of possible resistance

among stakeholders, does not belong to the project charter.”
35
Stakeholder Analysis

➢ Make a stakeholder analysis and discuss with your Project Sponsor.

➢ Make use of your sponsor to help managing resistance.
➢ Make a communications plan ……… and communicate. Also communicate 1 on 1.
Decisions are taken at the coffee machine.
➢ Also analyse the informal organisation
(Who drinks coffee with whom, Workers council leader speaks with everyone, etc).
➢ Reduce project risk

36
Tool: RACI Matrix

Definition of roles within the

Business Groups related to the
major steps of the Six Sigma
Improvement System

R Responsible - “the Doer”

Plant Leaders- management A A A I I I R A Accountable - “the Buck Stops Here”
Champions R R R I I R R C Consulted-“Consult on Decisions”
I Informed-“Keep Informed”
Project Sponsor (all levels) R C C C A A A

Black Belt I I C A R R R

Team Members R R C
Tool: RACI Matrix

38
Project Timeline (Gantt chart)
Toll Gate Review
Specifies key milestones and target dates

project timeline
The Project Charter

1a. Project 2a. Problem 3a. Process 4a. Project 5. 6. Project 7. Financial
Description Statement Description Team Stakeholders Planning Statement
1b. 2b. Desired (SIPOC*) 4b. Additional - Stakeholder - Project - Expected
Opportunity State 3b. Process Resources Assessment timeline Benefits
Statement 2c. Project Metrics
1c. Customer CTQ and Y
Satisfaction 2d. Project
Statement Limits
1d. 2e. Project
Authorization Constraints
to proceed
Why do we need a Project Charter?
Suppose that a customer is unhappy with your invoicing. So your manager states:

“Let’s get out there and fix it!”

Solely based on this statement, you will get as many solutions as you get people
working in your company!

➢ The Project Plan in Six Sigma.

➢ The role of a project charter is to create Clarity and Unambiguity about the
Project Goal and Approach.
Concluding Remarks on charter
➢ Review at every team meeting
❑ Keeps team “on task”
❑ Addresses changes/issues as they arise

➢ Sometimes Project Y cannot be finalized until the Measure step

➢ Any part may be modified as the team progresses through DMAIC and learns
more about the problem

❑ After the process map is generated Your charter is

❑
❑
When/as the data collection plan is created
After the initial data are analysed, etc
a living
document!

“If the charter is revised or updated, the stakeholders must approve of

the change!”
Step 2: Definition of the defect- What is the
defect and what does the customer want?
Deliverable:
 • CTQ
 • Process Map
 • Project Charter
Tollgate Reviews
A Tollgate Review is A formal event that the project
must pass through at each phase of the project
(D-M-A-I-C)

➢ Formal presentation(s) followed by questions and discussion

➢ Assess status of project

➢ Review activities and accomplishments prior to proceeding to

the next phase

➢ Revisit Project Charter assumptions

➢ The tollgate review ends with a “Go/No-Go” decision

➢ If No-Go, then further actions need to be defined in order to

pass the tollgate OR kill the project
How to Structure the Tollgate Review
➢ Review the objective of the specific Tollgate
➢ 15-30 minute project presentation
Project Charter – highlight any changes
- Project benefit update

Follow the DMAIC roadmap

- Tools used, results, conclusions

Review Project Status

- Project Plan, barriers, issues

Review Project Plans

➢ Tollgate review questions and discussion

➢ Tollgate decision
➢ Determine action items and next steps
➢ Document tollgate results in tracking system