| The five W's (who, what, when, where and why) and | | | | Belts. |
| one H (how) are used to understand the system in the | | | | These members have to work towards the success |
| analysis and design phases. | | | | of the project, and relate the advantages to every |
| Let us briefly understand the application of this | | | | employee in the organization. They have to make Six |
| approach to Six Sigma. | | | | Sigma a way of life of the organization. |
| 1. What - Understanding The Concept | | | | 4. Where - Location For Implementation |
| The first W stands for ' What' is Six Sigma. Six Sigma | | | | Six Sigma is applied to all processes of the business. |
| is a concept that aims at reducing defects so as to | | | | Initially, it can be aimed at a strong problem area, but |
| improve the customer satisfaction. | | | | with the advantages of the project visible to everyone, |
| In statistics, Six Sigma means standard deviations. In | | | | it can be implemented in all the processes and |
| the Six Sigma methodology, it stands for 3.4 defects | | | | products as well. |
| per million opportunities. Understanding customer | | | | The entire organization will thus undergo a change to |
| satisfaction levels is the key to successful Six Sigma | | | | ensure increased profits due to improved quality and |
| projects. This understanding helps bring about changes | | | | customer satisfaction. |
| in products and processes to match customer | | | | 5. When - When To Apply Six Sigma |
| expectations, as well as to save on costs. | | | | Initially, Six Sigma can be applied to problem areas |
| It helps improve the performance of an organization by | | | | where customer satisfaction is lacking. It can be |
| reducing the variations in the services and products | | | | applied when the need is felt to improve and retain the |
| and providing good quality products. It is a tool to | | | | organization's leadership position in the industry, as well |
| improve the efficiency and the effectiveness of the | | | | as market share. |
| organization. | | | | It needs to be used when overall processes need |
| 2. Why - The Objective Of The Project | | | | improvement to remain competitive in a specific area |
| Achieving Six Sigma is the objective of the project. It | | | | of business. |
| means that the goal is to improve the processes and | | | | 6. How - How To Apply Six Sigma |
| products to the extent of delivering defect free | | | | Six Sigma projects are aimed at improving existing |
| products and services. It requires listening to internal | | | | processes and eliminating the defects using the |
| and external customers of the process to bring about | | | | DMAIC roadmap. They can also achieve success by |
| the best product, which meets customer requirements. | | | | bringing about an entire process redesign or new |
| This provides an opportunity for the organization to | | | | product development using the DFSS roadmap. |
| improve sales - and thus achieve sustained profitability. | | | | Process management is useful when existing process |
| 3. Who - The People Involved | | | | improvements need to be sustained. |
| Six Sigma requires the involvement of all members of | | | | This approach of five W's and one H considers all the |
| the organization, from the senior management to those | | | | factors that are necessary to bring the Six Sigma |
| in charge of the processes. Top management decides | | | | culture to an organization - which is necessary to |
| and appoints sponsors, who in turn will select the | | | | maintain the levels of customer satisfaction leading to |
| Champions, Master Black Belts, Black Belts and Green | | | | increased profits. |