Sam Ahuja

ADKAR model is a framework utilized in Change Management to help deploy changes in a systematic way. ADKAR stands for Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability & Reinforcement Awareness, the 1st stage in this framework, involves creating awareness for the change and reasons behind it. In a way it lays the foundation for the entire model and acts as a pre-cursor for the next stage Desire, the 2nd stage in the framework, involves creating a desire for the changes through understanding the Merits & benefits of the change being deployed along with highlighting the repercussions in case the change is not deployed. It helps create excitement and motivation amongst the target population for the change. Knowledge, the 3rd stage in this framework, involves providing necessary information and training to the individuals in the target population, so that the changes can be deployed successfully. It helps in developing confidence amongst the individuals in their ability to make the change. Ability, the 4th stage in this framework, involves providing necessary support to enable the individuals to transition to the change and start using the changes process/product successfully. Reinforcement, the 5th & the final step in the framework, involves providing ongoing support to ensure that the change becomes a part of BAU work of the process where the change has been deployed, so that it becomes an integral and lasting part of the process. It is an outcome based approach and each stage’s output is measured to ensure that any opportunities are addressed appropriately so that the change is successfully deployed. In LSS DMAIC approach, this model is very useful especially in Control phase wherein the improvements to Process/Product are deployed. It plays a critical role in these stages by providing a framework through which the changes to the process/product are deployed addressing the concerns and apprehensions that target population(through which change is being deployed) through creating Awareness and Desire, imparting Knowledge and Ability followed by Reinforcement of the changes, thus ensuring that improvements from the DMAIC project are successfully deployed and also at the same time making the changes a part of the BAU process.

Gamification can be used in Lean Six Sigma Trainings to help learners understand the concepts in an interesting and practical manner. One way of doing this is through creating simulations where the learners can practice the concepts learnt in the Training under the watchful guidance of the Trainer/mentor, which helps them understand the correct usage and applicatione of the tools learnt. An example in this case is how one of the global soft drink manufacturers does it in Europe. The organization used simulations to create a 3D version of a manufacturing plant in a gaming environment. To make sure that the learners are comfortable with the specific gaming environment created, a pre-training gaming area was created. Once the learner is ready (completed the pre-training), he/she goes into their own area (or lobby) within the gaming environment created. Similar to the live training environment, the gaming environment replicates an imaginary distribution company that produces different products which need to be shipped to warehouse from where it will be sent to different customers based on the orders received from them. The task here is to make this process more efficient using the Lean Six Sigma tools to reduce waste and increase profitability. This has helped the organization increase the Training. The Trainees are grouped into teams wherein they assign the tasks and functions amongst the team, check the work identify how they can improve it using the tools they have learnt. Once the activity is over, the Trainees regroup to discuss the results and brainstorm strategies as well as identify how they could have done things in a better manner in the simulation. Since the roll out of this activity, the satisfaction scores from the Training have increased and the demand for the LSS training has also increased as the employees want to experience the gaming environment to learn.

Persona Profiling is an activity which is aimed at creating the profile (a.k.a persona) of the target audience of a product or a service. This will include information about the customer demographics, their requirements, their pain areas, behaviors etc. The inputs for customer persona are gathered through market research, surveys and customer interviews and it is further utilised to design customer marketing campaigns, internal processes, as well as for product enhancement/modifications to make things more customer oriented. In a Lean Six Sigma project, inputs gathered through the above mentioned channels can be utilized to enhance service/product in Analyze & Improve phase, so that the customer needs can be assessed pro-actively which help in driving a more than satisfactory customer experience resulting in an improves Cust Satisfaction. Example: For a Digital print organization which provides printing device to its customer, the Order fulfilment team was having an average CSAT Score of 3.7 on a scale of 1-5. Through persona profiling it was identified that most of its customers were Businesses who would like to spread lesser time in placing orders for Toners. To address this below mentioned change/enhancements were done: - IVR options and verification process steps were reduced which reduces the call Handling time by 20%(average) - Automating ordering option was introduced - An app was installed on the devices which would monitor the toner levels and will trigger an alert for ordering to the Order fulfillment team when any toner reached a specific empty percentage - Website ordering option was introduced making it possible for customers to order it from a website as per their convenience As a consequence of the above mentioned steps, the average CSAT for the process improved to 4.3 and has been doing weel since then.

Survivorship bias refers to the situation wherein the outcomes considered within the project or any such activity are only from the successful outcomes or the outcomes which met the success criteria. It results in an over optimistic belies as well as a biased outcome as the factors behind the failed outcomes are not considered resulting in a biased approach. It can have very adverse impact on the project/company as the root causes behind the failure are ignored which in the long run will have an adverse impact on the success of the project/company. This can be avoided by ensuring that: The data is considered for the failures along with successful outcomes while analysis is done Ensuring that approach is inclusive and unbiased based on the outcome In case sample size approach is being used then it should be Large Wide range of perspectives are considered

Invention means a product that has been newly designed using a new concept all together and in some cases using new raw materials whereas innovation refers to an improvement/transformation of an existing product which in some cases may also mean an altogether new version of an existing product. An example in this case is the electric Bulb and how it has evolved since its invention. When it was fist launched in 1879, it had a carbonized cotton thread filament. Over next years it transformed into what we see today as an LED bulb. The introduction of an electric bulb in 1879 was an invention however, it's transformations and the various versions of it like the usage of Tungsten filament, LED usage etc are innovation. When it come to Lean Six Sigma, through stabilizing process and ensuring sustaining the improvement brought about, it kind of lays foundation for innovation as the team involved can focus more towards this activity. It can in certain cases also lead to invention as while designing new product it can lead to inventing a new product altogether through DFSS/DMADV methodology

SWIFT Analysis is an approach for identifying and mitigating potential Risks for process or a project through focused brainstorming using What if Analysis: The steps involved in this analysis are : 1. Team formation : The team is formed for brainstorming which should consist of experts/SMEs from the different functions/departments 2. Scenario/Situation Identification : Brainstorming is done here to identify the different potential risks caused by the different situations that pose a threat to project/process in any manner. example : In a project that is providing customer support through chat/e-mail/voice scenarios may include power outage, telecom outage, employee attrition etc 3. What-if question on Scenarios: Th this step, what-if question is asked against the scenarios identified in step #2 for the various possibilities e.g. "What is there is a Power outage?', "What if there is telecom outage?, " What if the employee attrition is high?" 4. Impact Assessment : In this step the team evaluates the potential impact of the scenario from different perspectives like financial impact, impact on planning, impact on day-to-day operations. 5. Preventive Measure identification : Based on the previous steps, the team brainstorms to identify the preventive measure that can mitigate/minimize the different scenarios identified. 6. Implementation : In this step, the preventive measures identified in Ste % are implemented to make the process/project mote tolerant of the risks identified. These may include changes to the policies, Business contingency plans etc, which further helps the process/project become more robust. 7. SWIFT Analysis review: Periodic review of SWIFT analysis is done to ensure that any new potential risks arising due to changing circumstance are also taken care of through the steps mentioned above, to make the analysis adaptable to the changing times Advantages of SWIFT Analysis: 1 Proactive identification of risks 2. Involvement of all departments/functions in risk identification & mitigation 3. Provides information about risks that can be acted upon Disadvantages: 1. Lack of quantification of risks unlike FMEA 2. Unstructured way of prioritization as it is perspective based and not data based 3. Scope limitation as it is dependent on team's perspective and certain scenarios may get missed

Workflow Analysis is one of the key methods of mapping the process flow and opportunities within that can be used to identify and drive a project. It can be mapped to DMAIC phases in the following manner: Define : Through workflow analysis we can identify the opportunity which can be further utilized to develop the project along with the SIPOC which gives a high level view of the workflow. Measure: Using the workflow analysis here helps identify the points from where the data related to potential causes can be identified along with the right function/tool from which data can be taken. Analyze: The data collected through opportunities in workflow analysis along with the right causes that impact the project aim are identified and provide the right direction towards workflow improvement Improve: In this phase, the actions from key causes identified from Analyze phase are designed and here the controls identified in Workflow Analysis are further improvised and in certain cases new controls can be implemented to make the process more robust and reduce variation in the process output Control: In order to ensure that the controls have been effective, the control action deployed in Improve phase are monitored for which the right data is provided through the data sources identified in Workflow Analysis are utilized.

Algorithmic bias refers to an bias or partiality in the performance of an AI based solution deployed. Example : An AI system designed for hiring new employees which short lists candidates based on their CVs can have a biased approach towards hiring candidates of a specific gender in case it is trained or designed to shortlist candidates based on a historic data which may be biased towards a specific gender This happens primarily due to the factors mentioned below: Biased Training data: In case the data on which the AI system is trained on is biased, then it will also become a part of the AI system which will result in biased results when it goes live Prevention: This can be prevented by ensuring the data on which the AI is trained on is representative of the general population without any biased approach Designer bias: In case there is any biased approach while designing, then this will also result in the AI system providing biased results. Prevention: This can be prevented ensuring that the design of the AI system designed is clearly documented and is reviewed by the experts to ensure that any biased approach in the design is addressed in a timely fashion. Alternatively, having a diverse team of designed which does peer to per review of the designs can also help mitigate any design bias

This model means a business model followed by the organization which wants to sell all or some of its products through retail network like shops and/or showrooms(ref word brick in the model) while also offering them through on-line (ref word click in the model) purchase through on-line retailers like amazon, and/or it's own website/app. There is no specific sequence in this model that an organization needs to follow here i.e. an organization may decide to start selling it's products through a website/app/in-line retailer but may later on decide to also offer them through it's own or non-owned retail shops/showrooms or Vice versa Typically this is done to take advantage of the merits of both the prevalent modes (on-line as well as off-line) of reaching out to customers i.e. while option to purchase on-line offers the customer the convenience of purchasing product(s) any-time, off-line purchase offers the customer an option to look and feel the product while purchasing. Based on customer response and feedback, it can help an organization decide which path it wants to follow for a sustainable growth. Another key factor here is how well the organization adapts to changing market demands and also use technology to augment customer experience, which is a key factor to help customer decide on its product while at the same time helping the organization enhance/optimize its efficiency while also increasing its market outreach. CSAE STUDY: One example in this context is an Indian brand Lenskart which offers optical eyewear i.e. prescription glasses, sunglasses etc. on-line. While it started off initially as an on-line store offering eyeglasses/sunglasses, it later on also switched to bricks & clicks model by opening retail stores as it realized that people would also like to try it before purchasing what they want. While doing so they had also been conscious of the changing market dynamics due to new technology. It now not only offers AI solution on its website through which a customer can decide on-line if they like a particular frame and go on to purchase it, it also offers home check up by its trained resources to identify the customer's eyeglass requirement. Along with it, considering the modern day high usage of smart phone and/or computer, it has also started offering products which can reduce eye stress due to prolonged usage of smart phones and/or computers. this has not only helped Lenskart grow but is an example how the technology can be used to enhance customer experience and sales.