Vishwadeep Khatri

Well, the focus needs to be on solving the most pressing business problems. If you are wise, you like to use Six Sigma in integration with other approaches as appropriate. Some of the other powerful business excellence approaches are Lean, Creativity and Innovation, AHP, BPR, Business Analytics, Theory of Constraints, and Business Modelling.

The quiz is suitable for those who have just got exposed to Six Sigma.

Hi Harini, Your answer deserved to be among top three. However, system has picked others. I am sure you will be up there multiple times.

Valid point there. i agree that detection of failure or cause, both should be admissible.

Hi Venkata, The goal originally suggested in the question is not a valid goal because it falls in the common cause variation range. This means that the goal if achieved will not represent a significant difference from the current state of affairs (and can also happen by chance) This can be verified by either the use of control charts or by use of hypothesis testing. Hope this helps.

How do you think Pareto Analysis is misused? Please remember your answer should not exceed three sentences.

Hi Togy, Good to see your response. Failure being detected before customer impact is really good. Let us explore more - If we are able to detect failures but not able to carry out any timely corrections, would you consider it as a reasonable detection approach?

Hi Manish, Good to see your response. There is no right or wrong here and interpretation and the way FMEA is applied may vary. In many instances, the cause of failure is unknown and therefore cannot be detected. What will be your take about detection ranking on such situations?

Hi everyone, I have noticed in the corporate world that Detection rating in FMEA has multiple interpretations. Let us explore this. When you assess detection rating, what is the question you ask? A. What is the probability of the failure being detected and corrected before impacting the customer OR B. What is the probability of failure being detected (irrespective of timely correction) before customer is impacted? OR C. What is the probability of failure being detected or prevented (through detection of cause) before customer is impacted? OR D. What is the probability of the cause of failure being detected and corrected before failure occurs? OR E. What is the probability of the cause of failure being detected (irrespective of correction) without impacting the customer? Do mention your views. Remember, you may get on the leaderboard of this forum if your response is liked a lot by others.

Hi Arpita, Have you tried talking to drivers to take inputs on their reason for backing out? Engaging drivers in the effort is crucial. I am sure everyone wants to do a good job unless they have grievances that are not being heard or handled. (It is too late for a response for this post, but I am putting it here for useful reference by others. We are reviving this forum platform again now)

Hi Haresh, Thumb rules on - When to use DOE? DOE (Design of Experiments) is commonly used to find the best combination of inputs to obtain the desired output. DOE can be used for several other objects like finding root causes of a problem. DOE is used when multiple inputs (factors) have an impact on output. It is of special importance when the factors have interactions. DOE is more powerful than Hypothesis testing which generally used one factor and its impact on output. For DOE to be highly successful, factors need to be controllable and measurable. DOE cannot make use of historical data and one needs to collect data in a highly structured manner for defined combination of inputs. DOE is more effective as compared to linear regression as an equation generated through DOE carries interaction terms which are missing in a Regression Equation. DOE requires a certain investment and is used by organizations who are willing to take a risks in their improvement journey.

Hi Pradeep, For someone doing medical coding, the opportunities are limited. However, for someone who is managing a coding team, there are wonderful opportunities. The focus areas will be mainly two - error reduction and turnaround time reduction. There are multiple methods for analysis that lead you to root cause of the problem at hand and can guide you towards permanent resolution. It is best to have IT involved in a project so that they can be engaged in building a meaningful solution in the "I" phase of DMAIC. You may like to look at the basics at the following link -

Hi Shruti, Overall CSAT & NPS may be a large scope in most organizations. For example, in a Hotel, NPS is captured on 2 elements in a restaurant, on 2-3 elements in reception and so-on. It is best to focus on areas that show poor NPS and pick one area at a time as a Lean Six Sigma project.

Hi Vignesh, You may refer to http://www.benchmarksixsigma.com/globalnews/ to get ideas.

Hi Rajiv, Opportunities need to be counted each time if you wish to use the DPMO method. This will lead to Total Defects out of Total Opportunities over a period of time being utilised for accuracy assessment. If opportunity count is time-consuming and you want to use a method of counting defectives (instead of defects), you have an option. Using this approach, you will lose the level of detail that is needed for analysis and improvement but can give you a reasonable idea of performance.

Hello Amit, I missed your question earlier. The link is here - http://www.benchmarksixsigma.com/globalnews/

Hi Ruchika, Projects on reducing on-boarding time are common and I have supported many. Unable to share a project here due to confidentiality agreements. On-boarding processes may be different based on role, industry and complexity. I am not sure if a sample project will help much. Let me know if you have a specific question.

Hi Divyesh, My reply is a bit delayed but here is - To understand how careers are impacted by Six Sigma, kindly read the article on the link below to get a good idea.

How Six Sigma impacts you and your career can be explored at the link below-

Hi Jaideep, Please go through the following article - Another post that distinguishes the two is here -

Hi, A Green Belt professional can progress for Black Belt very soon, if he has any of the following beliefs If he is in a senior position and can drive cross-functional business result improvement projects. If he wants to make a career in Six Sigma or Process Excellence/ Business Excellence. If he feels confident of his abilities and is willing to take up bigger challenges. Let me know if you have more queries.

Here is a link that shows Healthcare applications - You may also like to see feedback for our training from Healthcare industry -

Does your organization support Six Sigma initiatives? if yes, approach them. If no, approach us to convince them.

Hi Jitesh, The objective of Six Sigma is to enhance process/ product performance so as to meet/ exceed customer expectations first time and every time. Customer Service - Six Sigma projects can help in following ways - 1. Eliminate complaints. 2. If elimination of complaints is not possible, resolve issues faster and in a perfect manner. Customer Retention - A delighted customer continues to utilize services and is not just retained but brings referral/ repeat business for the company. Service Quality - If defect reduction is the objective, Six Sigma fits in very well. The core idea in Six Sigma is to reduce defects in a significant manner, preferably to zero. Escalations - The ideal approach is to not have complaints/ issues at the first place. If complaints are unavoidable, they should be resolved first time right promptly and there should be no need for escalations. In some complex situations, escalations are unavoidable, we would like to ensure escalations are done by staff instead of customers and minimized as much as possible.

Hi Ram, I agree with your answer in general but not with the final section. Kindly note that reaching six sigma level is not the goal. For some processes, 3 sigma is good enough and for some others 7 sigma is insufficient. The idea is to reach a sustainable performance level that makes enough business sense. Both DMAIC and DMADV aim at this.