When we hear that an organization has deployed Six Sigma, they usually have put in place an organizational structure that supports Six Sigma projects within the company. There are several different roles played by different individuals. Here is a brief list of different roles and their responsibilities in a Six Sigma organization:

Green Belt / Black Belt: These are project leaders responsible for leading Six Sigma projects and teams to complete the project on time and realize savings for the company.

Team Members: These are resources who attend team meetings and work on different actions required on Six Sigma projects (like collecting data, coming up with improvement ideas etc). Subject Matter Experts (SME) are "experts" who do not necessarily attend all team meetings but only come on an as needed basis and provide the needed expertise.

Master Black Belt: Master Black Belts are responsible for training and coaching Green Belts and Black Belts in an organization. They also work with senior management within the company to identify and launch Six Sigma projects.

Project Sponsor: Project Sponsors are managers within the company who authorize Green Belts and Black Belts to work on projects. They provide resources for projects such as team members, required money for capital expenditures etc.

Process Owner: Process Owners are the persons who take over the improved project once the Green Belt or Black Belt has finished making the required improvements. Process Owners are responsible for maintaining the sustenance of processes after the completion of the Six Sigma project.

Financial Analyst: Financial Analysts are independent entities in the organization who check and approve the benefits reported on Six Sigma projects. They ensure the reliability of numbers reported on Six Sigma projects.

Deployment Champion: Deployment Champions have the final accountability for the Six Sigma program within a company. They provide the strategy for deployment of Six Sigma in an organization.

Mr Jayaram,

We are thankful to you for providing us insight of various actors that share the responsibility in six sigma supported organisation. Please continue posting more information about the organization that use six sigma to gain profitability. And how can we convince other organization to follow this path.