Companies want to manufacture a quality product to ensure

customers will continue to purchase it and to allow the company to

make a profit. In this lesson, you'll learn how Six Sigma drives quality.

An Overview of Six Sigma

Six Sigma is a statistical approach to improving business processes
by reducing defects and their causes in the manufacturing process.
The focus of Six Sigma is on reducing variation that occurs in the
manufacturing process to improve product quality and increase
company profit. Six Sigma initiatives take place in teams where
members have expertise in a number of different areas, including
financial analysis, project management and statistics.
Let's meet Mr. Rayne, who owns the Up and Away Umbrella
company. The company is known for its high-quality products, but Mr.
Rayne wonders if there's a way to reduce the number of defects that
have arisen over the past six months. After a meeting with some of his
managers, he agrees to implement a Six Sigma approach to reducing
the defects.

Different Methodologies
There are two distinct methodologies in Six
Sigma: DMAIC and DMADV. Both methods can be used to reduce
defects in the manufacturing process, and both approaches use data
to develop solutions to problems identified in the review process.
There are differences in when each method should be used, which
we'll examine in more detail below.

DMAIC
The DMAIC methodology is used in situations where a product is
already being manufactured but is encountering defects and/or is not
meeting customer expectations. The steps in this process are:

 Define
 Measure
 Analyze
 Improve
 Control

In the define stage, goals of the project are developed, taking the
customer's point of view into consideration. The measure stage
involves identifying key parts of the process and gathering data about
it. Once data is collected, it can be analyzed to determine the cause of
the defects. The Six Sigma team can then brainstorm ways in which
the current process can be improved to eliminate the identified
defects. Lastly, steps can be taken to ensure future processing in this
area continues to be defect-free.
Let's return to Mr. Rayne. Assume that a percentage of the company's
high-wind umbrellas, which are meant to withstand winds up to 55
miles per hour, are failing. Consumers are unhappy with this product
when it goes inside-out in high winds. Mr. Rayne has assembled a Six
Sigma team of employees who are familiar with the methodology and
represent different areas of the company. Let's examine how the Six
Sigma team could use DMAIC to address this defect.
In the define stage, Mr. Rayne's team sets a goal of reducing the
number of umbrellas that fail to one in 4 million manufactured
umbrellas. Given the annual sales volume, this would represent a
small number of defects that would impact very few customers.
In the measure stage, Mr. Rayne's team gathers data to identify under
what conditions the umbrellas are failing and whether the failure can
be isolated to a particular factory or period of time. The data reveals
that the failures were occurring in umbrellas produced in its main plant
between January and March.
As part of the analyze stage, the team investigates and determines
that the failures are due to a change that was recently made in the
manufacturing process. The thickness of the steel used in the
umbrellas was reduced by 1/32 of an inch, as tests suggested that this
change would not impact the structural integrity of the umbrellas. After
discussion, the team concludes that the company needs to return to
the original manufacturing specifications, even though it requires a
little more steel to manufacture each umbrella.
To ensure a similar problem doesn't occur again, the team concludes
that future manufacturing changes need to be controlled differently.
They recommend that additional testing be built into the change
process and that the testing involve a review of results by multiple
areas to ensure that all parties are aware of the changes prior to final
approval and implementation.

DMADV
The DMADV methodology is appropriate when a product or process is
being developed (i.e. it isn't currently in production or the process has
already been changed through a DMAIC or some other review), but
still isn't meeting Six Sigma goals or customer expectations. The steps
in this process are:

 Define
 Measure
 Analyze
 Design
 Verify
The first step of the process, define, involves outlining the goals of the
project while considering the customer. In the measure stage, the
team identifies and quantifies the characteristics of the process that
are important from a quality perspective. Next, the team analyzes
design options to ensure they will satisfy the needs of the customer. In
the design phase, the process is designed to meet customer
expectations. Lastly, the preferred option is verified and tested prior to
implementation to ensure it meets customer needs.
Let's assume that Mr. Rayne's customers love the company's
products, and they would like the company to produce a drip-less
umbrella since they hate getting their floors wet. Using the DMADV
method, Mr. Rayne's Six Sigma team would take this request as the
goal for the define stage of the project. In measurement, the team may
gather more information about the specific characteristics that
consumers would like to see in this new umbrella. In design, Mr.
Rayne's team would create an umbrella that satisfies customer
expectations. In other words, it would be drip-less. Once Mr. Rayne's
team has a working model of the drip-less umbrella, it would be tested
and verified to ensure it was, indeed, drip-less. Once the product was
verified and reviewed by Mr. Rayne's team and other production
areas, it would be ready to go into production.

Lesson Summary
Six Sigma is a methodology that focuses on using statistical
information to reduce defects in the manufacturing process to satisfy
consumer expectations. It involves the use of a team of experts who
are familiar with statistics, financial analysis and project management.
The two types of Six Sigma approaches are DMAIC and
DMADV. DMAIC methodology is appropriate when a product is
already being manufactured but has defects and/or is not meeting
customer expectations. DMADV is used if a product or process is not
currently in production or has already been changed through a DMAIC
or some other review, but still isn't meeting Six Sigma goals or
customer expectations.
Organizations of every size, function, and location have to seek ways
to stay sharp with their processes and procedures. This lesson will
describe how a proper six sigma implementation, with solid goals, can
help to improve any organization.

Main Goals of Six Sigma

 Six Sigma Goals

Every organization that seeks to implement Six Sigma, or any

improvement program, should have a firm idea of what it expects to
gain from the initiative. Rather than a vague thought, such as 'we want
to get better,' project leadership needs to establish concrete and
measurable goals that can be anticipated from implementing any
improvement strategy, including Six Sigma.
The main goals of Six Sigma need to incorporate these specific
expected outcomes for the program, and typically fall within the
following three key areas:

 Quality
 Variability
 Productivity

Quality
Quality is a natural primary goal for virtually every Six Sigma
campaign. Without attacking quality issues in any process, all other
improvement efforts will certainly come up short. Them main quality-
related areas of focus for typical Six Sigma projects include
error/defect reduction (or error proofing) and reducing the waste
involved in producing a product or service. Using a defined
methodology and statistical tools, the project team will seek to identify
and eliminate the causes of defects in a given process. In doing so,
the goal is to improve the end product of the process with as few
defects as possible. Secondary objectives associated with quality
goals include increases in customer satisfaction and increased
profitability (due to reduced waste and rework from errors).
Variability
Variability in this context refers to the variance between the designed
standard and actual output of a product or service. Imagine a bull's-
eye, and think about arrow shots that hit the target, but miss the
center ring. Often, out of specification outputs are not acceptable to
the end user/client and are rejected, causing excessive waste,
reduced profits, and increased costs. Variability can come from
common causes (steady, random fluctuation) or special causes (one-
time, non-random fluctuation). The goal of Six Sigma is to reduce
variability, resulting in stable processes that produce a consistent
output.

Productivity
Increasing productivity is a very common goal for many Six Sigma
implementations. Even nominal improvements in the efficiency of a
process can result in significant benefits for the organization. Six
Sigma projects typically focus on reducing cycle time (the time it takes
to complete one process to produce an output), such as a bank teller
handling a single client. The faster the cycle time, the more cycles
(clients) can be processed in a single shift. Other areas of
improvement include reducing steps in a process that are duplicative
or don't add value. Streamlining the processes helps to increase cycle
time and reduce wasted time, thereby increasing the overall
productivity of the process.

Six Sigma Implementation Plan

Six Sigma implementation can differ widely between organizations,
depending on their individual goals and operational strategies.
However, all Six Sigma implementations must focus on three main
areas in order to be successful:

 Leadership
 Scope
 Infrastructure

Leadership
Leadership of the organization's Six Sigma initiative is of critical
importance. Since you'll likely be changing the status quo of existing
workflows, you will need the support of company leadership. This
ensures that you have been empowered with the authority to
implement the necessary changes that will bring about improvement in
the organization. In addition, program leadership will help to determine
areas of priority for improvement efforts and help to resolve any
challenges, roadblocks, or barriers to implementation. In short,
leadership is your Six Sigma champion!

Scope
Understanding scope, or program depth and breadth, is a very
important function of every Six Sigma implementation. Without proper
scope, projects can wonder about aimlessly, with people working on
things that aren't important. You must also determine whether your Six
Sigma implementation is simply for a few tactical projects, or an
organization-wide initiative. A firm scope definition provides the
necessary boundaries to keep the Six Sigma program focused on its
primary goals and moving in the right direction. Think of scope as the
GPS for Six Sigma implementation.

Infrastructure
Infrastructure is like the hands and feet of the Six Sigma
implementation process. This is where the actual activities occur.
Organizations need to arrange the necessary resources - both human
and physical - to carry out the goals of the initiative. Significant training
is required, because the Six Sigma methodology requires those
carrying out the implementation to possess considerable skills and
knowledge. Organizations will need to decide whether to create this
capability within the organization, or hire outside consultants to lead
the improvement projects. Think of infrastructure as the tools by which
the programs are achieved.

Lesson Summary
In today's highly competitive environment, every organization of every
type needs to seek opportunities to improve, or they will likely perish.
Six Sigma is one such opportunity, but being successful requires a
firm understanding of the main goals of Six Sigma for your
organization. Further, Six Sigma implementation needs to have
strong leadership backing, a well-defined scope, and solid
infrastructure in order to succeed.
There are many training courses that employees can take to help
strengthen the operations of a company. The focus of this lesson is
Six Sigma and the training that helps employees reach a variety of
certification levels.

A First Look at Six Sigma

Meet Wyatt! Wyatt works in production and has decided that he would
like to be given more responsibility at his company. He feels that it is
time to make some career moves and find some opportunities for
advancement. After talking to some of the executives where he works,
Wyatt feels the best way to accomplish his goal is to become more
familiar with Six Sigma.
Six Sigma is a methodology for trying to reduce and eliminate defects
and variations in the many processes of a company. Because he
works in production, Wyatt knows that becoming certified in Six Sigma
practices would not only benefit the company, but would give him the
tools he needs to be considered for a promotion. Let's take a look at
what Wyatt found out about Six Sigma.

Six Sigma Further Defined

Wyatt first starts with wanting to know a bit more about the basics of
Six Sigma. He finds out that this type of method helps a company
strengthen processes and produce more consistency in output. The
objective is to make sure a company is producing the highest quality
outputs by removing the factors that cause defects or variations.

Training
When an individual like Wyatt decides to start training in Six Sigma, he
or she will learn how to develop projects that follow specific steps in
order to achieve results. Those steps are focused on reducing the
costs and times associated with processes, reducing pollution,
improving satisfaction of customers, and helping to increase profit.
Certification at the many Six Sigma levels requires leading projects
and passing exams.
Wyatt will also be trained on how to use steps known as
DMAIC. DMAIC stands for define, measure, analyze, improve, and
control. This means when Wyatt is implementing Six Sigma, he will
define the problem, measure its effects, analyze how to correct it,
correct or improve it, and then maintain or control it so that the
company continues to operate smoothly.
Wyatt's training will include how to use DMADV as
well. DMADV stands for define, measure, analyze, design, and verify.
Wyatt will define what the goals are for the project, and measure what
the customer needs. He will then analyze the options to meet the
needs of the customer. This is followed by designing the process to
meet those needs and verifying that the design actually met the
needs.

Certifications
While Six Sigma training can be a valuable asset for Wyatt, he
realizes that he cannot simply take a course and then be ready to
handle any problem his company faces. You see, Wyatt has to move
through a variety of courses and training in which he will receive
certifications after successfully passing. The very first certification he
will face is Champion certification.
Champion certification is the most basic of all the certifications and
will provide Wyatt with the basic knowledge of Six Sigma. Champions
do not have the quantitative skills to participate as Six Sigma project
team members, but because Champions are usually executives in
their companies, they are able to remove any obstacles that may
hinder a Six Sigma project and can provide resources. They also help
develop objectives of projects and are instrumental in finding leaders
to lead project teams.
Green Belts are the next level of certification, and when Wyatt
achieves this level he will be able to begin leading simple Six Sigma
projects. Green Belts usually work on projects part time and often
include managers within their organization. Green Belts help select
project team members, analyze data, and help train members on Six
Sigma practices. In order for Wyatt to advance in certification, he must
obtain Green Belt certification first.
Another certification that often gets lumped together with the Green
Belt Certification is the Yellow Belt certification. Yellow Belts are
those that have received the same certification and passed the same
exam as Green Belts, they just have not actually completed a Six
Sigma project.
Black Belts are the next level, and they work on trying to implement
changes to processes full time. When Wyatt takes the Black Belt
training, he will lead projects, coach Green Belts and other lower
certifications. He will provide training to team members and
recommended future Six Sigma projects. Brown Belts are also Black-
Belt-certified but still waiting to complete their second project in Six
Sigma.
Master Black Belts are those with the highest in Six Sigma training
and are fulltime leaders of Six Sigma practices. They advise
executives, continue to improve a company's Six Sigma processes,
identify areas for projects, and mentor Black Belts and Green Belts.
To obtain Master Black Belt certification, Wyatt will have to lead 10 or
more projects.

Lesson Summary
Six Sigma is the method of removing defects and variations from the
processes of companies. Six Sigma training teaches people like
Wyatt DMAIC which stands for define, measure, analyze, improve,
and control and DMADV which stands for define, measure, analyze,
design, and verify. There are many levels of certification, starting
with Champion, followed by Yellow Belts and Green Belts. After
becoming a certified Green Belt, Wyatt can move on to Brown
Belt and Black Belt certification, followed by the highest certification
level of all, Master Black Belt.
In process improvement work, it's important to ask 'why' some steps
are the way they are. In this lesson, we'll discuss the Six Sigma
principle of the 5 Whys and how it can provide important insight and
answers.

Six Sigma and The 5 Whys

Six Sigma is the leading methodology for process improvement work
aimed at eliminating waste, defects, and inefficiencies from any
process. The ideas behind Six Sigma were developed by
manufacturing engineers at Motorola in the mid-1980s.
It's important to know that Six Sigma is a methodology or an approach
to improving processes. While the term 'six sigma' was trademarked
by Motorola in 1991, there is no certifying body or organization that
gives out 'green belt' or a 'black belt' in Six Sigma. Anyone can apply
Six Sigma principles, regardless if they have decades of experience
with Six Sigma or they have just researched the principles online.
One of the central principles to Six Sigma is known as the 5 Whys.
The principle of the 5 Whys simply states that when you are analyzing
a process, or even just a single step in that process, you ask at least
five 'why' questions. Behind the principle of the 5 Whys is the belief
that each time you ask 'why,' you learn more and more about the
purpose of a process and why it exists in its current form.

The Reason We Ask Why

The reason it's so important to ask 'why' at least five times is because
processes change frequently, but our understanding of how different
steps in that process are related doesn't change at the same pace.
Over time, as a process changes again and again, some steps
become legacy steps, or steps that are no longer needed and
contribute to inefficiencies. Legacy steps exist because as processes
change and are updated the impact on other parts of the process
aren't considered. Using Six Sigma and the 5 whys, we can uncover
those steps and either modify them or eliminate them, making the
process more efficient.

An Example: Travel Receipts

John is the CEO of an advertising firm with salespeople and project
managers on the road almost constantly. So, like every company he
had worked for, John made the policy that to be reimbursed for travel
costs, the traveler had to provide a receipt. As far as he knows, they
are; his accountants haven't had any problems, and his audits are
always clean.
Then, a new accounting manager - one trained in Six Sigma - starts
working for John. A couple weeks after starting, Sandy, the new
accounting manager, asks to meet with John.

 The 1st Why

After some small chat, Sandy asks John what seems like an easy
question. 'Why do employees need to turn in receipts for meals and
taxi rides?'
John almost seems surprised an accountant would ask that question.
'So we know how much money to reimburse them for a trip,' John
answered, feeling like he was stating the obvious.

 The 2nd and 3rd Whys

'Why do you need to know how much money to reimburse them? Why
not just ask them?' Sandy quickly asked before John had much of a
chance to think of where the conversation was going.
'So we don't overpay them. The receipts are proof that they actually
spent their money. What is this conversation about? Did you find
someone stealing from me by lying about their travel?' John asked,
assuming that was the reason for Sandy's persistence.
'No,' she replied. 'I'm just trying to understand a quick analysis I did.'
John replied, impressed Sandy was already looking for ways to
improve things; 'that's great! Any other questions I can answer?'

 The 4th Why

'Just a couple more,' Sandy said. 'Why are you sure a receipt is
actually evidence of THEIR purchase?'
'Because it tells me the vendor, the time, the place, and the amount…'
John cut himself off, as he realized the real answer to Sandy's
question: a receipt is evidence of a purchase but not that a specific
individual made a purchase.

 The 5th Why

Before he could articulate that, Sandy asked one more question, 'And
why don't you want to over pay them?'
Confidently, John said, 'Because I'm the CEO and responsible for
controlling costs so the shareholders realize the return on their
investment.' He felt proud he ended with a CEO-type answer.

 The Analysis and Solution

Then Sandy reported her analysis. 'With all these travelers and
receipts, each expense report takes us about 2.25 hours, or about $36
in pay, to complete. The time the travelers take to collect and organize
their meal and cab receipts is about 1.5 hours, or around $72 in pay.
That's a total of $108. The average food and cab costs for a 4-day trip
is $350, but that actually costs you $458 to reimburse ($350 + $108).'
John followed the argument. He, admittedly, was surprised by the
numbers.
Sandy finished her explanation with a proposal. 'If the reason you get
receipts from travelers is REALLY to improve profit, how about we pay
$100 per day for food and cab expenses to travelers and forget about
receipts? This will save them time, letting them focus on sales and
save my team's time to focus on collections. We can increase profits
by $61,000 per year ($58/trip @ 1,050 traveler/trips per year).'
All John could really do was wonder how $61,000 was getting thrown
away for the last decade he's been in charge and then utter a
surprised, 'Ummmm, okay. Yeah. Let's do it.'
Sandy stood up, and with just a hint of a winner's smile, she looked at
John and said, 'Sounds good. I'll let you get back to work.' As she
walked away, two weeks into her job, she thought, 'I wonder if he'll
remember his first lesson in the 'five whys' when it's time to pay out
bonuses.'

Lesson Summary
Part of Six Sigma, a popular and effective process improvement
methodology, is understanding what processes exist, why they exist,
and how they can be improved. Sometimes, getting this information is
difficult because we often don't think past the first 'why' question.
The 5 Whys is one Six Sigma technique that can help get the root
cause or purpose of a process or step by asking why at least five
times.
The lesson looks at the DPMO, also known as the defects per million
opportunities. The DPMO is used to measure the error rate in a
production process.

What is DPMO?
In many quality management methodologies such as Six Sigma,
several metrics for quality control are used. One of the most important
metrics is the DPMO which is also known as the defects per million
opportunities metric. This metric is used to measure the performance
of a specific process. To better understand DPMO, it is important to
define the term defect within the context of quality management.
A defect is defined as a non-conformance of a specific quality
characteristic to its planned specification. The quality characteristic
can be the width of a finished product, the response time of a
particular service or the durability of a finished product. While
considering DPMO, processes are seen to be of high quality if the
defect per a million units produced or services provided are few.

Calculating DPMO
To calculate DPMO in a process, it is important for organizations to
identify and define the quality characteristics. Quality characteristics
can be obtained through the following ways:

 Having a very clear understanding of all the requirements

needed for a particular process to take place
 Through industry standards and specifications
 Prioritizing different types of defects from the least to the most
critical

DPMO has been defined as the ratio of the number of defects (based
on the quality characteristic defined for the process) in 1 million
opportunities when a finished item can have one or more defects. To
calculate DPMO, it is critical to know the total number of defect
opportunities. Defect opportunities, in this case, are defined as the
total number of possible defects that can be identified within a given
process. The formula for DPMO is as below:
DPMO = (Total number of defects found in a sample/Sample size
* number of defect opportunities per unit in the sample
)*1,000,000
For example, if an online order processing form has ten different fields
of information and if 5 of these forms are sampled and 15 defects are
found in the sample then the DPMO will be as follows:
Total number of defects found in sample = 15
Sample size = 5
Opportunities per unit in the sample = 10
(15/(10)(5))*1,000,000 = 300,000 defects per a million
opportunities.

A further Example of the DPMO

calculation
This section of the lesson looks at another example of the DPMO
calculation.
If 60 errors for six quality characteristics are found in a sample of 400
orders, then the following would be the DPMO.
Total number of defects found in sample = 60
Sample size = 400
Opportunities per unit in the sample = 6
(60/400*6)*1,000,000 = 25,000 DPMO

Lesson Summary
This lesson examines the definition and use of the DPMO or Defects
per a million opportunities. The DPMO is regarded as a critical quality
metric in Six Sigma. It facilitates quality management by providing
the total number of likely defects in a given sample. The main
components of the DPMO calculation include the sample size being
tested, the total number of defects found in the sample and the
opportunities or the total number of possible defects within a given
process. The Formula for DPMO is DPMO = (Total number of
defects found in a sample/Sample size * number of defect
opportunities per unit in the sample )*1,000,000

Being able to operate efficiently requires knowledgeable individuals

and a company dedicated to those practices that can help accomplish
this task. In this lesson we will learn about some of the training that
prepares employees to take on these tasks.

What is Six Sigma?

Companies want to make a profit and cut costs. They want operations
to run efficiently and smoothly. In order to accomplish all of these
goals, many companies have enlisted in the help and implementation
of Six Sigma. Six Sigma is a method in which companies try and
eliminate defects from the company and all of their processes. To
ensure that Six Sigma is applied and running correctly, employees go
through training and take courses to achieve different levels of Six
Sigma certification. Come along as we learn about those certifications.

Foundation Background
Before we learn about each certification, let's learn a bit more about
the basics of Six Sigma. Six Sigma was developed hundreds of years
ago, but it really became popular in the 1980's. Bob Galvin from
Motorola decided that the company needed a better way to measure
any defects in their products. By creating a way to measure defects,
Motorola was able to save more than $16 billion utilizing this method.
Because of Motorola's success, many other companies started using
Six Sigma as well. Some examples include Honeywell and General
Electric Company.

Champion
The most basic entry level certification of Six Sigma
is Champion certification. Those that are Champions understand the
basics of Six Sigma, but are not equipped with the needed skills to
actively participate as a project team member. Most Champions are
executives within the company and have influence to remove
obstacles and can provide resources. Some important tasks of a
Champion include: developing project objectives, helping to select
black belts to lead projects, removing barriers, reviewing project
timelines, and helping keep the team focused on the project.

Green Belt and Yellow Belt

A Green Belt has a good working knowledge of Six Sigma principles
and practices and consist of mostly managers. Green Belts are able to
lead some basic projects or be a part of the project team. Green Belt
training centers on problem solving skills and data analysis. Some
responsibilities of Green Belts include refining and reviewing the
project charter, selecting team members for the project, helping
analyze data and providing a communication channel.
Those that have passed the Green Belt certification but have not yet
completed a project are called Yellow Belts. They collect data and
help choose team member for projects.

Black Belt and Brown Belt

A Black Belt is an expert in Six Sigma. They lead projects and the
team. They act as trainers and coaches to others completing belt
certification. They have extensive training in statistical data analysis,
leadership and project management. Their tasks include coaching
Green Belts leading projects, helping design experiments, analyzing
data, and recommending other projects.
Like the Yellow Belts, Brown Belts are those that are kind of sitting
idle waiting to lead a project. Brown Belts have passed Green Belt
certification but have yet to complete their second Six Sigma project.

Master Black Belt

The highest level of certification is the Master Black Belt. They have
led at least 10 Six Sigma projects and are an expert in Six Sigma.
They play a role as leader, and advisor to others in the organization
and other certification levels. Their responsibilities entail improving Six
Sigma processes, coordinate projects, teach and mentor other belts,
and counsel executives about Six Sigma.

Lesson Summary
Six Sigma is the process of removing defects from all of the
processes in the company. Those that are responsible for
implementing Six Sigma go through extensive training to be certified.
The certification is broken down into different belts. The entry level is
called a Champion which is followed by the Green Belt, Yellow Belt,
Black Belt, Brown Belt, and concluding with the highest
certification, Master Black Belt.
This lesson looks at two distinct methods of quality management
which are Six Sigma and Three Sigma. The lesson examines the
similarities and differences between the two methods as well as their
application areas.

Six Sigma and Three Sigma as

Statistical Approaches to Quality
Management
The use of statistical methods for quality management and control
was first developed by Walter Shewhart in the 20th Century. These
statistical methods formed the basis of Three Sigma and Six Sigma
which are ideally two different levels of Sigma. The next section
further analyses the Sigma levels.

Sigma Levels
The science of statistics, as developed by Shewhart, relates to quality
control metrics which state that exceptions or error rates found in a
production process are empirical qualities that are based on a
predetermined standard deviation.
For example, if a factory is producing wheels with a particular radius,
diameter, and circumference measurements, then the error rates
would be the extent to which wheels manufactured deviate from these
predetermined measurements. Each Sigma level has a different
tolerance level for errors.
Therefore, the Sigma One to Sigma Six levels describes the maximum
number of defects per million in a system or process. There is,
therefore, a strong relationship between this and the overall accuracy
percentage expected from the system or process. For example,
the Three Sigmaapproach expects a maximum of 66.8K errors per
million. This translates to 93.3% accuracy expectation for any given
process or system. On the other hand, the Six Sigma expects a
maximum of 3.4 errors per million. This translates to 99.999997%
accuracy expectation for a given process or system.

Six Sigma Overview

Six Sigma strives towards achieving near perfection for a given
process. Therefore, from a practical perspective, Six Sigma attempts
to continually improve processes and rate of accuracy such that it
tends towards a perfect outcome. In this regard, Six Sigma does not
only focus on setting up a measuring scale for performance but also
provides a methodology that facilitates performance improvement.
This is because Six Sigma addresses other factors including culture,
environmental change and the human aspect as factors that
contribute significantly to quality. Six Sigma attempts to provide
a holistic approach to quality measurement of processes and
symptoms and also quality improvement of those processes and
systems.

Three Sigma Overview

Three Sigma differs most obviously with Six Sigma in its tolerance for
defects. Shewhart, who first developed the concept of statistical
measurement of defects in a process, described Three Sigma as the
point at which the ordinary begins to move towards extraordinary. In
this day and age, many companies around the world consider a Three
Sigma performance as unacceptable and it is regarded as much lower
than the industry required standards. Organizations still use Three
Sigma in situations where it is necessary to measure the predictability
of individual outcomes as well as the cause of the deviation from the
expected results. Three Sigma is also used to determine how these
causes can be categorized as known or traceable causes or unknown
causes. In cases where there are too many unknown causes of errors
the Three Sigma assumes that the system or process may be at fault
and requires a thorough redesign. Three Sigma does not consider
aspects such as culture.

Lesson Summary
This lesson examines the differences between Six Sigma and Three
Sigma. These two approaches are derived from statistical methods
developed by Shewhart in the 20th Century. The most noticeable
difference is that Three Sigma has a higher tolerance for defects in
comparison to Six Sigma. More specifically, Three Sigma expects an
error rate 66.8K errors per million. This translates to 93.3% accuracy
expectation while Six Sigma expects a maximum of 3.4 errors per
million. This translates to 99.999997% accuracy expectation. Three
Sigma offers a tolerance rate that is unacceptable in many industries
especially because its tolerance rate is much lower than
predetermined industry standards. On the other hand, most
organizations view Six Sigma as the ideal. The Six Sigma ideal
focuses on constant improvement of processes to achieve near
perfection.
Six Sigma is a powerful tool for any organization to use to improve the
quality of its product or service. This lesson will provide a brief
overview and history of Six Sigma and an introduction to this quality
improvement methodology.

What Is Six Sigma?

Organizations of all types must constantly strive to remain competitive
in today's global marketplace. Fortunately, many tools are available
for leaders to use to improve their products and services. One of the
most common and highly trusted tools is Six Sigma, which is a
management tool and methodology for quality improvement. The term
'sigma' itself is actually a statistical metric that describes the
occurrence of deviation from a set standard. Think of the standard as
a bullseye on a target and each sigma are the concentric rings that
surround the bullseye. Six Sigma represents, statistically, missing the
standard (target) only 3.4 times for every million opportunities (shots).
Six Sigma, although having very thorough processes with a highly
robust toolset, is still a rather young methodology. Developed initially
in 1986, the concept was adopted by only a few large companies, but
as word (and expertise) grew, more and more organizations adopted
Six Sigma. Today, more than thousands of organizations around the
world have implemented Six Sigma as their quality improvement
methodology.
The best way to explain the history and evolution of Six Sigma is
through its major generational 'ages' and iterations throughout its
development, as shown in the above chart.

Manufacturing Age
Six Sigma got its start with an idea to help a manufacturer produce
better products. In the early 1980s, engineers at Motorola, Inc. sought
to reduce errors in their products before they were shipped out of their
factories. Building upon prior quality initiatives, they sought a
statistical, metric-based system to quantify quality in their
manufacturing business.
Engineer Bill Smith, working with statistician Mikel Harry developed a
defined four-phase methodology - measure, analyze, improve, control
(MAIC) - to focus on reducing errors and defects in the production
process. Smith is known as the 'father of Six Sigma' and came up with
the term 'Six Sigma.' In 1987, Motorola filed for a trademark on Six
Sigma. Over the next decade, it is reported that Motorola saved more
than $16 billion using the Six Sigma methodology.

Financial Age
The financial age marked a period of expansion in the use of this new
tool - Six Sigma. Within a few years, the news of great progress at
Motorola and the accompanying rewards spread, and other mega-
industrial firms began to take notice.
As Motorola refined and advanced its Six Sigma methodology, the
giant electronics company, Texas Instruments, began its initial
deployment of Six Sigma with a primary focus on reducing
manufacturing defects - similar to the goals of Motorola. As its clients
demanded very exacting standards for electronic components used in
military and aviation industries, Six Sigma was just the tool for Texas
Instruments.
Global conglomerate, Allied-Signal, was the next significant user of
Six Sigma, but for a far different reason. Their leadership understood
the business value of using Six Sigma and its precise measurements,
reports, and controls and credited it with a huge turnaround in the
organization.

Refinement & Adoption Age

During the mid-1990s, the competitive pressure moved several large
companies to consider Six Sigma, marking the beginning of the
refinement age. Once he heard about Six Sigma, its power as a
quality, financial, and business tool, GE CEO Jack Welch became the
strongest supporter of Six Sigma. Soon, the methodology became the
standard tool, and its use was required across all GE divisions and
industries, including their services operations (a first-time use for Six
Sigma). During this time, GE further developed and refined the
methodology, adding an upfront 'define' phase to the Motorola
methodology with the result being a five-phase process still known
today as DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, control).
Shortly thereafter, the success story continued, ushering in the
adoption age, with many of the top industrial companies adopting Six
Sigma and improving themselves. Other large companies had no
choice but to follow suit. During this relatively short period, many firms
began adopting and implementing Six Sigma, including 3M Corp.,
Phillips, IBM, Lockheed, and Sony. Most notably, Phillips began to use
the methodology to improve its sales organization, another first use for
Six Sigma.

Current Age
The current age, including present times, has been the most exciting
for the history of Six Sigma. The methodology has become the de-
facto standard improvement tool with thousands of companies
adopting it and tens of thousands of 'experts' becoming certified in it.
All major car manufacturers are using Six Sigma, especially Ford, GM,
and Toyota, plus industry leaders, like Xerox, Dow, and American
Express.
At the same time, Motorola continued its advancement of Six Sigma,
incorporating 'lean' production techniques to its Six Sigma
methodology. This so called 'Lean Six Sigma' combined the statistical
power of Six Sigma with the efficiency and streamlining capabilities of
lean manufacturing. As with the initial version of Six Sigma, other
companies joined in the bandwagon shortly thereafter, and the lean
version has become the standard going forward.

Lesson Summary
Six Sigma was originally developed in the mid-1980s, as a continuous
improvement methodology for manufacturing operations. However, it
has now evolved into a way to do business for many organizations,
across all types of operations - sales, service, finance, and
manufacturing. The history of Six Sigma continues to evolve in its
current age and is still a relevant tool for quality initiatives. From the
simple goals of an engineer to the lofty intentions of a global CEO, Six
Sigma has shown its ability to grow and adapt to the ever-changing
needs of a global marketplace.
The Six Sigma method of process improvement focuses on reducing
the number of defects in a product. In this lesson, you will learn about
the benefits of the Six Sigma process.
What Is Six Sigma?
Six Sigma is a process improvement method that focuses on product
quality. A successful Six Sigma process has no more than 3.4 defects
for every million items produced. A defect includes anything that does
not satisfy customer specifications. Let's meet Ms. Steep, the owner of
the Terrific Teapot Company. She is investigating implementing Six
Sigma into her production facility but would like to learn more about
the benefits of the method first. Let's see if we can help her.

Benefits of Six Sigma

Since the Six Sigma method focuses on quality by stating the
maximum number of defects that are permitted, the result should be a
higher quality product to be sold to consumers. There are a number of
benefits for the company as well as stakeholders that result from Six
Sigma's focus on quality. Let's explore some of these benefits.

Improved Product Quality

Since the focus of Six Sigma is on reducing defects, the method
results in producing a better quality product. If Ms. Steep implemented
Six Sigma, she would provide customers with a more consistent,
higher-quality product. For instance, there would be no chips or cracks
or inconsistencies in the glaze applied to the teapots. If customers are
happy with the product (and the company), they will make repeat
purchases and tell their friends about the wonderful products as well.

Reduced Project Cycle Times

When companies start projects, they don't know what could go wrong
along the way, and these uncertainties often lead to the project going
over its deadline. When Six Sigma is used, a team identifies the
potential things that could go wrong early in the project and develops
solutions to address them. This approach allows project teams to
meet their deadlines.
For example, let's assume that Ms. Steep is looking to manufacture a
new teapot. Research and development have been completed and a
project team has been assembled to bring the product to the market.
By meeting early in the process and ensuring representation from all
areas, such as sales, marketing, production, and shipping and
receiving, the team has a much better chance of meeting its deadline.

Increased Productivity and Employee

Satisfaction
When Six Sigma is used, all processes are analyzed to identify areas
which require improvement. This approach can identify situations
where employees are underutilized as well as overutilized, which
allows the company to make changes. Let's assume that a review of
the production line at Ms. Steep's company revealed that employees
who package the teapots feel overwhelmed. They noted that there is
too much packaging to ensure the teapots do not break in transit, and
they don't have enough people to complete this task. As a result,
employees are feeling overworked, stressed and unmotivated.
Based on this information, Ms. Steep could change the way in which
this process operates to ensure her employees are not overwhelmed,
thereby improving their productivity or the amount of product that can
be produced in a period of time as well as their overall satisfaction
with their jobs. An improvement in this process would result in filling
orders more quickly.

Improvements in Supply Chain

Management
Supply chain management refers to the process of managing goods
and services from the beginning when they're raw materials until they
become finished goods. Raw materials are unprocessed items that
are needed in the production process; an example for Ms. Steep's
company would be clay. Since the focus of Six Sigma is on reducing
product defects, it would be logical to reduce the number of suppliers
that a company uses to purchase raw materials. The fewer the
suppliers, the better control the company has on the quality of the
materials.
Let's assume that a review of Ms. Steep's company revealed that it
purchases the raw materials needed for the teapots from ten different
suppliers. If the company wants to reduce its defects, it should
decrease the number of suppliers it purchases from as the company
will be in a better position to control the quality of the raw materials.

Increase in Shareholder Satisfaction

Although not a benefit to the company directly, using Six Sigma and
focusing on decreasing defects should result in a better product, which
would attract more customers. Increased sales and lower costs from
improving the process as well as productivity results in more income,
which is available to be distributed to shareholders in the form of
dividends. Shareholders are owners of a public company and
receive dividends or a share of the profits of the company based on
the number of shares that they own.
Lesson Summary
There are a number of benefits to using the Six Sigma methodology,
which focuses on decreasing the number of defects of a manufactured
product. Analyzing and reviewing the processes will identify
inefficiencies, and once these are fixed, the quality of the overall
product will be improved. Six Sigma also reduces project cycle times
as representatives from different areas can come together early in a
project and brainstorm to identify and develop solutions to potential
roadblocks that might occur early on in the process. This early
intervention should result in projects being completed on time.
Implementing Six Sigma improves productivity, which is the amount
of product that can be produced in a given period of time while
keeping employee satisfaction high. Analyzing processes identifies
areas where employees are being underutilized and overutilized.
Once identified, these situations can be remedied and employees who
are underutilized will feel more engaged in their jobs, and those who
are overutilized will have less stress.
Six Sigma also leads to improvement in supply chain management,
which is the process of managing goods from their arrival as raw
materials to finished goods. Raw materials are unprocessed goods
that require some conversion before they are ready to sell to
customers.
Finally, implementing Six Sigma can increase shareholder
satisfaction. With Six Sigma's emphasis on reviewing processes, it
should lead to lower costs and a focus on reducing defects should
result in greater sales. Shareholders who are the owners of the
company will enjoy a share of higher company profits that is
distributed to them in the form of dividends.
Companies must ensure their products are of the highest quality to
compete in the marketplace. In this lesson, you will learn about two
improvement methods: Six Sigma and Kaizen.

What Is Six Sigma?

Let's meet Ms. Leaf, who owns Leaf's Tea Company. She is
investigating ways to improve the quality of her products and make
her business more profitable. She recently read about two methods,
Six Sigma and Kaizen, and wondered if they might be able to help her
business. Let's see if we can provide Ms. Leaf with some information
on these methods.
Six Sigma is a methodology whose goal is to reduce the number of
defects to 3.4 per million opportunities, where a defect is anything that
does not meet customer expectations. Companies can use the Six
Sigma methodology for new products or for existing products. Six
Sigma is data-driven and consists of two methods: DMAIC and
DMADV. Companies use the DMAIC method for existing products that
do not meet customer expectations and need small improvements and
they use the DMADV method for new products.
Companies use the DMAIC method for existing products that do not
meet customer expectations. The DMAIC process consists of five
steps:

 Define
 Measure
 Analyze
 Improve
 Control

For example, Ms. Leaf could use this method to identify and correct
problems with a signature tea that her customers are finding bitter.
Using the DMAIC method, Ms. Leaf's project team would first define
the customers' requirements and outline the problem. They would also
define the project plan and outline the resources needed to complete
the project. In the measurement phase, the project team would gather
the necessary data to determine the size of the problem.
Once gathered, the project team can analyze the data collected and
determine the cause of the problem. For example, is a particular type
of tea leaf causing the bitterness? In the improve phase, Ms. Leaf's
team can formulate potential solutions to the problem, which will be
implemented and monitored during the control phase.
Companies use the DMADV method when developing new products.
The DMADV process also consists of five steps:
  Define
 Measure
 Analyze
 Design
 Verify

Ms. Leaf could follow the DMADV method of Six Sigma when
developing a new tea infuser mug. In the define phase, Ms. Leaf and
her project team would define the goals of the project and what
product will be developed. The measurement phase would require the
project team to determine customer needs. In the analyze phase,
options that would satisfy customer expectations are developed.
In the design phase, Ms. Leaf and her project team would decide on
an approach and design the process to meet customer expectations.
Finally, the verify phase would allow Ms. Leaf and her project team to
confirm that the product meets the needs of the customers.
Six Sigma focuses on quality and the costs associated with poor
quality. It also involves reviewing a number of business processes. As
a result, completing a Six Sigma review can take a significant amount
of time and involve a project team from many different departments in
the organization.

What Is Kaizen?
Kaizen focuses on continuous improvement (CI) (ongoing
optimization of products and services) and eliminating waste in a
company's business processes. Besides improving productivity,
Kaizen also aims to improve the workplace, eliminate work that is too
difficult and train employees to identify and take steps to get rid of
waste in business processes. Every area and department in a
company, including the production line, can use Kaizen to improve
business processes and eliminate waste.
Unlike Six Sigma projects, where significant changes are made,
Kaizen methods yield small improvements, as the focus is on
continuous improvements by all company employees. The Kaizen
method has seven phases:

 Identify opportunities
 Analyze the process
 Develop a preferred solution
 Implement the solution
 Analyze results
 Standardize the solution
 Plan for the future

Unlike Six Sigma, which involves a project team of specialists, all

employees can participate in Kaizen initiatives. In order to do so, the
company must ensure that it trains its employees about what Kaizen is
and how they can participate. The company should put together a
group to evaluate Kaizen submissions and decide which ones to
implement.
An example for Ms. Leaf could be a change to the process of
documenting quality control issues. Let's assume that right now, when
Ms. Leaf's employees identify a quality control issue, they complete a
detailed form and the form is stapled to a plastic bag that contains the
product. Ms. Leaf's employees have noted that on occasion, the form
becomes detached from the product, making it impossible to
determine which problems go with which products.
Ms. Leaf's employees identified that a better solution would be to
place the product and the description in a sealed bag together to
ensure that they are not separated. This change would ensure that
employees could investigate all quality control issues in a timely
manner. This is a small change in process, but it improves the quality
control process.

Lesson Summary
Six Sigma is a method to reduce the number of defects to 3.4 per
million opportunities, where a defect is anything that does not meet
customer expectations. The two sub-methods of Six Sigma are
DMAIC and DMADV. Companies use the DMAIC method for existing
products that do not meet customer expectations or specifications. It
consists of five steps: define, measure, analyze, improve and control.
Companies use the DMADV method of Six Sigma when new products
are developed. It consists of five steps: define, measure, analyze,
design and verify. Six Sigma project teams are specially trained
employees from different areas of the company who come together to
complete a Six Sigma process, which can be quite lengthy.
The Kaizen method focuses on continuous improvement and
eliminating waste in business processes. Companies can train
employees to identify waste and to make suggestions as to how to
eliminate it in a particular process. Business process changes made
because of Kaizen can be small, incremental and implemented
quickly.

This lesson analyzes two very important approaches, Six Sigma and
Agile, that are used in the areas of product development, project
management and quality management.

What is Six Sigma?

Six Sigma has been described as a process improvement
methodology that is used to measure the level of process quality. Six
Sigma attempts to attain a level of quality that is near perfect. High
defect levels have a correlation with low product quality. The Six
Sigma methodology is a methodology that is based on pre-determined
statistics. The main aim of the methodology is to eliminate defects.
This means that it attempts to improve the process and by doing so
ensures that the final product is of high quality.

What is Agile?
Agile, on the other hand, is a project delivery approach that is often
described as iterative and incremental. Other methodologies that are
used within Agile include Scrum and eXtreme Programming. Agile
teams are often able to respond to unpredictable project
environments. They do this by progressively and iteratively building on
work parts of the project. Agile is product focused. This means that it
attempts to improve the product by introducing a customer centered
approach in its product development.

Basic Concepts of Six Sigma

Six Sigma comprises 5 distinct and sequential steps in its usage.
These steps are often referred to as DMAIC and are as follows:

 Define: This involves attempting to better understand

the requirements of the customer. At this point the acceptable
characteristics of the final product are usually defined and
anything else is described as defective. For example, one would
define the acceptable characteristics of a car such as its wheel
size, its engine specifications and other capabilities. Anything
short of these specifications would be deemed defective.
 Measure: This involves determining the frequency of the
defects or how many defects are present in the process. For
example, one would determine how many cars did not meet the
specifications over a given period of time.
 Analyze: This involves investigating when, why and where
the defects occur in a given process. For example, this step
would involve determining at what point the car specifications are
going wrong and why the process is unable to get the correct
specifications
 Improve: This involves what can be done to mitigate against
the defects that have been identified and analyzed. It therefore
focuses on getting to the root cause of the defects and trying to
correct or eliminate these root causes.
 Control: This involves ensuring that the process remains as it
should be in order to achieve near perfection. This is done by
monitoring the process including attempting to rectify any faulty
activities within the process.
Basic Concepts of Agile Development
Agile comprises 5 distinct principles. These principles are as follows:

 Focus on customer value: Agile attempts to prioritize those

product features that can provide the most amount of value to a
customer.
 Readiness to adapt : Given that product development projects
can change regularly, teams using the Agile approach need to
be ready to gain hands on experience, learn on the job and
reflect upon these learning experiences as they carry out the
project.
 Iterative and incremental development: Agile creates a
process flow that is gradual and incremental. This approach aims
to deliver features in small increments while at the same time
receiving input from the customer.
 Thorough collaboration: Agile primarily works in an
environment that involves integrated teams and its team
members are often assigned a variety of different roles.
 Ability to self organize: Team members are able to quickly
restructure their roles with the aim of achieving the best possible
result for the project.

Lesson Summary
This lesson examines two popular approaches, Six Sigma and Agile,
that are used in product development and process improvement. Six
Sigma is fundamentally a process focused approach that attempts to
reduce and control the defect rate of a given process in order to
achieve a near perfect outcome. Six sigma implementation is
sequential in nature and contains the following steps: Define-
Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control (DMAIC). Agile on the other
hand is a product focused approach that attempts to develop
products that provide maximum value to the customer. The principles
of Agile include: Focus on customer value; Readiness to adapt;
Iterative and incremental development; Thorough collaboration;
and Ability to self organize.
Customers expect quality when they make a purchase, and
companies that satisfy this expectation will generate profits. In this
lesson, we will examine the TQM and Six Sigma quality methods.

What Is TQM?
Let's meet Mr. Lawnder who manufactures laundry detergent. He
recently attended a conference where the speaker discussed two
methods to improve product quality, TQM and Six Sigma. He wonders
if these methods could help him improve his product quality and
generate more profit for his company. Let's see if we can help Mr.
Lawnder.
TQM, or total quality management, is a process that focuses on
continuous improvement over a long period of time and involves all
areas of the company, not just the manufacturing department. For Mr.
Lawnder, this would include employees in administration, marketing,
distribution, and communication departments, as well as
manufacturing. Instead of improving the quality of an individual
product, TQM's goal is to change the attitude and culture of the
company to focus on satisfying customer needs.
The TQM philosophy consists of:

 Customers
 Continuous improvement
 Empowering employees
 Using tools to evaluate quality, understand findings, and develop
solutions
 Designing products to satisfy customer needs and expectations
 Building quality into the process
 Managing supplier quality

Mr. Lawnder must continually gather information about his customers'

needs to ensure he is offering products they want. For example, he
could ask his customers to complete surveys or participate in focus
groups to ensure his products are meeting their expectations.
TQM focuses on continuously improving products versus fixing
problems with a particular product and moving on to another one. Mr.
Lawnder could benchmark his processes with a competitor that he
views as a quality leader. Benchmarking is a method of comparing
your company and its processes with a competitor to identify best
practices and areas where your company could improve or is already
doing well.
In TQM, every employee has a role to play in improving quality. Mr.
Lawnder could implement an incentive program to reward employees
who identify and provide solutions for quality problems.
Employees need guidance in identifying quality problems, as well as
evaluating and generating solutions for them. Mr. Lawnder could
implement tools such as checklists to identify defects that occur
frequently and flowcharts that are diagrams of the steps in a process
so employees could identify potential problem areas.
It is less costly to identify and fix a problem before a company
releases a product versus after it is available for sale to customers.
TQM focuses on identifying problems at the beginning of the process,
so the company can correct them, instead of finding them during a
quality control review, where they need to be thrown away or
reworked. Quality control involves inspecting finished products to
ensure they meet company specifications.
Inspecting goods received from suppliers is time-consuming and
costly. Mr. Lawnder could negotiate with his suppliers and build TQM
concepts into the contracts, so materials arriving at his company meet
the same quality standards he has for his company's products.

What Is Six Sigma?

Six Sigma is a data-driven method that focuses on reducing the
number of defects in manufactured products to 3.4 per million
opportunities. Companies use it for new product development or for
existing products that don't meet customer expectations. Six Sigma
has two methods, DMADV that companies use when developing new
products and DMAIC that companies use for existing products that
need small changes.
The five steps in the DMADV process are:

 Define
 Measure
 Analyze
 Design
 Verify

Mr. Lawnder could apply the DMADV method when developing his
new line of eco-friendly detergent. Mr. Lawnder and his dedicated
project team would set goals for the project (define stage) and identify
customer requirements (measure stage). The team would brainstorm
to identify potential alternatives that would satisfy the customer
requirements defined in the measure stage (analyze stage).
Once the team selects an option, it would design the proces,s taking
the customers' needs into consideration (design stage). Lastly, the
project team would evaluate the product to ensure it meets customers'
specifications and goals set earlier in the project (verify stage).
The five steps in Six Sigma's DMAIC process are:

 Define
 Measure
 Analyze
 Improve
 Control

Mr. Lawnder could use the DMAIC method to identify and correct
problems with his detergent, as customers have indicated it doesn't
work well in cold water. Mr. Lawnder's team would determine why the
product isn't meeting customer expectations, and it would develop a
plan to determine the resources required to complete the project
(define stage). The project team would gather data to determine how
large the cold water washing issue is (measure stage).
The team would then analyze the collected data and identify the
cause(s) of the issue (analyze stage). Once the project team identifies
the problem, it can generate potential solutions for it (improve stage).
After the project team implements the preferred solution, it monitors
how well it is working (control stage).

Lesson Summary
TQM, or total quality management, involves all areas of a company
and focuses on long-term continuous improvement. TQM's goal is to
change the attitude and company culture by focusing on satisfying
customer needs and empowering employees at all levels of the
organization. Employees can use checklists to identify defects that
occur frequently and flowcharts to create diagrams of processes so
they can identify potential problem areas.
TQM focuses on identifying problems at the beginning of the process
instead of finding them during a quality control review (or an
inspection of finished goods to ensure they meet company
specifications) where they need to be discarded or reworked. In
addition to managing its own quality, a company also needs to
manage the quality of materials from its suppliers.
Six Sigma is a data-driven method whose focus is reducing the
number of defects in manufactured products to 3.4 per million
opportunities. Companies use it for new products or existing products
that don't meet customer expectations. Six Sigma has two
methods, DMADVthat companies use when developing new products,
and DMAIC that companies use for existing products that need small
changes. Steps in the DMADV process are define, measure, analyze,
design, and verify; steps in the DMAIC process are define, measure,
analyze, improve, and control.
In this lesson, we will examine the certifications available for the two
methodologies used in project management: PMP (Project
Management Professional) and Six Sigma.

Project Management Certifications

Project management certifications are professional qualifications that
are recognized around the world. These certifications have been
proven to improve the success rates of projects run at government or
even corporate levels. These certifications also promote a
standardized and guided way of managing projects. This lesson
analyzes two such project management certifications, PMP and Six
Sigma.
PMP
The PMP certification stands for Project Management Professional
Certification. This is a globally recognized certification for people who
wish to become professional project managers. The certification is
based on the project management Book of Knowledge or PMBOK,
which is a set of standards that describe and define project
management terminologies. The Book of Knowledgeis a guidebook
that has been compiled by the Project Management Institute or PMI.
The content of the exam that you have to take in order to get the PMP
certification is made up of 5 distinct parts. These are:

 How to initiate a project

 How to plan for the project
 How to execute the project
 How to monitor and control the project
 How to close the project

In order to be awarded the PMP certification, you have to complete

and pass the PMP exam. The exam comprises of 200 multiple choice
questions. However, 25 of the questions that are covered in the PMP
exam are not graded and used to assess the strengths of the exam
taker. The 25 questions are placed randomly throughout the exam.
This ideally means that you are graded on only 175 of the 200 exam
questions.
The PMP certification comes with a requirement for continuous
credentials or CCR. This means that the certification holder needs to
carry out other extra activities related to project management in order
to maintain the certification. These activities include writing articles,
research, public speaking and others.

Six Sigma
The Six Sigma certification is a means to ensure that you meet
requirements for certain competencies related to project management.
Similar to the PMP certification, the Six Sigma certification involves
going through related material, passing a proficiency test and being
able to demonstrate the required competencies in a practical
environment. The test for the Six Sigma certification can be given by a
training company. After completing the test, you are required to
complete at least 1 quality related project using the concepts learned
during the training.
The Six Sigma certification is often based on the Six Sigma levels.
These levels include the Green belt, Yellow belt, Black Belt, Brown
Belt and Master Black Belt. Once you pass the Green Belt
certification exam, you are designated the Yellow Belt level and so on
until the Master Black Belt. An individual with a Master Black Belt is
said to have a leadership role and has, therefore, mastered the entire
Six Sigma process.

Lesson Summary
In this lesson, we examined two important project management
certifications. These project management certifications are the PMP
certification and the Six Sigma certification. The PMP certification
is based on the project management Book of Knowledge. The PMP
certification is based on 5 project management processes, which
are initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and
control and project closure.
The Six Sigma certification attempts to provide both a theoretical and
practical approach to building project management competencies. It is
based on the Six Sigma levels where you are able to move up
through the levels as you pass the corresponding certifications. These
levels include the Green belt, Yellow belt, Black Belt, Brown Belt
and Master Black Belt.