Element Actual

What is the specific problem (project idea) affecting the success of your
business?
Describe the Business

Who is the internal or external customer most affected by this problem?

Identify the Critical To Customer (CTX) category (Quality, Delivery or Cost
) associated with this problem.
Problem

Name the business metric associated with this problem (existing

management performance indicator)?
Where is the problem occurring (geographic or process location)?
When was the problem first observed (specify month/year)?
How Much? What is the extent or magnitude of the problem as measured
by your business metric?
How do you know this is a problem? What target is not being met?
Write the Problem Statement in sentence format using the template
<What><Where><When><How Much><How do you know>.
What is the output product or service delivered to the customer related to
Scope Business

the business problem?

Name the business process delivering the product or service. Think in terms
Problem

of a process that can be mapped.

Develop a high level (macro) Process Map of the above business process.
This typically includes 5 to 7 major steps of a process.
Name the product or service features (i.e., measureable characteristics)
that may need to be fixed to improve the business problem. If more than 2
features are identified, the scope of the project may be too broad.

What is wrong with the features named above (i.e., what is the defect on
Process Metrics & Objective

this measureable characteristic that does not meet some requirement)?

Name the Primary Metric which measures the identified defect. The
Primary Metric will be used to measure the success of the Six Sigma
project.
Statement

Estimate the Baseline performance level of this Primary Metric.

Can you estimate the Entitlement (best short term observed historical
performance) of this Primary Metric? Yes or no? If so, what is the
entitlement performance level?
Name any Consequential Metrics which measure potential negative
consequences of successfully improving the Primary Metric.
Identify which sources of data (reports, collection sheets, inspection points,
etc) are available to measure the metrics above.
Write a S.M.A.R.T. Objective Statement as follows: "Improve {primary
metric} from {baseline level} to {target level (70% toward entitlement)} by
{timeframe MM/YYYY}.

Team Assignment Financial Metric
Project Launch
Element Actual
Who is the Finance Representative assigned to value the financial impact
of this Six Sigma project?
Identify any potential cost centers that will be impacted by reducing this
defect.
Comment on application or extension of this project across other areas or
locations of the organization.
Complete the Original Forecast (80% confidence) with the Financial
Representative.
Does the project scope / complexity require a Black Belt or a Green Belt?
Specify name.
Identify the Process Owner (person with primary responsibility for ongoing
operation of impacted process).
Identify the project team members (typically 3-6 people who have a broad
level of expertise or process knowledge).
Identify the project approval team (people required to approve the project
before it can be started) if required in organization's project guidelines.
Obtain the necessary approval signatures to launch the project.
Are there other process initiatives (in work) that would be affected by this
project? If yes, what are they?