Organizations who have adopted Six Sigma have learned that if they do not design for Six Sigma, they will not achieve it. DFSS is a rigorous approach to designing products and services and their enabling processes to ensure that they meet customer expectations. As the organization evolves in Six Sigma, we will learn more about the importance of DFSS, and apply the tools more frequently.

A fundamental element of Six Sigma philosophy is that unless we are prepared to invest in the measurement of quality, we cannot improve quality, if we don't measure quality, and don't follow-up on these measures, then we are sending a signal that we really don't value quality. This, in turn, affects day-to-day behaviors and activities of all employees.

Process mapping is an essential tool in helping us understand the activities and sequence of steps involved in any process. It also helps to identify areas where data collection should take place. It is commonly used at the early stages of project definition or project development to visualize the activities involved in a process. By completing the process map prior to performing process baselining and calculating the lean value, we can focus on processes that we fully understand.

Training for Six Sigma must flow down from top to bottom. If Six Sigma is to be driven off the strategic issues of the business, then it follows that senior management must gain adequate exposure to Six Sigma philosophy, concepts, and methodology before any action is taken. Based on this training, senior management is then in a position to wisely identify the high-level focus of Six Sigma, to establish broad goals and, perhaps most importantly, assign the right resources.

Design for Six Sigma employs a set of tools and methodologies in the design of new products or services and their supporting processes. This is to ensure that the outcome remains as simple and cost effective as possible while serving the needs of the customer.

Products and services are defined such that they can be produced at a Six Sigma level utilizing processes that are operating at their optimum technological capability level of entitlement.

Defect Opportunities can exist at any level of a hierarchy (complex, system, subsystem, component, and element levels). The hierarchy level concept can be applied to every business situation. For example, there are many levels to a policy, service, project, assembly, design, etc. For each of these levels, we count the number of opportunities and defects for each CT.

How an organization structures the people working on Six Sigma is a function of two things: first, by how the Group decides to focus its deployment (e.g., geographical considerations, degree of design, and engineering focus); second, by how the Group wants to integrate Six Sigma into its organization versus how it intends to ensure Six Sigma resources don't get lost in concerns of "business as usual" and fighting the latest fire.

Most organizations find it useful to have a way to evaluate the capacity of products, services, and processes. This step provides them with an idea of where they are on the Six Sigma map, where to focus improvement projects, as well as point out areas where data is available or needs to be collected in the future. It is important to note that there may be different approaches used to apply these concepts because each situation is different.

A successful leader is engaged in their business and they stay engaged by practicing the art of intentional inquiry. Learning how to ask the right questions that require your team to think instead of simply responding, is an art that requires experience and practice.

It's also the basis for good coaching. Most leaders don't know how to ask questions that encourage employees to speak their minds.

You may have been selected by your executive to initiate and see through some change program in your organization Or you may have decided that the time has come to make your mark by dusting off the cobwebs in your workplace