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Golden rules for implementing Six Sigma in an IT organization

Before we actually start discussing on golden rules of implementing six sigma let us first discuss why any organization needs six sigma. I believe below are the reasons that drives an organization towards six sigma.

Lack of  initiative in new process or design. Delay in deliverables. Need more Collaboration between Process and teams. No Continuous Improvement Philosophy (Kaizan). Loss of customer satisfaction.

In a simple word any organization which is not meeting stakeholder’s satisfaction need a change and it could be better in terms of six sigma if reasons are mentioned above.

Implementation of six sigma is a basically “Top down approach” and broadly can be treated as waterfall model.

 

1. Leadership Commitment :

By leadership here we would like to mean all categories of leaders and not only the top management of an organization.

The informal leaders are the most recognized and highly influential leaders in a Six Sigma project. The presence of quality leadership commitment trait in these informal leaders is very much essential for the success of any Six Sigma strategy. Informal leaders are a very integral part of Six Sigma implementation and maintenance team and without their involvement means sure failure of the strategy. Besides, informal leaders will resent being out of the major activity loop and will not extend cooperation in the areas they excel resulting in the lack of procedural influence. Therefore you should have well trained informal leaders. Occasional hiring of Black Belt trained informal leaders will also give an impetus to the successful implementation of Six Sigma strategy. In other words, they are the people who will help to get the ball rolling as well as rolling in the right direction.

2. Strategic Alignment:

  

This alignment required because many organizations lack a common understanding about their projects. This lack of clarity can impede progress toward achieving the organizations goals.

Strategic Alignment Ensuring how to keep projects on track and aligned with corporate strategy, while keeping key stakeholders engaged with the project

  

3. Change managers/Leaders :

  

  Change management skills include leadership development, marketing and sales. Is the “black art” of Six Sigma deployment

  

  

4. Customer focused market knowledge :

  

Six sigma always driven by vision and mission of the organization. Processes are designed from the perspective of the customer and are enabled by a commitment to thinking in terms of processes across the organization. Metrics such as SLA adherence, reliability, price, on-time delivery, service and accuracy provide the targets. The customer focus creates market knowledge that can illuminate the need for process change in areas where the company can add value or implement improvements that customers themselves value most

  

5. Bottom Line Benefits :

The main aim is improved bottom-line profitability. Satisfied customers come back for more and encourage business associates, family and friends to do the same. It is the vote of the customers, not that of an awards committee or certification board, that counts. In today’s competitive business environment, initiatives must justify themselves economically.

According to Peter Drucker, “Profit is not the explanation, cause or rationale of business behavior and business decisions, but the test of their validity.”

  

  

6. Process Approach : There should be only two approaches. One is DMAIC & other is DFSS. DMAIC should be applied in existing process and DFSS should be applied in new process.

  

7. Decision with measurement: Deploying Six Sigma in a service or transactional environment usually entails working with various information systems, which may seem “data rich” at first glance but are, in fact, data poor due to their design and implementation. For this reason there should be some specific measurement system to overcome this. Some metrics are really useful in this purpose.

  

  

8. Continuous innovation : You have to a mindset for continuous innovation. Need to think always out of box for innovation and right people in place. Leadership team needs to be patient which is key to success.

  

9. Organizational learning :

  

 By implementing Six Sigma Organization also moving towards a better process and quality oriented organization which is a great learning

  

10. Continuous refinement :

Continuous refinement is necessary to achieve reduce defect. Over a period of time we get controlled over the process and continuous refinement will help to improve quality.

Key Success Factor of six sigma implementation :

  

Master Black Belt and Black belt should drive the organization towards six sigma. Training and techniques of six sigma methodologies and tools should be available to the all employees. Always focus on customer delight which not only reduce cost but also enable breakthrough bottom line results. Awards, rewards and recognition for successful six sigma project teams.

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World-class leaders have the personal resolve and willpower to create effective plans and the organization to implement their strategies. They energize their organizations through these plans. They act decisively. They assess and adjust their plans constantly on the basis of sound situational awareness and outer directed information gathering.

This level of adaptability depends on a few leadership strategies, techniques and principles. When you follow my advice below you will achieve success.

My Top 7 Leadership Strategies You Need to Lead Your Organization Under All Circumstances

1. Get clear on objectives and stick to them.

If you don’t know your destination, you and your organization will meander aimlessly and enter storm-tossed seas.

Effective leaders know where they are and where they want to go. And, they stick to their aim.

2. Create robust plans.

Plans have three key benefits.

Effective planning allows you and your team to delve into a situation beforehand
Plans create a common language for everyone involved in the organization’s mission.
Plans tell you what needs to be done, by when, and with what resources.

3. Add flexibility to your organization.

The art of organization addresses “Who” and “How” in order to implement your plans. After the assignment of responsibilities and resources, teams and the organization as a whole must develop common processes. This ensures quality, consistency, and accountability. Plus, it will make it easier to determine the reasons for success and failure and how to correct your weaknesses.

4. Maintain situational awareness.

Most leaders focus on feeding an endless hunger for internal reports, rather than on markets, competitors and societal trends. When confronted with an information request, leaders should ask the following question: Does this request feed the internal information monster or will it contribute to a greater understanding of our environment and our clients?

If it’s the former, then internal processes must be revised or eliminated.

If it’s the latter, ask yourself if it confirms an existing belief about markets and competitors, or if it challenges it. Information that does not agree with widely held assumptions and beliefs should be scrutinized closely and given the highest value. The danger is in using information to confirm and rationalize what we already believe, instead of using it to confront a brutal reality head on.

5. Act, assess, and adjust.

Effective leaders act when they are 80 % ready. The final 20 % rarely contributes anything of value, since the situation and conditions it is designed to address will likely change anyway.

The effort and cost of attaining “perfection” in plans and organization is usually cost-prohibitive and not worth the additional investment. This doesn’t mean leaders should blindly adhere to plans in the face of changing circumstances. The key is to act, assess the impact of actions, and then adjust the plans to get back on track.

Situational awareness plays a critical role in assessing and adjusting actions, but so does leadership.

6. Lead from the front.

It is in times of great change and confusion that world-class leaders truly earn their keep. Military commanders know that they can’t command and lead their forces from the safety of their command post. The same applies to business and organizational leaders. This is leading from the front.

Leaders have to get down and dirty with the troops.

This doesn’t mean you should be doing your subordinates’ work.

However, you do have to get out and about. Ask questions. Probe responses. Question clients. Observe what is happening and why it is happening.

Then you can apply your judgment to the changing situation and be present to motivate employees and collaborators.

7. Maintain morale.

Morale is one of the most poorly understood organizational concepts today. The term originally comes from the military, where it denotes the willingness of forces to continue the fight until final victory, no matter what the circumstances.

This is powerful stuff.

Unfortunately, many business and organizational leaders talk about morale, but what they really mean is the mood of the organization. Think of the mood of the American people, and much of the Western world, in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. It was not rosy. People were both saddened and angered by the atrocity.

However, a majority in the U.S. as well as in many friendly countries rallied and decided that the time had come to do something about such attacks. Thus the War on Terror was born.

This example shows the clear distinction between social mood and national morale. They are clearly different, yet intricately linked. In the simplest of terms, whether your purpose is to fight a war or to introduce a new product to market, the only way to have the willpower and resolve to achieve your objectives is to maintain superb morale. Here’s how…
Recognize the nobility and value of your goal.
Recognize the sacrifices and commitments of your people.
Take care of your people.

Nothing undermines morale more quickly than uncertainty about one’s own place in an organization, apathy, and uncaring superiors.

It is never too late to get a ship back on track or to reassess where you are in implementing your personal and organizational goals. Take the time to list your goals and then compare them to this list of principles. Begin changing your approaches immediately so you can become a more effective leader today.

What is the purpose of these time management tips? I have shared them with you so you can start managing your time better – today! Granted we can’t control how much time we have, but we can organize the time we do have to get the most out of it.

I’ve selected some of the best time management tips I’ve come upon and ones which I think are easier to follow, guaranteed to work and can be done by almost anybody.

1. The most common tip I’ve encountered is to make a list. This will not only make everything more organized, but it gives you a preview of what’s more important to you by a careful inspection after making one. It will help you prioritize and recognize flexibility among your tasks. Just make sure you follow what you’ve written according to the most important ones on top.

2. Having a routine is your secret weapon to successful time management. A strong routine will keep you focused, balanced and on track. And it means your list will stay organized too!

3. Recognize importance over urgency. According to an article, importance leads to achievement of goals while urgency is more for the achievement of someone else’s needs or an uncomfortable situation. Importance should always prevail. Since your aim is to target goals that gives you the greatest gains.

4. Pick out your time wasters. Do you “kill time” watching TV, browsing the internet, chatting on the phone, daydreaming, saying yes to everybody, saying yes to everything? All these things can affect your productivity negatively.

5. Do back track. This is a form of self-assessment. Track your activities in the past, get rid of the habits that can cost you time and determine what part of the day you work best. Then take on the most difficult tasks in those hours.

I had a teacher who once said to me that there was no such thing as “Time Management”, as we are all given the same amount of time each day – 24 hours. We can’t change that. A better term would be “Task Management”. I’ve never forgotten about that ever since.

Time management tips can help us to manage our time better and if we manage our time wisely we get our work done. We also improve our productivity and we get to more time to enjoy the things we want to do at the same time!

Find out more about importance of time management. Rachel got her particulars together from a variety of places including these time management tips.