This site is a comprehensive review of the important Six Sigma strategies, and ways that Mind Mapping improves the Six Sigma process.
First developed by Motorola in 1986, and made main stream in 1995 by Jack Welch of General Electric, Six Sigma is a business management strategy which seeks to improve the quality of process outputs by identifying and removing the causes of defects. Using quality management methods Six Sigma also attempts to minimize variability in business processes.
Recently, Mind Mapping and Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) have become popular methods to assist Six Sigma professional in achieving 99% free from defects, the ultimate goal behind the Six Sigma strategy.
When projects are aimed at improving an existing business process, DMAIC is the preferred Six Sigma methodology used. The DMAIC methodology is used when a product or process currently exists at your company but is not meeting customer specification or is not performing as required.
When a product or process does not currently exist at your company but needs to be created, DMADV is the preferred Six Sigma methodology used. DMADV is used to improve the new process, as opposed to improving an existing product or process.
SIPOC is a tool used in process improvement, which summarizes the inputs and outputs of one or more processes, and is displayed in table form. SIPOC stands for suppliers, inputs, process, outputs, and customers which form the columns of the table.
SIPOC is used to emphasize putting the customer’s needs first. Process information is filled in starting with the customer and working upstream to the supplier. The SIPOC is often presented during the “define” phase of the DMAIC process.
Here are a few aspects of SIPOC that may not be readily apparent
Critical X is a business process input that has a large degree of influence on the quality of the final product or outcome. The dynamic of the Critical X and process improvement is such that by improving the Critical X, the process improvement is realized. For example, the largest measurable gain in quality can be realized by improving the quality of the Critical X.
Critical to X is defined as a general term which refers to the various methods used in optimizing a key measurable characteristic that is ‘Critical To’ the performance or customer expectation.