Whether you prefer Lean, Six Sigma, or Toyota Kata as your method of choice, measurement is a key principle and a thread that weaves its way through any scientific-thinking or improvement approach. It is through objective measurement that we remove assumption, bias, opinion, and let’s face it—drama. The simplest and…
DMAIC is the problem-solving approach that drives Lean Six Sigma. It's a five-phase method—Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control—for improving existing process problems with unknown causes. DMAIC is based on the Scientific Method and it's pronounced "duh-may-ik." To build your understanding of the method, and help you apply it to…
When we envision a project, we often have a pretty good idea of whether or not it could produce a favorable result, but we may not be able to put a value to that result. Sometimes the result we envision is just only the tip of the iceberg, and there…
I recently read an intriguing treatise of personal and organizational philosophy called Principles by Ray Dalio, the investment guru and founder of Bridgewater Associates. It is certainly not a philosophy for everyone nor for every organization, but I always admire attempts to codify one’s thought process and views on how…
Politicians refer to hard dollars vs. soft dollars often and I don’t pretend to understand what they mean. For one, it has nothing to do with the hard and soft money we deal with in our improvement work. The distinction between hard and soft money can be confusing, but we’ll…
If you’re not tracking statistical differences among your call center agents, I’d argue that you are missing out on a huge opportunity to drive astonishing improvements in your call center outputs. We’ll first make sure we know what statistical differences mean and then talk about the myriad ways you can…
Facts and data are the hallmark of good problem solving – but all too often we don’t have enough data or the right kind of data to make good decisions. In Lean Six Sigma we frequently call upon statistical methods, where we know that having an adequate sample size is…
Call Center quality is abysmal. And it has been for the entire forty years the call center industry has been in existence. We can make cars with near perfect quality, but after 40 years, call center leaders are high-fiving each other up and down the hallway if call agents do…
The Measure Phase is the second phase of the DMAIC process. During this phase the effort is to determine key ways to measure the process, define each of the key measures and then form a plan to detail who will collect the data, in what quantity and where. This data…
DMAIC is a five step method for improving existing problems with unknown causes. DMAIC stands for Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control. For a better understanding of DMAIC and an overview of Lean Six Sigma, check out our free Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt Training, Green Belt Training or Lean Training.