Six Sigma for Dummies: A Simplified Approach for Measuring the Continuous Improvement of Almost Anything
Presentation Abstract
Basic Six Sigma techniques and principles can help drive a continuous improvement program. This presentation provides real world examples and case studies to show how continuous improvement can be used to measure and improve documentation quality. Basic Six Sigma principles can help a manager define, measure, analyze, improve, and control a predictable and repeatable process so quality improvements can be tracked and reported to senior management in a meaningful way. By counting quality defects over time and tracking the delta change via a trend line, quality improvements can be directly validated via raw data in ways that senior management can understand and trust. By using continuous improvement metrics instead of raw defect number targets, typical variations between products, work teams, experience levels, and product maturity can be normalized and aggregated for department-wide reporting to senior management.
What can the audience expect to learn?
Quality is a difficult performance indicator to measure. This presentation will show how to use simple, Six Sigma techniques and principles to create an easy-to-measure-and-use quality metric that supports a continuous improvement methodology. By focusing on improvement, various quality levels across multiple products and groups can be normalized. By measuring the percentage delta of improvement over time, the documentation manager can normalize variances that would otherwise negatively impact the collection and measurement of quality performance values. Continuous improvement is a measurement concept that is appreciated as valid by senior management and contributing writers. Without a valid measure for quality, documentation performance reporting becomes more difficult to explain and may be viewed by senior management in a negative light. Based on Six Sigma principles and techniques, this presentation will show via case studies and examples one method for measuring quality data points and charting continuous improvement over time.
Meet the Presenter
Mike Eleder has been an STC award-winning writer and documentation manager for nearly 40 years. He has worked for high-tech companies like Bosch, Rockwell International, Motorola, and Alcatel-Lucent. Mike was trained as a Six Sigma black belt and CMMI auditor, and has been developing key performance metrics for many years, including measures for unit productivity, timeliness, and quality.