Successful Six Sigma Project Reviews

	Bookmark This Page Email This Page Format for Printing Cite This Article Submit an Article Read More Articles
	Related Tools & Articles Write a Project Charter Project Communication How To Select A Six Sigma Project
	Six Sigma Quick Poll Are you in control of your project reviews, or are you being controlled? In control Being controlled It's debatable
	Discussion Forum "I will share with you a series of questions that we use in project selection: Is this process (or defect) a recurring event? Is the proposed project scoped narrowly enough that it can be completed within a maximum of six months? Are metrics available that adequately gauge the proposed process' performance or can they be developed and deployed quickly? Does your organization have control over the process as scoped?" Project Reviews

B

Download Products Deployment Project Evaluator Project Selection Research Report Six Sigma Project Tracking Software Review

y Charles Waxer

I cannot over emphasize the importance of communication in Six Sigma process improvement projects. As Patrick Waddick stated in his project charter article, 'a finely executed Black Belt project can suffer disappointing results if an efficient mechanism is not already in place to ensure that vital information is relayed to those members who need it.' Communication starts with the project charter and lives through project reviews, sometimes called milestone or tollgate reviews.

What is a Project Review
Project reviews are simply status checks. Project reviews serve to evaluate the project plan or status relative to the plan initially set forth by the team in the project charter. Timelines will be reviewed, proper Six Sigma tool use will be validated, and key progress deliverables will be monitored. Project reviews may be informal with the team leader or mentor, or formal milestone reviews with the team champion or sponsor. In either case, however, you as the team leader need to ensure that certain benefits are achieved from the project review.

The Benefits of Project Reviews
Many benefits exist for project reviews. You, as the project leader, are in control and you need to ensure that your needs are met during the project review. If they are met, it was a successful project review. What are your desired outcomes for your next project review? The list below should be helpful as you prepare for your next project review:

Monitor Project Progress - Ensure that everyone on the team is focused on the goal and are working in concert. This could be an informal meeting with the team, or a formal milestone review requiring the quality manager and champion to sign-off before continuing.

Provide Guidance - We all need a helping hand every once in a while. It takes confidence to ask for guidance and leadership to provide non-threatening guidance to teams.

Align Activities - We often undertake multiple phase, multiple sub-team projects. Working together requires frequent and clear communication to align our activities to the common goal.

Display Support - As a team leader or as a champion, visible support is often needed to motivate and energize the team.

Knock Down Barriers - We've all been there. A person won't provide data needed, a process functions in counter-productive ways to our needs, or resources aren't available. Project reviews are useful for identifying roadblocks and barriers for sponsors and champions to remove.

Sharing Best Practices - Bringing in subject matter experts or team leaders of other projects can often help your process improvement effort by sharing lessons-learned. There's no reason to reinvent the wheel every project.

Recognizing and Rewarding - Work hard and play hard. Don't forget to recognize the successfully completed project and reward the team for their contributions.

"The Bottom Line" Links

1BMG UNIVERSITY. I I Lean Six Sigma Online I I • Reduce Travel Costs • Maximize Training Budget >> Get Certified Now...

VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY     Become a Leader. Earn your Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt Certificate Online! Gain Valuable Skills to Enhance Your Career in Just 8 Weeks!     START NOW

SIGMAPRO MBB, Lean Sigma, & DFSS   when experience matters most...

JURΛN 2009 Lean Six Sigma Public Workshops - SPECIAL OFFER! Register for any course before December 31st and receive 50% off any additional registrations, plus receive free consulting support! Call 800-338-7726 to register.

LodeStar Institute | Live Lean Six Sigma Training Starting at $660  WHY SETTLE FOR ONLINE? GET LIVE TRAINING AND PROJECT MENTORING FOR ONLINE PRICES.

Finding that key person for your team is just a click away . . .     TheJobShop jobs.isixsigma.com

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN 2 weeks + 1 project = Black Belt Certification

. Find us on LinkedIn Join the iSixSigma Network and Connect with Other Six Sigma Pros .

. iSixSigma Live! Summit & Awards Jan 13-16, 2009 • Miami, FL Save up to $200.00 • Click Here! Space is Limited! Hurry! .

BEST SELLING PRODUCTS (iSixSigma Publications) Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Assessment Exam Interested in assessing your knowledge of Lean Six Sigma? Preparing for certifications? Testing your students and traine... Six Sigma Black Belt (DMAIC) Training Slides - 2009 Version! The 2009 Six Sigma Black Belt course includes over 40 more slides than the 2008 version. Contents include: 1,220 PowerPo... Process Management Training Slides The 2008 Process Management course is designed in two phases comprised of:352 Powerpoint slidesInstructor notesSlide exp... Certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Assessment Exam This assessment exam is useful for students interested in assessing their knowledge of Lean Six Sigma on the Green Belt ... Six Sigma DMAIC Training Slides The complete 2008 Lean Six Sigma DMAIC course prepares participants to perform the role of a LSS Black Belt; covering wh... Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt E-book In 670 pages learn everything within the Lean Six Sigma DMAIC body of knowledge to successfully achieve Black Belt certi... Lessons Learned from an Unconventional DFLSS Deployment E-Book Use Xerox’s DFLSS deployment as a roadmap/blue print for your deployment! Find out what worked. Summary This ... Sell Your Products