DMAIC,

DMEDI
and
Process
Management

Quick
Reference
For Project and
Process Review
Purpose of this Guide
The primary intent of this quick reference
guide is to aid process owners, sponsors and
stakeholders guide and mentor 6 Sigma project
teams as they progress through the various
phases of a DMAIC or DMEDI project.

Please use this guide during all leadership

review meetings (‘gateways’) as a base level
of talking points to ensure the project teams
are indeed adhering to the proper methodology.
Please pay special attention to the critical
points listed for each phase, as these are the
key points and milestones each project team
should at a minimum be achieving prior to
moving to subsequent phases.

Additionally, the Process Management

section of this guide offers Process Owners
a framework from which to organize, schedule
and facilitate periodic process reviews.
These reviews will be critical to the assurance
that improved and/or created processes are
being maintained according to the process
control system and that benefits continue
to accrue.

PURPOSE OF GUIDE
 Purpose of Leadership Reviews
• To monitor team progress
• To reinforce priorities
• To align and realign activities with business
strategies
• To provide guidance and direction
• To check for consistent understanding
• To share successful practices
• To assist the team in identifying and providing
resources needed to be successful, and in
dealing with sensitive issues.
• To gather data from the organization for improved
coordination, management and planning.
• To show visible support for improvement efforts
• To provide ongoing coaching and instruction
• To recognize and reward efforts

PURPOSE OF REVIEWS LOGISTICS/SAMPLE AGENDA

 LOGISTICS/SAMPLE AGENDA

Participants
• Team leader and team members
• Project Sponsor
• Master Black Belt
• Process Owner(s)
• Other managers and stakeholders as
appropriate

Frequency
Minimally, reviews should be conducted at the
end of each phase.

Guidelines
• Formal or informal
• Sponsor should schedule review
• Minimize special preparation by the team
• Team sends storyboard or presentation to
reviewers 2-3 days before the review
• Reviewers should not judge the team

Sample Agenda
1. Brief introduction by Sponsor
2. Presentation by the project team
3. Reviewers share the following:
• Strengths in logic and data
• Questions for clarification
• Suggestions to consider
4. Questions and comments from project team
5. Brief closing by Sponsor
 Team Success
Purpose
To ensure the team is properly outfitted for
success in using the 6 Sigma DMAIC and/or
DMEDI methodology.

Critical Points
• Team has been assigned a leader and a
Master Black Belt
• Black Belt and team members trained in and
following the DMAIC and/or DMEDI methodology
• Team has scheduled and held frequent
meetings
• Team members regularly attend all meetings
• Team members have the time necessary to
complete assignments between meetings
• Reviews are regularly conducted
• Effective team collaboration
• Team has a plan for completing the project
• Team is documenting its work
• Team has adequate resources
• Team has engaged the process owner early
in the project
• Team has engaged the financial
representative early in the project.
• Black Belt understands the fundamental
concepts of the 6 Sigma financial guidelines.
• Team members clearly understand roles and
responsibilities.

Relevant Tools & Skills

• Facilitation
• Project Plan/Gantt Chart
• Training

ASSURING TEAM SUCCESS QUESTIONS

 QUESTIONS

Team Success Questions

• Who are the assigned team leader and Master
Black Belt for the team?
• Have all team members been trained? Was it
the proper content?
• How much time does the Master Black Belt
spend with your team?
• How often does the team meet?
• What is the attendance percentage at meetings?
• How much time do members spend outside
of meetings working on the project?
• Are there barriers for collaboration within
the team? If so, what plans are there to
address them?
• When did the project start? When is the
planned completion date? Is the project on
schedule?
• How is the team tracking and documenting
its accomplishments?
• What other resources does the team need
to assure success?
• Who is the financial representative for the
project and have they been engaged?
• Who is the Process Owner and have they
been engaged?
 DMAIC
Reviews

DMAIC REVIEWS DMAIC OVERVIEW

 DMAIC OVERVIEW

DMAIC Overview
DMAIC is the acronym used to refer to the
6 Sigma improvement process. The five-phase
process of Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve
and Control is used to improve existing processes,
products and services to 6 Sigma quality.

Data and statistics are used to reveal the root

cause of the problem, thus optimizing the
efforts to concept and test solutions.
 Define Phase
Purpose
• To define the customers and their requirements
(VOB->CCRs)
• To define Process Partners and their business
requirements (VOB->CBRs)
• To develop and refine a team charter
• To map the business process to be improved

Critical Points
• Customers/process partners
identified/segmented as appropriate. Data to
verify customers’/process partners’ needs and
requirements collected and plotted
• Written team charter includes rationale for
project, preliminary problem statement, scope,
goals, milestones, and roles and
responsibilities
• Completed and validated high-level “as is”
process and/or system map which identifies
suppliers, inputs, five to seven process blocks
of activities, outputs and customers

Relevant Tools/Concepts
• Brainstorming • Project Plan other
• CCR/CBR Tree VOC/VOB chart tools
• Customer Surveys • Communication Plan
• Prioritization Matrix • Project Risk
• Process Map Assessment

DEFINE QUESTIONS
 QUESTIONS FOR DEFINE PHASE

Questions for Define Phase

Customer
• Who is the customer?
• Who are the process partners?
• How were the relevant customer/process
partner segments determined?
• Is there data to understand the
customer/process partner requirements?

Charter
• What are the compelling business reasons for
completing this project?
• What key business output measure will this
project impact? How?
• What is the problem being addressed?
• What are the boundaries or scope of this
project?
• Who are the stakeholders that will be affected
by this project? How will data be used to
understand and address concerns?
• Has this or a similar problem been solved
before?
• Can we learn from their effort?
• What is the goal for the project? Is it reachable?
• How will we know if the team is successful?
• Are milestones established with dates?

Process/System Map
• How was the map developed?
• How was the map validated?
• Is the process actually followed?
 Measure Phase
Purpose
• Identify project Y=f(x) and performance
standards
• Collect data on Y, x and related process
measures
• Determine process/system capability
(baseline performance)
• Set the improvement goal for the project

Critical Points
• Agreement upon the key measures
• Identification and definition of critical defects in
the process/system
• Sound data collection plan and measurement
systems analysis
• Process variation displayed using appropriate
charts and graphs
• Baseline measurement of process capability
and process sigma level

Relevant Tools/Concepts
• Check sheets • Operational
• Control Chart Definition
• Gage R&R • Opportunity
• Histogram • Process/system Map
• Measurement • Run Chart
Systems Analysis • Sampling Techniques
(MSA) • Yield

MEASURE QUESTIONS
 QUESTIONS FOR MEASURE PHASE

Questions for Measure Phase

• Have any charter revisions been made?
How has this changed the scope and
objectives of the project?
• What key output, process and input measures
are critical to understanding the performance
of this process/system?
• What are the definitions of defect, unit and
opportunity that you will use to calculate
process sigma levels?
• What is your data collection plan?
• How much data did you collect? How did
you sample?
• What stratifying factors will you use in your
data analysis?
• What have you done to ensure the reliability
and validity of the measurement process?
• What display tools were used to assess the
performance of your process?
• What are the current process measures and
goal for this project?
• Have you found any “quick win” improvements?
• How were they implemented? What barriers
arose? How did you overcome?
• Is the scope of the project manageable?
• Has the financial baseline from which benefits
will be measured been established?
• Has the Process Owner been identified?
• Is there enough improvement opportunity from
the baseline to continue the project?
• Is the project on schedule?
• Have revised benefits been entered into
eTracker?
 Analyze Phase
Purpose
• Identify key sources of variation by analyzing
data and process/system.
• Quantify the financial opportunity for the project.

Critical Points
• A prioritized list of all possible sources of
variation for the process
• A focused list of critical sources of variation
that strongly impact the project Y
• A sound, logical path that shows steps and/or
tools used to narrow the list. This may include:
➣ A detailed and analyzed “as-is” process map.
➣ Use and display of data to identify, verify
and quantify root causes and the key factors
➣ Designed experiments to identify key Factors
• A refined problem statement resulting from
the analysis.
• Dollar estimates of the financial opportunity
for the project
• Process ownership must be established prior
to moving to the Improve phase.

ANALYZE QUESTIONS
 ANALYZE (CONTINUED)

Relevant Tools/Concepts
• Cause & Effect • Non-value-Added
Diagram (Fishbone) Analysis
• Check sheet • Pareto
• Cost/Benefit Analysis • Process Map
• Design of • Regression
Experiments • Scatter Diagram
• Histogram • Stratification
• Hypothesis Tests
(t-test, ANOVA,
Chi Square)
 Questions for Analyze Phase
• Have any charter revisions been made?
How has this changed the scope and objectives
of the project?
• Which root cause analysis tool did you use to
help you identify potential root causes?
• What are the root causes of the problems?
How did you draw those conclusions?
• Show me your detailed process map.
• Did you collect additional data? What was
measured? What did you learn from the analysis?
• What is the opportunity represented by
addressing the problem? What are the
quantifiable costs of our current process
performance? What are the anticipated impacts
on customer satisfaction, retention, and loyalty?
• How could this increase our capacity?
• How could this improve our ability to improve
our process controls?
• Have you found any “quick win” improvements?
How were they implemented? What barriers
arose? How did you overcome?
• Have revised benefits been entered into
eTracker?
• Has the financial representative been notified
of significant changes in facts or assumptions?
Is the revised financial opportunity significantly
different from the Project Sponsor’s initial
estimate?
• Is the project on schedule?
• Who is the Process Owner and have they
been engaged?

QUESTIONS FOR ANALYZE PHASE

 Improve Phase
Purpose
• To generate and test possible solutions
• To select the best solution(s) to address the
most critical sources of variation for the process
• To identify the required resources and plan for
successful implementation

Critical Points
• Potential solutions and alternatives to the
problem tested
• Best solution selected based on data collected
during testing
• “Should be” process/system map
• Cost/benefit analysis of proposed solution
• Impact assessment of project improvements
developed
• Full implementation plan including project and
change management plans
• Contingency Plan developed
• Process Owner is actively involved with
solution development

IMPROVE QUESTIONS
 IMPROVE (CONTINUED)

Relevant Tools/Concepts
• Creativity • To-Be Process Map
• Brainstorming • Project Plan/Gantt
• Cost/Benefit Analysis Chart
• FMEA • Potential solutions
• Prioritization Matrix
 Questions for Improve Phase
• How did you generate solution alternatives?
What criteria did you use to evaluate potential
solutions?
• How does the evaluation criteria tie into
business strategy and project objectives?
• Show me your “should be” process map.
• How does your preferred solution address the
root cause of the problem?
• Walk me through your cost/benefit analysis.
What assumptions were made? Did you
validate the cost/benefit analysis with a
financial subject matter expert?
• Have hand-off’s to areas outside the project
scope been identified? Addressed?
• Explain the compelling need for this change.
What is your communication plan? What things
have been considered to manage the cultural
aspects of the change?
• Has the financial representative been notified
of any significant changes in the projected
financial opportunity? Have those changes in
benefits been entered into the appropriate
systems?
• Is the project on schedule?
• Was the Process Owner engaged in
developing the solutions?

QUESTIONS FOR IMPROVE PHASE

 Control Phase
Purpose
• To implement the process improvement in
all areas
• To implement a plan for sustaining the
improvement

Critical Checkpoints
• Solution piloted on a small scale with data
collected and analyzed
• Process and financial control plans that
assure the improvement gains are sustained
long-term
• New process documentation and other
evidence to assure the solution becomes part
of daily work
• Response plans developed and deployed
• Full implementation of the process
improvement
• Broader systems and structures changes to
institutionalize the improvement
• Confirmation of defect reduction and improved
process capability
• Results translated to other processes with
similar improvement requirements
• Financial impact of process improvement have
been quantified by the Team Leader and
validated by the financial representative
• Process Owner has accepted full responsibility
for controlling the process and reporting the
financial impact

CONTROL QUESTIONS
 CONTROL (CONTINUED)

Relevant Tools/Concepts
• Control Chart • Process Sigma (Z st)
• Histogram Calculation
• Pareto • Response Plan
• Piloting • Training
• Procedures • Process control
system
 Questions for Control Phase
• How was the solution tested on a small scale?
What did you learn about full-scale
implementation from the pilot?
• What is the implementation plan? What training
is required?
• How will the implementation plan be monitored
to ensure its success? Who is accountable?
• What controls are in place to assure that the
problem does not reoccur? Is a response plan
in place for when the process measures
indicate “out of control”?
• Who is the process owner? How will responsibility
for continued monitoring and improvement be
transferred from the team to the owner?
• What barriers to change remain that will
prevent institutionalization of the improvement?
Are actions contained in your plan to address
these?
• What did the team learn from the project?
Are there others that can benefit from these
lessons? How can they be effectively shared?
• What did you, as a team, learn about the
process of making improvements?
• What is the next problem that should be
addressed in this process?

QUESTIONS FOR CONTROL PHASE

 DMEDI
Reviews

DMEDI REVIEWS DMEDI OVERVIEW

 DMEDI OVERVIEW

DMEDI Overview
DMEDI is the acronym used to refer to the
6 Sigma creation process. The five-phase process
of Define, Measure, Explore, Develop and
Implement is used to create new processes,
products and services to 6 Sigma quality.
 Define Phase
Purpose
• Understand business risk and project risk
• To develop and refine a team charter
• To identify a new product or service
• To develop a project management plan

Critical Points
• Written team charter includes rationale for
project, scope, goals, milestones, and roles
and responsibilities
• Documented project plan includes controls,
reviews, deliverables, and timeline.
• Business risk and project risk examined and
documented by team and sponsor
• Project management plan includes change
management, communications, and risk
assessment.

Relevant Tools/Concepts
• In and out of • BRM and PRA
scope tool • Project
• eTracker management plan
• MGPP • Communication plan

DEFINE QUESTIONS
 QUESTIONS FOR DEFINE

Questions for Define Phase

Customer
• Who are the customers and process partners?
• Is there data to understand the requirements?

Charter
• What are the compelling business reasons for
completing this project?
• What key business output measure will this
project impact? How?
• What are the boundaries or scope of this project?
• Who are the stakeholders that will be affected
by this project? How will data be used to
understand and address concerns?
• How will you communicate key project issues
to these stakeholders?
• Has this or something similar been designed
before? Can we learn from their effort?
• What is the goal for the project? Is it reachable?
• How will we know if the team is successful?
• Are milestones and timelines established?
• Is this part of a multi-generational project/process
plan? What are the generations?
• Have risk management tools been used to
help balance risk and control?
 Measure Phase
Purpose
• Identify customers and or process partners
• Identify and segment customers and/or
process partners
• Gather and analyze customer and/or process
partner needs (VOC & VOB)
• Translate the VOC/VOB into Critical Customer
Requirements (CCRs & CBRs) with goals and
targets

Critical Points
• Agreement upon the key customer segments
• Prioritization of customer/process partner
segments
• Selection of customer/process partner
research methods
• Build VOC/VOB data collection plan
• Organize customer/process partner information
• Prioritize customer/process partner needs
• Develop specific, measurable CCRs/CBRs
with targets and specs
• Create project scorecards to be used
throughout the project to compare design
results to CCRs/CBRs

Relevant Tools/Concepts
• Affinity diagram • Scorecards
• Customer research • Kano analysis
methods • Performance
• Customer/process benchmarking
partner surveys/ • QFD
interviews • Structure tree

MEASURE QUESTIONS
 QUESTIONS FOR MEASURE PHASE

Questions for Measure Phase

• How were the relevant customer segments
determined?
• What is your data collection plan?
• How much data did you collect? How did
you sample?
• What stratifying factors will you use in your
data analysis?
• What have you done to ensure the reliability
and validity of the measurement process?
• What are the results of the QFD analysis?
• Has a scorecard with CCRs and sigma
capability targets been developed?
• Have you reviewed the MGPP?
• Has the BRM and PRA checkpoint process
been used to assess risk?
• Have any charter revisions been made?
How has this changed the scope and objectives
of the project?
 Explore Phase
Purpose
• Generate concepts
• Synthesize and select design elements
• High level process design complete

Critical Points
• Product/Service functions have been defined
• CCRs/CBRs have been deployed/allocated
to functions
• Alternative design concepts have been
developed
• Best performance products/processes have
been benchmarked
• Top concepts have been evaluated against
appropriate criteria
• Design elements have been developed along
with requirements for processes, facilities,
jobs, systems, etc
• Functional/Process requirements have been
transferred to design requirements
• Completed capability assessment of high
level design
• A best-fit design has been selected and reviewed
for customer and process partner feedback.
• Critical design resources have been identified.
• Design review conducted
• Process ownership must be established prior
to moving to Develop.

EXPLORE QUESTIONS
 EXPLORE (CONTINUED)

Relevant Tools/Concepts
• Benchmarking • Design for
• Design scorecards manufacturability
• FMEA and assembly
• Functional analysis • Prototyping
• Layout diagrams • Pugh matrix
• Process maps • Function tree
• Process models analysis
• Creativity tools • Non-parametric
statistics
 Questions for Explore Phase
• Did you collect additional data on the concept?
What was measured? What did you learn from
the analysis?
• How did you generate these concepts?
• Have all design elements been considered
and appropriately developed, including process,
information, facility, human, material and
equipment? Should any others be considered?
• What criteria were used to select the proposed
concept?
• Who was used for the benchmark best process
or product?
• Who were the customers that gave feedback
on the concept? Why were they chosen?
• What tool was used to perform the risk
assessment? What did it show?
• How were the concepts/designs developed?
• What is the capability of the concept/design?
• Have any charter or MGPP revisions been
made? How has this changed the scope and
objectives of the project?
• Has the BRM and PRA checkpoint process
been used to assess the risks of alternative
concepts?
• What is the opportunity represented by the
completion of this project?
• Who is the Process Owner and have they
been engaged?

QUESTIONS FOR EXPLORE PHASE

 Develop Phase
Purpose
• To generate and evaluate possible designs
that are optimized to meet the CCRs/CBRs
• To develop a product or process control strategy
• To develop a product/process pilot plan
developed
• To assess project risks

Critical Points
• Detailed products/processes for best design
developed
• Best design selected based on data collected
during design capability analysis
• Detailed process/system map
• Cost/benefit analysis of proposed solution
• Impact assessment of project design developed
• Control strategy developed

DEVELOP QUESTIONS
 DEVELOP (CONTINUE)

Relevant Tools/Concepts
• Control plan • Design for
• Design scorecards manufacturability
• FMEA/EMEA and assembly
• IT logical/physical • Simulation software
design • Robust parameter
• Job Design design
• Pilot/Test plan • Robust tolerance
• Process management design
charts • Specifications
• Process/system Map • Standards/
procedures
• Design of experiment
 Questions for Develop Phase
• How did you generate design alternatives?
What criteria did you use to evaluate potential
designs?
• How does the evaluation criteria tie into
business strategy and project objectives?
• Show me your detailed process/system map.
• How does your preferred design address the
CCRs/CBRs?
• Walk me through your cost/benefit analysis.
• What assumptions were made? Did you validate
the cost/benefit analysis with a financial subject
matter expert?
• How was the design analyzed?
• Have hand-off’s to areas outside the project
scope been identified? Addressed?
• What things have been considered to manage
the cultural aspects of the implementation?
• Has the performance and capability
assessment been done?
• Have hazards been identified and impacts
assessed?
• How was the simulation conducted? What was
the process performance?
• Have any other project risks been identified?
• How was the technology/concept optimized?
• How robust is the product/service?
• How do you plan to pilot the product/service?
• Has the financial representative been notified of
any significant changes in financial opportunity?
Have those changes been documented?
• Have BRM and PRA processes been used to
assess and mitigate risk?
• Who is the Process Owner and have they
been engaged?

QUESTIONS FOR DEVELOP PHASE

 Implement Phase
Purpose
• To verify the design in pilot
• To validate the product/process with
full-scale results
• To implement the design and transition
to process management
• To collect relevant project documents and
lessons learned
• To celebrate successful project completion

Critical Checkpoints
• Design verification through pilot testing
• New product/process documentation to assure
the solution becomes part of daily work
• Response plans developed and deployed
• Full implementation of the process design
• Process qualification through full-scale
processes
• Performance evaluation based on full-scale
results
• Training completed
• Process control plans in place for turnover
to process owner
• Process Owner in full agreement to take
responsibility of new product/process/service
designed in project
• MGPP reviewed
• Project closure

IMPLEMENT QUESTIONS
 IMPLEMENT (CONTINUE)

Relevant Tools/Concepts
• Capability analysis • Process management
• Control charts charts
• Control plans • Project Planning
• Design scorecards • Standards and
• DMAIC procedures
• MGPP
Questions for Implement Phase
• What did you learn about full-scale
implementation from the pilot? How did the
product/service perform during the pilot?
• What is the implementation plan? What training
is required?
• How will the implementation plan be monitored
to ensure its success? Who is accountable?
Has the project documentation been completed?
• What controls are in place to assure that the
process/product meets CCRs/CBRs? Is a
response plan in place for when the process
measures indicate “out of control”?
• Who is the process owner? How will responsibility
for continued monitoring and improvement be
transferred from the team to the owner?
• What barriers to change remain? Are actions
contained in your plan to address these?
• What did the team learn from the project?
Are there others that can benefit from these
lessons? Have they been documented?
How can they be effectively shared?
• What plans are there for further
commercialization?
• Has the multi-generational product/process
plan been updated?

QUESTIONS FOR IMPLEMENT

Project: _______________________________

Review Meeting Date: ____________________

Phase in DMAIC/DMEDI completed:_________

• Brief status of the project:

• Key messages from the reviewers:

• Agreed-upon next steps:

• Suggestions for improving the next review:

• Issues/concerns.

DMAIC/DMEDI REVIEW PROJECT NOTE FORM

 DMAIC/DMEDI REVIEW PROJECT NOTE FORM

Date: _________________________________

• Business:_____________________________

• Process: _____________________________

• CCR: ________________________________

• Current Sigma: ________________________

• Target Sigma: _________________________

• Customer Benefit: ______________________

____________________________________

• Estimated Financial Impact: ______________

• Financial Impact To Date: ________________

• Start Date:____________________________

• Estimated Completion Date: ______________

• Master Black Belt: ______________________

• Black Belt: ____________________________

Notes: (Issues/Challenges).
 Process
Management
Reviews

PROCESS MANAGEMENT REVIEWS

 PROCESS MANAGEMENT REVIEWS OVERVIEW

Process Management Overview

Process Management is the means by which
we ensure the improved/created outcomes of
6 Sigma projects continue year over year.

Regularly scheduled process management

reviews, after project completion and closure,
should be scheduled and facilitated by the
Process Owner. These reviews are intended
to ensure improved/created processes and
systems are being maintained and used
according to the process control system
and that benefits continue to accrue.

Process Management Purpose

• To verify the process is being implemented
according to the process control system.
• To ensure consistency, especially when team
members change jobs.
• To help prevent leakage of savings resulting
from process improvements.
• To provide the opportunity for voices external
to the team, including customers, to provide
feedback on the process.
Critical Points
• Process owners are accountable for
completing process reviews and should
critically evaluate the process and financial
performance
• There are several types of process reviews
including: structured/formal review meetings,
inclusion in other meetings, “managing by
walking around”, and periodic (annual,
monthly, etc.)
• Participants in the reviews should include:
Process Owner (leads the review), individuals
who are responsible for collecting or reporting
data, individuals responsible to respond to
metrics, key stakeholders and possibly
customers.
• Outputs of the reviews may include: list of key
issues raised, list of action items and who is
responsible for each item, schedule of future
meetings to assess completion of action
items, schedule of future process review
meetings, updated process control system
including effectively dates and/or version
tracking, validation in eTracker.

Relevant Tools/Concepts
• Process review and turnover checklist
• Process control system
• eTracker

PROCESS MANAGEMENT REVIEWS OVERVIEW

 QUESTIONS FOR PROCESS REVIEW

Questions for the Process Review

• Has a process control system been developed,
validated and approved by stakeholders and
is it being adhered to?
• Does the process description reflect a key
process, job or group of work tasks using
simple and general terms and do the owners,
customers and users understand it?
• Does the process purpose describe the
process outcome in a measurable way and
is the process outcome being measured?
• How well are the customer’s requirements
being met?
• Is there a process map that shows the required
activities, individual and cross-functional
accountability, and the process roles and
responsibilities of all involved? Is the process
map accurate and being followed?
• Is there a set of indicators that measure
compliance of critical process activities to
process specifications and provide upstream
indication of the quality of the outcome of the
process? Are the indicators being met?
• Are there specification limits or targets that
define acceptable levels of quality
performance and are these being met?
• Are checks being done at specified intervals
and by the accountable individuals?
• What are the key issues that were raised
during the review?
• Is there a list of action items, which includes
responsible parties, and due dates?
• Is there a schedule of future meetings to
assess completion of action items?
• Is there a schedule of future design review
meetings, if needed?
• Does the process control system need to be
updated, and if so, who is responsible?
• Is the eTracker information correct, and if not,
when will it be updated and by whom?
• Is the value created continuing to be
measured and sustained?
 GLOSSARY
3 Ps: Performance through 6 Sigma, Profitable
Growth and People.

AFFINITIZE: A term coined by the 6 Sigma

community that describes the process of the
categorizing or organizing of similar concepts,
ideas, issues, etc into logical or similar groups.
Often done after brainstorming sessions to
create an ‘affinity’ chart/diagram.

BENCHMARKING: The practice of assessing

the performance or processes of another company
and identifying best practices with the goal of
improving internal process performance.

BENEFITS: Level 1 benefits have a direct

and certain impact on the enterprise bottom line
and there is a clear cause and effect relationship
between the project and resulting gain that
can be quantified and measured on the
income statement.
Level 2 benefits result from the productive
redeployment of human (whole salaried or
management employees only) and capital
resources to functions or areas with a
demonstrated need.
Level 3 benefits generally create potential
opportunities for future savings and the impact
to the bottom line is “more likely than not”
(i.e. greater than 50% confidence level) or
the baseline cost is not in our existing cost
structure (i.e. cost avoidance.)

BLACK BELT: A full-time resource trained in

DMAIC and/or DMEDI whose role is to lead
6 Sigma projects.

GLOSSARY
 GLOSSARY

BOUNDARYLESS: The ability to think and

act beyond your own business unit needs for
the benefit of the enterprise. Boundaryless
behavior is a requirement for successful
6 Sigma deployment.

CHARTER: A document that outlines the

purpose and plan for a project. It contains a
statement of the problem, the scope of the
project, an improvement goal, timeline, estimated
financial benefits, and a list of team members
and their roles.

CHECK SHEET: A simple form for tracking

events using tally marks to indicate the frequency
of an occurrence.

COMMON CAUSE VARIATION: (Also called

random variation or noise) A steady but random
distribution of change in a process measurement
around the average value of the data caused by
unknown factors. Common cause variation is a
measure of the process’s potential, or how well
the process can perform when special cause
variation is removed.

CONTAINMENT: Containment is a temporary

intervention used to minimize a problem’s
impact on the customer while the improvement
team works to resolve the issue with a long-
term solution.

CONTINUOUS DATA: Information measured on

a continuum or scale that can be meaningfully
subdivided into infinitely small increments,
depending upon the precision of the measurement
system. Examples of continuous measurements
are time, temperature, weight and currency.
CONTROL CHART: A time-ordered plot of data
points that includes a center-line (average value)
and specific control limits; used to identify
changes in process performance.

CBR (Critical Business Requirement): A key

measurable characteristic of a product or a
process whose performance standards are
dictated by process partners.

CCR (CRITICAL CUSTOMER REQUIREMENTS):

A key measurable characteristic of a product or
a process whose performance standards are
dictated by the customer.

CUSTOMER: End user who pays green dollars

for Caterpillar products and services

DASHBOARD: A display tool used to summarize

key process measurements that directly affect
customer satisfaction.

DISCRETE DATA: Information expressed on

a scale that has a finite number of values or
categories. Examples include location (Asia,
Europe, US), credit source (A, B, C), and
season (winter, spring, summer, fall).

DMEDI: Data-driven methodology for designing

products, processes and services. It is
comprised of five phases: Define, Measure,
Explore, Develop and Implement.

DMAIC: Data-driven methodology for improving

processes, comprised of five phases: Define,
Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control.

GLOSSARY
 GLOSSARY

FMEA (FAILURE MODE AND EFFECTS ANALYSIS):

A disciplined approach used to identify possible
failures of a product or service and determine
the frequency and impact of the failure.
Results of an FMEA are used to improve the
solution to a problem and develop contingency
plans in case of failures.

ENTERPRISE FOCUS: The ability to make

sound business decisions by optimizing cash
flow for the global Caterpillar organization.

GAGE R&R (GAGE REPEATABILITY AND

REPRODUCIBILITY): A statistical tool used
to measure the amount of variation in the
measurement system arising from the measurement
device and the people taking the measurement.

GREEN BELT: An individual trained in the

DMAIC and/or DMEDI methodology whose
part-time role is to work 6 Sigma projects.

HYPOTHESIS TESTS (t-TEST, F-TEST,

ANOVA, CHI SQUARE): A set of statistical
analysis tools used to determine whether the
observed differences between two or more
samples are due to random chance (as stated
in the null hypothesis) or true differences in the
samples (as stated in the alternate hypothesis).

ISHIKAWA DIAGRAM: (Also called a “fishbone”)

A tool used to organize possible causes for a
specific problem or effect by graphically
displaying them in increasing detail.
MASTER BLACK BELT (MBB): A full-time
expert in the DMAIC and/or DMEDI and Process
Management methodology, specifically trained
to coach and mentor improvement teams and
dedicated full time to 6 Sigma. The MBB
participates in project reviews, helps the team
obtain required resources, provides training for
Black Belts and Green Belts, and ensures the
rigor of the DMAIC and/or DMEDI and Process
Management methodology is maintained.

MEAN: The average value of a data set.

MEASUREMENT SYSTEM ANALYSIS:

A mathematical method of determining what
fraction of the total process variation observed
is contained in the measurement (data collection)
process.

MEDIAN: The middle or central value of a data

set whose values are arranged in increasing
order.

MISTAKE PROOFING: A technique for

eliminating errors that cause defects by:
• Predicting when an error could occur and
taking action to eliminate the possibility of
occurrence, or
• Predicting when a defect is about to occur
by detecting that an error has occurred and
taking the appropriate action.

MINITAB: Caterpillar’s current statistical

software application of choice.

MOMENT OF TRUTH: Any instance in which

the customer comes in contact with a product
or service and can make a critical judgment on
the business - positive or negative.

GLOSSARY
 GLOSSARY

MODE: The most frequently occurring value in

a data set.

MULTI-GENERATIONAL PRODUCT/
PROCESS PLAN(MGPP): Generations of a
product or process used to reach a long-term
vision. It contains concepts, platforms, and
technologies needed for each stage.

NOISE: Those items that can affect the output

of the product/process, which the team cannot
control or chooses not to control.

NONVALUE-ADDED STEPS: Steps in the

production and delivery of a product or service
that are considered nonessential to meeting the
customer’s needs and requirements (i.e., steps
the customer would not be willing to pay for).

OPERATIONAL DEFINITION: A detailed

description of a process, measurement or
activity written to ensure common understanding.

OPPORTUNITY: Any characteristic of a unit

that is inspected, measured, or tested and
provides a chance of not meeting a customer
requirement.

OUTLIER: A data point located beyond a

specific range and that represents a statistically
unexpected event. Outliers may result from an
unstable process, a specific process improvement,
or a data collection or data entry error.

OUTPUT MEASURE: An indicator of process

performance captured at the end of a process,
and links to the process’ ability to satisfy customer
needs and requirements.
PARETO CHART: A graphing tool that prioritizes
a list of variables or factors based on impact or
frequency of occurrence. It is used to separate
the potential vital few causes of a particular
problem from the trivial many.

PERFORMANCE STANDARD: (Also called

a specification or Spec limit) A boundary that
defines acceptable values for the measurement
of a product or process as determined by
customer needs. Depending upon the product
or process, a performance standard may be
one-sided (a single boundary) or two-sided
(upper and lower boundaries).

PILOT: A test of a proposed solution on a small

scale in a real business environment to verify
that the improvement goal has been met and
to identify issues that must be addressed to
ensure the successful full-scale implementation
of the solution.

PROCESS: A series of steps that transforms

one or more inputs into an output (product or
service) to meet a customer and/or process
partner’s need. Every activity performed, whether
or not it produces a tangible product, can be
described as a process.

PROCESS PARTNER: Internal customer who

provides inputs or receives outputs of an
internal process.

PROCESS CAPABILITY: The ability of a process

to produce a defect-free product or service.

PROCESS MANAGEMENT: The means by

which we ensure the improved/created
outcomes of 6 Sigma projects continue year
over year.

GLOSSARY
 GLOSSARY

PROCESS MAP: An illustration of the steps,

events, and operations (in chronological order)
that make up a process.

PROCESS REVIEW: Required review facilitated

by the Process Owner after completion and
closure of a 6 Sigma project to ensure that
the benefits are being sustained.

QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT (QFD):

(Also called House of Quality) A structured
methodology used to identify customers’
requirements and translate them into key
process deliverables.

RANDOM SAMPLE: Data collected in a

manner such that each element of the population
has an equal chance of being selected for
measurement. Random sampling helps to avoid
biases specific to the time and order of data
collection, operator or data collector.

REGRESSION ANALYSIS: A method of

analysis that quantifies the relationship between
a response (Y) variable and one or more
predictors (Xs). The relationship is represented
by a formula (the regression equation) that can
be used to model process performance.

REPLICATION: Replication of a process

improvement occurs when the process
improvement framework of a completed
6 Sigma project is used as a guide for a
separate, but similar project. There must
be a reasonable degree of uncertainty as to
whether the proposed solution will work without
significant modification. The elements of the
DMAIC methodology will need to be completed,
even if abbreviated somewhat.
ROBUST PROCESS: A process that operates
at 6 Sigma and is therefore resistant to defects.
The critical process elements usually have
been designed to prevent or eliminate
opportunities for defects.

ROOT CAUSE: The underlying condition or

factor that produces one or more problems
or defects.

RUN CHART: A graphing tool that shows data

plotted in time order for a process. Patterns on
the run chart can help identify the presence of
special cause variation.

SAMPLING: The practice of gathering a

subset of the total data available from a process
or a population, to draw conclusions about a
population or process; this is known as
statistical inference.

SCATTER PLOT: (Also called a scatter diagram

or a scattergram) A graphing tool that shows
the relationship between two variables. The dots
on the scatter plot represent data points.

SCORECARD: An evaluation tool (usually in

the form of a questionnaire) that is used by the
customer to rate the business’ ability to satisfy
their key requirements.

SEGMENTATION: The division of a group

into smaller, logical categories for analysis.
Some commonly segmented entities are
customers, data sets, or markets.

SIGMA (σ): The statistical term for the standard

deviation of a population. In 6 Sigma, Sigma is
a measure of process performance based on
customer requirements.

GLOSSARY
 GLOSSARY

SIPOC: A high-level process map that shows

Suppliers, Inputs, Process steps, Output and
Customers for a process.

STRATEGIC IMPROVEMENT PROJECT (SIP):

Enterprise-wide project that supports our global
mission and critical success factors. Projects
are led by Black Belts using 6 Sigma methodology
and rigor to drive results supported by facts
and data.

SPECIAL CAUSE VARIATION: (Also nonrandom

variation or controllable variation) Shifts in
process output caused by a specific factor such
as environmental conditions or process input
parameters; special cause variation can be
directly accounted for and potentially removed.

SPECIFICATION LIMIT: A threshold value

obtained from the customer that defines whether
the performance of a product or process is
acceptable.

STANDARD DEVIATION: The statistical

“spread” of data in relation to the mean that
indicates variation in a data set.

STANDARDIZATION: Standardization of
a process improvement occurs when the
improvement is implemented, subsequent to
the completion of the original 6 Sigma project,
broadly across business units or departments
with little or no modification.

STATISTICAL PROCESS CONTROL (SPC):

The application of statistical methods (usually
control charts) to analyze and control the
variation of a process.
STRATIFYING FACTOR: (Also stratification
or stratifier) A process characteristic used to
divide data into subgroups to look for changes
in process performance that might indicate the
factor is a key driver of process performance.

TREE DIAGRAM: A graphing tool used to

subdivide a broad topic or goal into increasing
levels of detailed items; tree diagrams are
useful for organizing information into a logical
hierarchy.

UNIT: Any item that is produced or processed.

VALUE-ADDED STEPS: The steps in the

production and delivery of a product or service
that are essential to meeting customers’ needs
and requirements. Since they bring the product
or service closer to completion, value-added
steps are considered steps the customer is
willing to pay for.

VARIATION: (Also noise) The fluctuation in a

process measurement quantified by standard
deviation.

VITAL FEW: The small number of variables

(Xs) most likely responsible for the majority of
the variation in a process, product or service.

VOICE OF THE BUSINESS (VOB): Information

from process partners and business stakeholders
obtained from a variety of sources about the
expected and/or actual requirements related to
the performance of a product or process.

GLOSSARY
 GLOSSARY

VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER (VOC):

Information from customers obtained from a
variety of sources about the expected and/or
actual requirements related to the performance
of a product or process.

ZST: A statistical measure of process performance

that is the basis for determining process
capability (process sigma).
 Long- Defects Defects
Process Defects
Term Per Per
Sigma Per 100
Yield 1,000,000 10,000
99.99966% 6.0 3.4 0.034 0.00034
99.9995% 5.9 5 0.05 0.0005
99.9992% 5.8 8 0.08 0.0008
99.9990% 5.7 10 0.10 0.001
99.9980% 5.6 20 0.2 0.002
99.9970% 5.5 30 0.3 0.003
99.9960% 5.4 40 0.4 0.004
99.9930% 5.3 70 0.7 0.007
99.9900% 5.2 100 1.0 0.001
99.9850% 5.1 150 1.5 0.015
99.9770% 5.0 230 2.3 0.023
99.9670% 4.9 330 3.3 0.033
99.9520% 4.8 480 4.8 0.048
99.9320% 4.7 680 6.8 0.068
99.9040% 4.6 960 9.6 0.096
99.8650% 4.5 1,350 13.5 0.135
99.8140% 4.4 1,860 18.6 0.186
99.7450% 4.3 2,550 25.5 0.255
99.6540% 4.2 3,460 34.6 0.346
99.5340% 4.1 4,660 46.6 0.466
99.3790% 4.0 6,210 62.1 0.621
99.1810% 3.9 8,190 81.9 0.819
98.930% 3.8 10,700 107 1.07
98.610% 3.7 13,900 139 1.39
98.220% 3.6 17,800 178 1.78
97.730% 3.5 22,700 227 2.27
97.130% 3.4 28,700 287 2.87
96.410% 3.3 35,900 359 3.59
95.540% 3.2 44,600 446 4.46
94.520% 3.1 54,800 548 5.48
93.320% 3.0 66,800 668 6.68
91.920% 2.9 80,800 808 8.08
90.320% 2.8 96,800 968 9.68
88.50% 2.7 115,000 1,150 11.5
86.50% 2.6 135,000 1,350 13.5
84.20% 2.5 158,000 1,580 15.8
81.60% 2.4 184,000 1,840 18.4
78.80% 2.3 212,000 2,120 21.2
75.80% 2.2 242,000 2,420 24.2

ABRIDGED SIGMA CONVERSION TABLE

 ABRIDGED SIGMA CONVERSION TABLE

Long- Defects Defects

Process Defects
Term Per Per
Sigma Per 100
Yield 1,000,000 10,000
72.60% 2.1 274,000 2,740 27.4
69.20% 2.0 308,000 3,080 30.8
65.60% 1.9 344,000 3,440 34.4
61.80% 1.8 382,000 3,820 38.2
58.00% 1.7 420,000 4,200 42
54.00% 1.6 460,000 4,600 46
50% 1.5 500,000 5,000 50
46% 1.4 540,000 5,400 54
43% 1.3 570,000 5,700 57
39% 1.2 610,000 6,100 61
35% 1.1 650,000 6,500 65
31% 1.0 690,000 6,900 69
28% 0.9 720,000 7,200 72
25% 0.8 750,00 7,500 75
22% 0.7 780,000 7,800 78
19% 0.6 810,000 8,100 81
16% 0.5 840,000 8,400 84
14% 0.4 860,000 8,600 86
12% 0.3 880,000 8,800 88
10% 0.2 900,000 9,000
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may not be used without permission.

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