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There is a reason that steps were created to follow for success when you decide to use Six Sigma methodologies. The naysayers that say Six Sigma doesn’t work may be impatient and start skipping steps, or perhaps it is due to lack of support. The point is if the correct conditions aren’t met, you will not achieve the desired objectives for your project.

It is unfair to blame Six Sigma methodologies for said failure. It would be like saying that exercising doesn’t work because you have tried exercising and your objective hasn’t been met, while your eating habits are out of control. The first step before starting an exercise regimen is to follow a healthy diet and cut back calories. So if you don’t follow directions, you won’t lose weight.

Six Sigma works can work for every organization, regardless of the size of your business or company, but you must be committed to the cause — exactly like following a good exercise program to get into shape.

Using DMAIC for Identifying Six Sigma Failure

• Define: Your objectives for this project. You must include why you decided to use Six Sigma to improve your business. Understand exactly what is wrong, include problems, issues, what you did to prepare, did you go to a certified Six Sigma Master for help, are you a Certified Master? Are you trained at all in Six Sigma or Lean? Are your teams educated in Six Sigma and do they know their role in the process improvement?
• Measure: Do you have the baseline current data to support why you need to use the methodologies? Is the data accurate? Do you have graphs and charts that are dated to support your claim?
• Analyze: Have you analyzed the data with management and gone through the process of finding where the glitch is, perhaps using the Root Cause Analysis tool as well as 5 Whys and Pareto Chart?
• Improve: Go through the above to figure which is the best choice and try it out to see the results. Then chart it and from that choose the one that yields the best result and make that the new normal. Is everyone on board and on the same page? Chart the results of the improved and compare to see the improvement.
• Control: You have gone through the entire DMAIC template for the wrongs and have found what works. Now monitor and keep it closely monitored for continued success.

If you are committed and have patience you will not fail with Six Sigma! For more information on our training courses and services, please visit 6sigma.us.