Six Sigma Online

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Heretic Articles

ROI President Steve Ouellette writes a popular monthly article for Quality Digest's InsideSixSigma online newsletter. These articles humorously (and usefully) discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly of how Six Sigma is implemented. You can access those articles here.

If you want to be notified via an RSS feed as new articles are published here, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the RSS Logo icon, or just click here.



Don’t Design the Experiment Until You Research the Process

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Applied research the smart way

Although we may use the define, measure, analyze, improve, control (DMAIC) mnemonic to help guide us through our problem solving, that doesn't really give us a lot of specific direction (as I bemoan in my Top 10 Stupid Six Sigma Tricks No. 4). Good experimental design technique is critical to being able to turn problems into solutions, and in my experience Black Belts have not been introduced to a good process to do this. If you know someone whose first thought is, "Let's go collect some data to see what is going on," then read on to avoid losing millions of dollars in experimental mistakes.

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The Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy

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There is real competitive danger to a one-size-fits-all approach to specifications

"Come and listen to a story ‘bout a man named Ned / a poor Texas Sharpshooter barely kept his family fed. Then one day he was shootin’ at his barn / and he came up with a plan to spin a silly yarn. ‘Specifications,’ he said, ‘making of… the easy way.’ ” What do a Texas sharpshooter and specifications have to do with each other? And what do you do when your humble author has an old TV show theme song stuck in his head? Let’s find out…

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Not Another Toyota Article!

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The better your reputation for quality, the more you get slammed from an adverse even

With the announcement of another Toyota recall, it seems that everyone and their dog have an opinion about Toyota, and some of them might even be drawing the right conclusions. While everyone is allowed to have opinions (not the dogs—on quality matters I don't trust entities that consider cat poo a delicacy), it’s interesting to note that Toyota’s was not the biggest recall, not even the biggest in recent memory. So why do they get all the bad press—and what does it mean for quality?

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Statistical Correlation Does Not Always Prove Cause

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Black Belt or not, common sense is quite rare

After my last column citing some really bizarre flaws in how our brains perceive reality, I thought I might cover some flaws in logic that are applicable in the world of quality. So, basically, even if our brains are working correctly, we can still send our Black Belts off on false trails trying to solve problems, thus offering more proof (as if we need it) for Voltaire’s observation that “common sense is quite rare.”

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Embracing Your Inner Geek

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Rules for statistical thinking

I know we have been talking about statistics a lot in my last few articles, but recent reader comments have prompted me to think more about why doing statistics properly matters. Come with me, dear reader, on a journey to find out why you should embrace, and not run screaming from, your inner statistical geek. But to get there, we have some interesting terrain to cover… starting with the human brain.

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Random Testimonial

I have recently completed the "Six Sigma Course." My background is in Engineering, which includes a graduate degree. I have spent the last ten years in the Quality and Reliability field, and have never fully grasped the concepts and principles of statistics until this course.

I signed up for the Six Sigma Black Belt class to further my understanding of statistics, reliability, and to assist in solving some of the reliability problems experienced by my current employer in manufacturing electronic equipment. The Six Sigma class was taught in a comprehensive and practical manner with numerous case studies. It provided much more than the typical statistics found in many Six Sigma course outlines. The in-depth explanations of how, when, and why, enabled the students to go beyond the use of the tools and advance toward mastery of the Six Sigma material. I found the course to be an exceptional educational experience. The material presented is invaluable in learning new methods and techniques to solve problems, establish business performance excellence, and make decisions that are beneficial to the long-term financial performance of an organization. Personally, I have added numerous tools to my skill set that will enhance my professional development, and I have already been able to utilize the material to benefit my company. I have a greater appreciation for the powerful tools associated with Six Sigma and its value in achieving success in any organization.

--M.H.


Our Economic Stimulus Package: $200 Off (click to learn more)

During this recent economic downturn, we have been contacted by a number of people who are looking to add more qualifications to their resume, either to increase their value at their current job or open some options as they seek employment after a layoff, as well as businesses looking for training with a high return on investment.  Six Sigma Online would like to do what little we can to help you out if this is your situation.

Six Sigma Online already offers one of the lowest price ways to get your Black Belt while still offering much greater depth of knowledge than you can get anywhere else.  In addition, for a limited time we will offer you a 10% discount to make it that much easier to get the skills you need to achieve your employment objectives.  Just go to the order page and it is automatically deducted during the time of this offer.

Businesses right now desperately need to find ways to improve profit and reduce the costs of quality.  Black Belts are the "edge of the blade" in this endeavor and so are in demand.  Our training will maximize the success of your projects with knowledge you will need as you encounter real-world problems to solve.  Here at Six Sigma Online, we hope that our training, and the discount above, will go some way to help individuals and businesses survive these tough times.

 

Unemployed in Colorado? Get state help for your Six Sigma training!

On October 15, 2010 The ROI Alliance (Six Sigma Online's parent company) became an approved provider of Six Sigma Black Belt and Master Black Belt training for Colorado's Workforce Investment Program (WIP), which helps people who are unemployed pay for the training they need to succeed in this competitive market place.  If you are looking for a job that is in high-demand, and you meet the requirements of the WIP, they may be able to help pay for your Six Sigma training!

 


Random Heresy

Applied research the smart way

Although we may use the define, measure, analyze, improve, control (DMAIC) mnemonic to help guide us through our problem solving, that doesn't really give us a lot of specific direction (as I bemoan in my Top 10 Stupid Six Sigma Tricks No. 4). Good experimental design technique is critical to being able to turn problems into solutions, and in my experience Black Belts have not been introduced to a good process to do this. If you know someone whose first thought is, "Let's go collect some data to see what is going on," then read on to avoid losing millions of dollars in experimental mistakes.

Read more...

In the News

Six Sigma's lead instructor Steven Ouellette wrote an article with Dr. Jeffrey Luftig on "The Decline of Ethical Behavior in Business."

 


 

Six Sigma Online's lead instructor Steven Ouellette was profiled in the June 2008 issue of Quality Digest magazine. If you want to learn more about Steve's peculiar view of the world, as well as what he studied for a year in Europe, read the profile online.