Six Sigma
Defect reduction system
Six Sigma is a set of management techniques for improving business processes by reducing defects and variability.
The name refers to a statistical measure—six standard deviations from the mean—representing near-perfect quality (3.4 defects per million opportunities).
Developed at Motorola in the 1980s and popularized by General Electric, it uses data-driven methods and assigns practitioners colored-belt rankings: She's a Six Sigma black belt.
Critics sometimes view it as corporate jargon dressed up as science.
Decreasing material for disposal
- value stream mappingVisual tool for analyzing workflows
- kaizenPhilosophy of incremental progress
- continuous improvementIncremental ongoing enhancement
- kanbanVisual workflow signal card
just-in-time · cycle time · throughput · bottleneck · flow · value-added · efficiency
Enhancing operational efficiency systematically
- championTop competitor, or advocate
- sponsorFunder of activities
- business caseJustification for a proposal
- problem statementFormal articulation of challenge
Spread around the mean
- control chartStatistical process monitoring tool
- normal distributionBell-shaped probability curve
- variationChange from a norm
- histogramFrequency distribution graph
bell curve · ANOVA · hypothesis testing · p-value · confidence interval · sample size · data-driven · correlation
Standards compliance verification
- yieldProduce or relinquish
- corrective actionSteps to fix identified problems
- preventive actionMeasure to forestall problems
- inspectionFormal assessment of condition
Southern agricultural zone
- Green BeltDesignated undevelopable zone
- ChampionAthletic wear manufacturer
- team memberIndividual within a group
- stakeholderParty with an interest
facilitator · subject matter expert · sponsor · mentor · coach · training
waste reduction
Decreasing material for disposal
- value stream mappingVisual tool for analyzing workflows
- kaizenPhilosophy of incremental progress
- continuous improvementIncremental ongoing enhancement
kanban · just-in-time · cycle time · throughput · bottleneck · flow · value-added · efficiency
process improvement
Enhancing operational efficiency systematically
- championTop competitor, or advocate
- sponsorFunder of activities
- business caseJustification for a proposal
standard deviation
Spread around the mean
- control chartStatistical process monitoring tool
- normal distributionBell-shaped probability curve
- variationChange from a norm
histogram · bell curve · ANOVA · hypothesis testing · p-value · confidence interval · sample size · data-driven · correlation · scatter plot
quality assurance
Standards compliance verification
- yieldProduce or relinquish
- corrective actionSteps to fix identified problems
- preventive actionMeasure to forestall problems
Black Belt
Southern agricultural zone
- Green BeltDesignated undevelopable zone
- ChampionAthletic wear manufacturer
- team memberIndividual within a group
stakeholder · facilitator · subject matter expert · sponsor · mentor · coach · training
Six Sigmachaos
Complete disorder and confusion
disorder · variability · inconsistency · unreliability · sloppiness
Six Sigmaflying blind
Acting without guidance
trial and error · guesswork · winging it · gut instinct · agile methodology
Six Sigmadisorganization
Absence of systematic arrangement
inefficiency · startup culture · cowboy culture · entropy · slack
six, sixth, sixty, sixteen, sixfold, sixpence, sigma, sigmoid, sixer