Six Sigma – Outputs in the Measure Phase
A large amount of work needs to be done in the measure phase. This work also has a large impact on the performance of the subsequent phases, hence it is essential that the tollgate deliverables be understood and applied. The activities done in this module set the tone for how the rest of the process […]
Development of Services that Support International Business
Ecosystem of Services Any business in order to function and grow needs an ecosystem of suppliers, vendors, and infrastructure that supports the operations of the business. For instance, if a certain company wants to setup its operations in a particular place, it needs land, roads, water and power supply, and vendors and suppliers to supply […]
The Quantitative Approach for e-Strategy – Seven Dimensions of e-Commerce
Introduction The way business or commerce gets conducted has undergone a great deal of change due to the advent of information and communication revolution. In the last two decades or so there has been a phenomenal growth in e-commerce. Electronic commerce or e-commerce consists of buying selling and auction of various products and services through […]
Why Companies Living Quarter to Quarter is Both a Good as well as a Bad Idea
Living for the Next Quarter Of late, many publicly listed companies have been living “quarter to quarter” or the practice of setting targets, tracking them for progress, and closing out sales and revenue generating items based on the next quarter which is a short term imperative rather than planning for the longer term. This has […]
Effect of the Global Financial Crisis on the BPO Sector
Like other sectors in the corporate world, the BPO sector has been affected by the ongoing global economic crisis. For instance, there has been a twin movement that has manifested itself in the way the BPO sector has been impacted. On one hand, many companies in the West (US and Europe) have trimmed their budgets […]
In the equation - Y = f(X), Y is the dependent variable and it is dependent on the variable X. In other words, when there is a change in value of X then value of Y will automatically change. The following are the characteristics of both types of variables:
| Y | X |
| Dependent variable | Independent variable |
| Output of the process | Input to the process |
| Effect | Cause |
| Symptom | Problem |
| It is monitored | It is controlled |
It is important to know that the variable or the factor that we want to improve is a Y or an X. If the variable under control is a Y then we should identify the Xs or the independent variables that affect Y and we should focus on improving the Xs and thereby improving the Y. There could be more one X that influences the Y and we should try to brainstorm along with the team to identify as many Xs as possible and then perform Pareto analysis or other prioritization tools to identify the critical Xs that impact our Y.
Customer is the person (whether internal or external to the organization) who uses the output that the organization produces. A customer could be
Customer requirements can be defined as the needs of the customer and his expectations from the output that the organization is producing and delivering. When the organization is able to meet all the customer requirements then it will lead to Customer Satisfaction. On the contrary, if the organization is unable to meet the customer requirements then the customers will be dissatisfied and over the period of time they will turn away from the organization’s product. Customer requirements are also called Voice of the customer - “VOC”.
While performing the above the following questions should be asked:
CTQ stands for ‘Critical to Quality’. In other words it represents the critical requirements of the output. CTQ’s could be derived from Customer requirements, Risks, Economics and Regulations. For eg a CTQ could be on-time delivery or accuracy etc. It is very critical to identify and define CTQs appropriately because it depicts the quality parameters that relate to wants and needs of the customer.
Once we have collected the voice of the customer (VOC) we then will have to arrive at Critical to Quality (CTQ) elements so that the customer requirements can be incorporated into our process and the output can be produced as desired by the customer.
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The Cost of Poorly Performing Processes – Need for Six Sigma
February 12, 2025
