Michael Roberts, PMP

“A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.” An ongoing work effort is generally a repetitive process because it follows an organization’s existing procedures.” PMBOK, 4 th ed. So… why should project managers care about process improvement???

4 Reasons… – Project Management is a discipline built on processes – Project plans link processes together to achieve project results – Improving process efficiency and effectiveness, in both dimensions, is fundamental to improving overall project management performance –Project managers typically must include quality assurance processes for project deliverables

“We don't know what we don't know. We can't act on what we don't know. We won't know until we search. We won't search for what we don't question. We don't question what we don't measure. Hence, we just don't know.” – Dr. Mikel Harry

DefineMeasureAnalyzeImproveControl Lean Six Sigma seeks to : Improve the effectiveness (quality) of manufacturing and business processes by identifying and removing the causes of defects (errors) and variation. Improve the efficiency of manufacturing and business processes by identifying and removing sources of waste within the process. Improve effectiveness and efficiency, based on outputs that are critical to customers.

It is a management philosophy - a commitment to managing through process, not function, and making decisions based on facts and data. Lean Six Sigma seeks to understand performance concerns through a methodology and toolset focused on understanding customer through process, value flow and data driven analysis.

Most Lean Six Sigma programs seek to drive a quality culture change through a multi-level based program. LevelTraining Green BeltLSS Methodology and basic tool set Black BeltGreen Belt content plus advanced data analysis Master Black BeltBlack belt content plus program management, leadership skills, some advanced tools

Establish goals and objectives for the program up front. Strong Executive and mid-level management support. Integrate the program into existing operations not as a separate organization. Shared goals and objectives between practitioners and leadership. Build the program to change the culture so that at some future point, everyone is a practitioner.

Ford Assembly Line Guinness Brewery Shewhart Introduces SPC Gilbreth, Inc. Management Theory Industrial Engineering Deming 14 Points 7 Deadly Diseases Toyota Production System

Motorola Introduces Six Sigma Just – in–Time SPC Lean Mfg. TQM AlliedSIgnal GE Adapt LSS to Business Processes

Lean Six Sigma evolved over a century It is built upon proven quality and process improvement tools and techniques Lean Six Sigma introduced three new principles or methods: Focus on quality and efficiency as defined by the customer Focus on financial impact to the bottom line An enhanced problem solving methodology that looks for sustainment of performance gains

Specify value in the eyes of the customer Identify the value stream and eliminate waste Make value flow at the pull of the customer Involve and empower employees Continuously improve in the pursuit of perfection

Defects (the effort involved in inspecting for and fixing defects) Overproduction (making more than what is needed, or making it earlier than needed) Transportation (moving products further than is minimally required) Waiting (products waiting on the next production step, or people waiting for work to do) Inventory (having more inventory than is minimally required) Motion (people moving or walking more than minimally required) Processing Itself

Voice of Customer Voice of Process The Voice of the Process is independent of the Voice of the Customer Sigma Capability Defects per Million Opportunities % Yield 2308, % 366, % 46, % % %

99% Good (3.8 Sigma) % Good (6 Sigma) 20,000 lost articles of mail per hour (based on 2,000,000/hr) 7 articles lost per hour Unsafe drinking water for almost 15 minutes each day 1 unsafe minute every 7 months 5,000 incorrect surgical operations per week 1.7 incorrect operations per week 2 short or long landings daily at an airport with 200 flights/day 1 short or long landing every 5 years 2,000,000 wrong drug prescriptions each year 680 wrong prescriptions per year No electricity for almost 7 hours each month 1 hour without electricity every 34 years

LSLUSL Customer Target Defects Prevent Defects by Reducing Variation LSLUSL Customer Target Defects Prevent Defects by Centering Process LSLUSL Customer Target Meet Customer Requirements

The foundational methodology to Lean Six Sigma’s Success is, DMAIC. It’s uniqueness as a problem solving methodology is it’s intentional focus on data and requirement of a sustainment strategy. Define: Describe the problem quantifiably, and the underlying process to determine how performance will be measured Measure: Use measures / metrics to understand current performance and the improvement opportunity Analyze: Identify the true root cause(s) of the underlying problem Improve: Identify and test the best (cost, time to implement, impact, etc.) improvements that address the root causes. Control: Identify sustainment strategies that ensure process performance maintains the improved state.

The Define Phase “Well begun is half done” – Mary Poppins Purpose: Identify the problem and underlying process to be improved Understand the customer, their needs / requirements (CTQs) Quantify the performance gap and its impact Define the performance standard or measures Set project success criteria Ensure sponsorship and resources are in place Deliverables: Approved charter Project plan with milestones Planned benefit analysis Team formed and engaged High level process map Customer performance requirements (CTQs) linked to process outputs and value stream

The Define Phase - Example “Well begun is half done” – Mary Poppins Problem: Project execution is poor at ScoobyDoo Enterprises. Problem: Project execution is poor at ScoobyDoo Enterprises. Projects are always late and overbudget at ScoobyDoo enterprises costing lots of money. 60 out of 80 IT projects completed in 2008 at ScoobyDoo enterprises exceeded time estimates by more than 25% at a cost of $21.1M dollars in expense and lost opportunity. Problem: Project execution is poor at ScoobyDoo Enterprises. Projects are always late and overbudget at ScoobyDoo enterprises costing lots of money. Project Sponsor: Billy Bob Buckaroo, Exec VP IT Services Project Team: Sally Straightedge, Business Analyst Wiley Poindexter, Technical Architect / Lead Developer Reggie Rocketeer, PMP, Project Management Lead Bruce Lee, LSS Black Belt Objective: 50% improvement in on-time delivery; $10.5M benefit

The Define Phase - Example “Well begun is half done” – Mary Poppins High Level Process Map: ScoobyDoo Enterprises utilizes PMI compliant process set.

The Measure Phase “Measure what is measureable, and make measurable what is not so.” – Galileo Purpose: Identifies / establishes data sources to be used for project Identifies process steps for project focus Establishes baseline process performance against CTQs Deliverables: Validated project problem definition Data Collection plan Detailed process map with ins/outs and associated measures Measurement Accuracy / Consistency Assessment (MSA) High level Root Cause Analysis to identify process focus Stability assessment of the process

The Measure Phase - Example “Measure what is measureable, and make measurable what is not so.” – Galileo Data Source: Project Tracking Database – 80 IT Projects, closed in 2008 Validation of Data Source: Data is collected via automated time tracking. Sampled 14 project confirmed project start and stop dates were accurate based on confirmation with accounting systems and tracking.

The Measure Phase - Example “Measure what is measureable, and make measurable what is not so.” – Galileo Baseline Performance: 63 out of 80 – 78.75% Total Cost of Poor Quality: $21.1M

The Measure Phase - Example “Measure what is measureable, and make measurable what is not so.” – Galileo Potential Area of Focus Observed in Data: Project Manager Team

The Measure Phase - Example “Measure what is measureable, and make measurable what is not so.” – Galileo Potential Area of Focus Observed in Data: Sponsoring Organization

The Analyze Phase “It requires a very unusual mind to undertake the analysis of the obvious.” – Alfred North Whitehead Purpose: Identifies actionable root causes – tied to discrete process steps Connects the Process Outputs (Ys) to Process Inputs (Xs) to identify root cause Deliverables: A prioritized list of potential root causes Data Collection / Analyzed supporting conclusions

The Analyze Phase - Example “It requires a very unusual mind to undertake the analysis of the obvious.” – Alfred North Whitehead Why would the team a project manager came from make a difference? Different Experience Levels? Different Methodologies? No; data shows no statistical difference. Each team develops their own best practices Which process steps differ between Best and Worst results? Best: PERT Estimation linked to Risk Processes Worst: Single point estimates Co-location with project teams? Best performing teams were co-located

The Analyze Phase - Example “It requires a very unusual mind to undertake the analysis of the obvious.” – Alfred North Whitehead Why would the sponsoring organization make a difference? More difficult projects? Change Management? Best: Changes required formal assessment of impact Worst: Changes were assessed but impact was overridden 67% Strong sponsorship? Best performing groups shared objectives for project success No; data shows no statistical difference.

The Improve Phase - Example “This became a credo of mine...attempt the impossible in order to improve your work.” – Bette Davis Possible Improvements 1.Standardize PERT analysis with Risk Identification / Mitigation 2.Co-Location of project team 3.Sponsors share accountability with project managers for success 4.Standardize Change Management Processes across groups Low ImpactHigh Impact High Cost Low Cost Improvements to be piloted. Pilot to execute as production for 6 months. Performance will be assessed as projects execute and complete

The Improve Phase - Example “This became a credo of mine...attempt the impossible in order to improve your work.” – Bette Davis Pilot Results Impact of improvements showed in time

The Improve Phase - Example “This became a credo of mine...attempt the impossible in order to improve your work.” – Bette Davis Pilot Results Previous Baseline 78.75% Defective Improved Baseline 16% Defective Original Goal 50% Improvement $10.5M Benefit Achieved Goal 80% Improvement $16.8M Benefit

The Control Phase “The greatest potential for control the ends to exist at the point where action takes place..” – Louis Allen Purpose: Document an approved control plan that contains all necessary items – documentation, activities, etc. to sustain the improved performance. Include a process monitoring capability which will prevent and/or alert process owners should the process begin to deviate from improved performance levels. Deliverables: Updated process documentation with integration into existing systems Control plan with transition to process team Training Schedule Next steps – further improvement recommendations, replication, etc.

The Control Phase “The greatest potential for control the ends to exist at the point where action takes place..” – Louis Allen Control Plan should include some kind of performance monitoring system on process variables that will alert process owners of drift. It should also identify an appropriate reaction plan in such an event