1. Certification Project Template
With Example Data
Notes:
Replace example data with real data
The tools you use for your project may vary

2. Part 1 – Define The Project
1. Review Historical Data
To Recognize the Opportunity
2. Develop the Charter and Project Plan
Business Impact:
Reduce the hours for conversions by 20%. Reduce the cycle time from 60 to 30 days, doubling capacity. Transfer one FTE. Reduce EOM inventory by $200,000.
Opportunity/ Problem Statement:
It takes too long to load software on servers and bill services and licenses.
Defect:
Incomplete request for work, rework by SME. A conversion takes more than 30 days to start and complete.
Goal:
Reduce the cycle time and hours required to perform a conversion.
The historic information consisted of date time stamps for conversions completed during the previous fiscal year. Although the largest bar on the graph indicates that conversions are completed in 30 days or less, this is less than 40% of the total installs. The next largest bar on the graph indicates conversions that take over 120 days to go live. The numbers indicate the amount of revenue that is not being billed in a timely manner. Company is not billing the customer for any services until the site goes live.
The team developed a high level process map and a value stream map using their tribal knowledge. The intent was to get a sense of where the large blocks of time were being spent in this process.
3. Develop a High-level Process Map

3. Part 1 – Define The Project
The conversion was completed early.
I learned how to do my work better because of the conversion.
The conversion was completed on time.
The conversion didn’t unduly disrupt my work.
4. Obtain the voice of the customer
The conversion had lots of problems.
The conversion invoice had errors.
The invoice went to the wrong person.
5. Create Stakeholder Analysis
The team developed a high level process map and a value stream map using their tribal knowledge. The intent was to get a sense of where the large blocks of time were being spent in this process. The black belt and sponsor created the stakeholder analysis to understand who the supporters and detractors are.

4. Part 2 – Validate Measurement System
3. Analyze Measurement System and Stratify Data
Identify key metrics
Complete SIPOC
4. Establish Process Baseline
Clients
Commercial Operations:
Service Executive Call
Purchase Order
Implementation Request
Service Request submitted by multiple departments
Client Support
Systems, proactive review of sites
Request for Unix OS conversion through a call, , Service Request
New HW
Cache’ Key
Request for HW
conversion
Department checks
Install HW on-site
Perform backup,
System peer
review
Install Cache’
Live day activities
Pre-live activities
HW installed at client site
HW loaded with the latest OS and database
Client data installed on the HW
System live
Supplier
Input
Process
Output
Customers
The Black Belt began by facilitating the team to create the SIPOC and identifying key input, process and output metrics. Because the process owner and project sponsor wanted to concentrate on cycle time, date time stamps were considered the best way to find out where time was being spent in the process. The Black Belt and process owner determined what data to collect and developed operational definitions for the date time stamps. Data was collected using the Cache’ worksheet in the Conversion Cycle Data Collection Chart.xls for projects occurring during that time. This data was matched against historical data which contained some of the same date time stamps. Using the tribal knowledge from the Value Stream Map, the Black Belt created the Pareto shown above. The historical and ongoing system conversion data sets (part of our data collection process) showed that the largest number of days were spent building the hardware, shipping to the customer site and installing the operating system (matching the tribal knowledge). This early part of the conversion process averaged days per conversion.
5. Set goals for process outputs
Reduce average conversion time to 30 days.

5. Part 3 – ID Key Levers 1. Model Detailed “As-Is” Process
3. Develop theories of cause and effect
2. Analyzed the existing process
concluding:
Company does not invoice HW until it leaves Company loading dock
Company does not invoice Cache’ key until installed at the customer site
Company does not invoice services until project is “taken live”
Sites take days to bring the HW live
The team then analyzed the existing process in detail an developed a detailed process map for the entire conversion process. Root causes were identified and prioritized (shown in red). The team used the phrase “it takes too long to do a hardware conversion” as the starting point. The team discussed that there are parts of the process that Company has control of and parts that the customer has control of. The team quickly decided that they should concentrate on the parts of the process that Company has control of. This led to focusing on the front of the HW conversion process.

6. Part 3 – ID Key Levers 4. Perform Failure Mode Effects Analysis
The team then performed an FMEA to evaluate if the project can still be improved on time and determine if any new risks have arisen.

7. Part 4 – Determine Improvement Strategy
Set improvement goals and Map the To-be Process
3. Assessed improvement plan risk and developed contingencies by updating the FMEA
Reduced from 45 to 5 days
After developing the detailed “as-is” process map, the team identified the process as having five major phases:
Hardware build and install, controlled by Company
Hardware connection to the customer network, controlled by the customer
Systems work performed by Company after the hardware is connected to the customer network, controlled by Company
Network testing, controlled by the customer
Hardware live day activities, controlled by Company
Since the largest block of time was in the hardware build and install phase, which was controlled by Company, the team focused their attention there. The team very quickly realized that many steps in the first part of the process could be performed in parallel. The team collapsed the first 45 days of the “as-is” process to 5 days in the “to-be” process.
A server was identified that could be loaded with the necessary software components and shipped to the vendor site.
2. Developed improvement plan
Shipped HW to the vendor site
Vendor installed HW in a permanent location
Company loaded vendor server with OS and necessary routines
Company established dedicated communications link with server

8. Part 4 – Determine Improvement Strategy
3. Execute Pilot
Used new process on the next available conversion to:
Load new servers with OS and Cache’ keys before shipping
HW shipped directly to the customer
Upon shipping, customer invoiced for 80% of services and Cache’ key
Recorded hours spent
Recorded time stamp when PO received
Recorded time stamp when HW shipped
4. Improvement Results
Item
Revenue
(one time)
Cost Avoidance/FY
One time revenue gain
Cost savings on conversions1
Reassign FTE2
Savings MHS
Interest on HW3
Interest on Services 4
Annual savings for Company Corporate
Total Savings
$270,000
$26,600
$77,160
$103,760
$15,000
$18,375
$33,375
$137,135
5. Improvement Benefits
Shortened front of process from 45 to 15 days
Accelerated labor billing by 30 to 90 days (80% billed in 30 days)
Accelerated HW/OS/Database billing by 30 to 60 days (billed in 15 days)
Transferred one employee to another group
During the pilot, the team loaded the operating system and Cache’ (database) keys before the HW was shipped from the vendor site, billing the customer at the same time.
The process owner was so pleased with the improvement that she decided to use the new process for all new hardware conversions.
The one time revenue gain is revenue we accelerated. Company paid for things but had not billed the customer for them. The cost avoidance items are ongoing.
Notes
1: Hours per conversion lowered from 40 to 30. in CY AIX conversions *10 hours * $35.
2: One FTE reassigned to the System Integration group to perform UNIX OS validation. Value estimated as $60,000 salary *
3: Based on reducing the reserve for hardware by $200,000 per month (actual reduction > $500,000).
4. Interest on accelerated billing of services revenue.
The delivery of hardware to the customer was compressed from an average of 45 days to an average of 15 days.
80% of the services revenue associated with the project is now recognized and billed within 30 days with the remaining 20% recognized at project completion. This accelerated billing by 30 to 90 days. The database keys are now loaded on the hardware at the vendor site and billed to the customer when the hardware is shipped to the customer, accelerating this revenue recognition by 30 to 60 days.
This activity allowed one employee to be transferred to another organization to fix a problem there.
$407,135

9. Part 5 – Make Permanent Improvements
1. Implement full scale changes
Process Change
Systems Team documented the new process and performed training
Systems Team stored the new process in the Quality Library
Process Change
The procedure that documents this revised process has been drafted and inserted into our Quality Library. All analysts have been trained on the new process.
The Process Owner and the Black Belt developed a spreadsheet to capture the critical date time stamps, controlled by one analyst. The hours expended for each task are recorded manually until the team begins using Clarity (scheduled for January 2006). At that time, the time accounting system will manage this information based on time entry and milestones.
The “Analyst Hours by Project” chart shows the actual hours expended by analysts in the performance of the hardware conversion. The dotted line represents the point where we implemented the revised process. The analysts continue to get more efficient at their tasks. They have continued to automate manual tasks so I expect the hours per task to continue to trend down for another few months.
The “HW Conversion Cycle Time in Days (first phase)” shows the cycle time for the front of the HW conversion process. This includes: receiving the PO from Finance, ordering the HW from the vendor, installing the operating system, installing the Cache’ keys and shipping the HW to the customer site. As you can see from the chart, there are two points of special cause variation. These were investigated by the process owner. One was found to be a special request by a customer who needed a new server built and shipped in one day. The other was not completed before the Analyst went on vacation.
2. Institute Control Metrics
Measure Cycle Time from receipt of purchase order to shipping to the customer
Measure total hours expended for the conversion

10. Part 5 – Make Permanent Improvements
Uncovered problems in another department
4. Validate new measurement system
5. Transfer Ownership
Date/Time Stamps include:
HW Shipped
Collect date entered into spreadsheet
Validate against Avnet tracking
PO Received
Collect receipt date into Systems
Collect date entered into Softrax (finance system)
Validate date entered into systems spreadsheet
6. Validate Benefits
Reduced cycle time by days
Reduce the cycle time and hours
required to perform a conversion.
The Black Belt collected the ship date recorded in our tracking system and the s from the vendor. The Black Belt compared the date in the tracking system to the date of the . There were some minor differences in the dates, generally one or two days. I used the 2-Sample-T test to evaluate the two data sets to determine that there is a 99% chance that the data sets are the same.
The Black Belt then evaluated the date the purchase order was entered into our finance system (Softrax) and the date the analyst received the purchase order to process. I found that the dates varied widely. Yellow represents a one week difference in the dates. Red represents two weeks or greater difference. I went to the analyst to find out what happened and reviewed her s. The dates on the spreadsheet matched the s so the analyst had recorded her information correctly. I then went to the finance department to find out why they were taking so long to send the original . As it turns out, they did not know this was important information. I then worked with finance and the analyst to get a standard report that the analyst could run every morning that gives her all the changes in the finance system related to system conversions. Now there is no delay in getting the information to the analyst.
The Control Plan is complete and turned over to the process owner. We are collecting data points as conversions are completed. As to the measure of quality. The Black Belt discussed this with the black belts at Company, as well as the Sponsor and Process Owner. The group concluded that the hardware conversion either works or doesn’t work. If it doesn’t work, more hours are required. The Project Sponsor and process owner decided that by tracking the actual hours expended for each project and calling 5 sites a month to interview them about their hardware conversion they can monitor quality.
The Sponsor is now driving this solution to other hardware conversion teams responsible for Windows and Linux operating systems.
The Black Belt developed a control chart that is embedded in the process owner’s control spreadsheet to be used to monitor the days required to produce hardware conversions. The process owner is now monitoring this on a weekly basis.
Reduced hours from 40+ to 29

11. Tools Used Analyze Control Improve Measure Define Tools
Pareto Charts
Project Selection Tools
Various Financial Analyses
Charter Form
Stakeholder Analysis
Communication Plan
SIPOC Map
High-Level Process Map
Non-Value Added Analysis
VOC and Kano Analysis
SIPOC Map
Operational Definitions
Data Collection Plan
Statistical Sampling
Measurement System Analysis (MSA), Gage R&R
Constraint Identification
Setup Reduction
Kaizen
Control Charts
Process Capability, Cp & Cpk
Pareto Charts
C&E Matrix
C&E/Fishbone Diagrams
Brainstorming
Detailed ‘As-Is’ Process Maps
Basic Statistical Tools
Non Value-Added Analysis
Hypothesis Testing
FMEA
Box Plots
Interaction Plots
Simple & Multiple Regression
ANOVA
Brainstorming
Benchmarking
Process Improvement Techniques
Process Flow Improvement
Purchasing and Sales Strategy
Poka-Yoke
FMEA
Solution Selection Matrix
‘To-Be’ Process Maps
Piloting and Simulation
Control Charts
Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s)
Training Plan
Communication Plan
Implementation Plan
Process Control Plans
Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle
The tools shown in black where used during this project.