Posts by Michael Parker
How Long Does it Take to Get Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certified?
Lean Six Sigma benefits are numerous and achieved by the businesses that use it and the individuals who practice it.
Read MoreLean Six Sigma Benefits
Lean Six Sigma benefits are numerous and achieved by the businesses that use it and the individuals who practice it.
Read MoreLean Six Sigma Problem Solving and the D.M.A.I.C Methodology
project management approach to discovering the Y=f(x) equation, where the “Y” is the measure of that thing you’re trying to improve, and the “x’s” are “influencing” (good or bad) that “Y’s” output.
Read MoreThe Simple Power of an Audit Checklist
Introduction: As a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, in the world of audits, I understand the significance of an audit checklist in ensuring thoroughness, accuracy, and consistency. An audit checklist is a powerful tool that guides auditors through the assessment process, ensuring no stone is left unturned. In this article, I will delve into…
Read MoreThe Effective Communication Plan
An effective communication plan is more vital than you probably give it credit. Nothing takes down a project like a few key “problem children” in the organization (usually middle management), All because you didn’t communicate properly or timely or specific enough with them, or didn’t engage them in the problem scope and solution implementation, things…
Read MoreUsing Lean Six Sigma in Your Daily Life
What is Lean Six Sigma? Lean Six Sigma is a quality improvement process used by many corporations and organizations worldwide. There are several benefits for using this methodology for any business large or small. These same valuable tools and methods are ways of using Lean Six Sigma in your daily life. Your Plan As a…
Read MoreThree Most Important Skills for a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt
Lean Six Sigma methods are incredibly beneficial tools for your team, department, and your company; when you understand where, when, and how to implement the methodology and tools that accompany it A properly trained Lean Six Sigma Green Belt is a significant asset to your organization, and also to your career. In the hierarchy of…
Read MoreUsing DMAIC for Project Management
Managing work for a project generally falls to the Project Manager or Project Lead. As a Lean Six Sigma practitioner, there is a likely chance that you will be in that role at some point in your career. There are many ways to approach managing a project, including the widely used Project Management Book of…
Read MoreCommon Project Roadblocks
When a project is initiated, its folly to assume that the project should run smoothly without any roadblocks. The reality is that nearly all projects experience some degree of course correction and often times have to overcome project roadblocks. These circumstances delay timelines, stress resources or alter intended outcomes, definitely not desirable! A few of…
Read MoreHow to Successfully Communicate Change
In business, it is universally difficult to successfully communicate change. Regardless of the size of the company, when leadership makes the decision to change direction, change its focus, or change its process, employees feel the brunt of the change. This can create resistance among employees, potentially manifesting into larger nonacceptance of the organization’s decisions later…
Read MoreFocus Brings Business Success
In the fast-paced business world, companies find themselves always looking to get ahead of the pack. This desire to outperform competitors can lead to disorganization among priorities and resources. Business success in a market has less to do with the ability to outperform the competition, and more to do with being extremely focused on your…
Read MoreProject Prioritization within Your Organization
When businesses create their three to five-year strategic vision, it is imperitive to perform project prioritization. More often than not, a list of projects is created to achieve the planned goals. This list of projects then needs to be prioritized in order for project teams to have a plan of action. As the organization begins…
Read MoreGoal Setting: Key to Project Success
The real purpose of project work is to effectively implement a change that improves an organization. To manage a project to success, the project should have a specific goal to reach. It almost seems elementary to discuss goal setting, but in reality, too many projects fail before they even get started because the goal is…
Read MoreWhy Projects Fail
Businesses around the world experience projects that are not successful and often question where things went wrong. When leadership asks why projects fail, most of the answers come down to three major errors in the management of a project. The most crucial factors to a project’s success are also where they are most likely to…
Read MoreTop Ten Lean Six Sigma Tools
During your Six Sigma education journey, numerous tools are taught and provided to help you solve problems and identify solutions. The skills learned during your Lean Six Sigma training will help you understand when and how to use each of these Lean Six Sigma tools. While working through each DMAIC phase, there will be certain…
Read MoreWhy Lean Six Sigma Works
Problem-solving approaches are often discussed between members of management when a goal needs to be met. There is always a difference of opinion on how to take action to reach the goals, and the road to get there becomes more and more unclear. Because of the uncertainty of which approach to use, projects and initiatives…
Read MoreThe Importance of Process Definition
Process definition and understanding the operational procedures of your business are imperative to success. While many executives see process definition as an exercise in futility, those who work in or on the process on a daily basis see firsthand how a poorly defined, inconsistent, and inefficient process can wreak havoc on productivity and quality. Moreover,…
Read MoreIs Lean Six Sigma Too Slow?
Often times when handed a list of directions to follow at the start of a project, we think “I know what I’m going to do, I don’t need a list of steps.” And while occasionally that is correct, we often find ourselves coming back to the list of steps and starting over from the beginning.…
Read MoreProject Team Development
It’s important for you to understand how your newly selected project team will behave and “gel” over time. Knowing what to expect will help in project team development. All new teams go through stages of development (some faster or slower than others). When a team forms, they experience four stages of development. These stages of…
Read MoreProject Team Selection
Lean Six Sigma project team selection is the cornerstone of a successful Lean Six Sigma project. Teams should be comprised of people who have the right expertise to add value to the project as well as those who share the complementary skills needed to create a diverse team of experts. Successful teams will also be…
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