How to Keep Your Lean Program on Track

Some years back I enjoyed a position at a manufacturing firm with a long history of success in applying Lean. My assignment was to improve throughput and quality in a specialized fabrication area, where pretty much every unit produced was a custom job. There was a lot of...

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The importance of planning in project management

When you begin a project, the temptation is to hit the ground running. It may be that you’re brimming with ideas, or perhaps the project is so similar to a previous one that you get going straight off the cuff. However, pressing the brakes and taking time to...

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Phased Deployment Model Helps Six Sigma Succeed in IT

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Lean Six Sigma for information technology (IT) is still maturing and has not hit the critical mass to transform the industry to its next level, as it has in other industries in the past 10 years. This may be due in part to common myths about Lean Six...

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Process Entitlement Analysis: Using This Novel Approach

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When a Six Sigma project is unsuccessful, a common cause of the failure is a poor project selection process. Compounding the problem of project failure, incorrect and inappropriate projects transmit a negative message to the organization about Six Sigma and can lead to the impression that the methodology...

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Six Sigma Trends: Upgrade for Supply Chains and Solution Providers

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This is my second article from my series reflecting research on strategies and trends in deploying Six Sigma. Our research is performed not in an academic lab but with direct application in companies through advanced team-training concepts and relevant project coaching. Although subjects vary, the structure of my...

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Critical success factors in project management

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While it’s obvious that some tasks have to pre-empt others, projects often have a web of tasks and goals. It can be difficult to focus the project team on key result areas. So how does documenting critical success factors (CSFs) keep everyone on track? Definition of critical success...

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The Role of Human Resources (HR) in Six Sigma

Chances are you’ve heard of Six Sigma, perhaps in connection with General Electric, the company that made it popular in the 1990s. You may even know that Six Sigma uses statistical techniques to improve processes in both manufacturing and service industries. But did you know there is an...

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Successfully Achieved the PRINCE2 Foundation Certification and Its Key Benefits

About PRINCE2 Foundation Certification The PRINCE2 Foundation is targeted at any project team member or team lead or product manager who needs to understand the basics of a structured project management methodology. The principal objective of taking PRINCE2 Foundation Certification is to make sure that you are provided...

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The Difference Between ITIL and ITSM

Many people get stuck on the distinction between ITIL and ITSM. In vague terms, the difference is that ITIL is a framework or set of practices for ITSM. To really understand that answer, we have to dig deeper into their definitions, history, and relationship. ITSM and ITIL Definitions...

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