Project Management Articles

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Friday, 16th May 2008 @ 7:56 AM

This means that a lot of priority is given to the implementation of the Six Sigma methodology. All the objectives that have been defined by Six Sigma are influenced a lot by various efforts, especially the way the policies are formulated and how the company's organizational structure is managed. One of the major problems in adopting Six Sigma is that it could take as long as three to four months for the company to see the desired effects. Therefore, in order to keep an account of th... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Friday, 16th May 2008 @ 7:45 AM

When a decision is made based on figures and statistics rather than instinctive feelings, the results are likely to be more realistic and beneficial and that which can be readily incorporated. In such projects, the amount of data that is to be collected and analyzed is often too large to be handled manually. Thus, it is necessary for the companies to invest in statistical software tools that are big number crunchers. Such software is fast, very easy to use and can handle large volumes of... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Friday, 16th May 2008 @ 7:34 AM

Businesses also have to strive towards maintaining the business processes at peak performance levels at all times. This has to be done to increase productivity, and stay well ahead of the competitors. There are various organizational challenges to face, including Voice Of Customer (VOC), and Return On Investment (ROI) projections. Overcoming such challenges is not always an easy task, especially in the face of constantly changing targets. This is precisely why Six Sigma places a lot of i... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Friday, 16th May 2008 @ 6:03 AM

However, this strategy does not always work in the favor of a business because innovative strategies are nothing but trial and error techniques, which may or may not work all the time. Therefore, when we talk about methodologies, there is no way that we can forget Six Sigma and the implementation of its techniques in order to improve the organization's overall performance. Six Sigma aims at accomplishing one task only - eliminating defects and improving the performance of the compan... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Friday, 16th May 2008 @ 4:56 AM

In the following article, you will come to know exactly how Six Sigma evolved as a quality management concept. You will also become aware of people who contributed to the development of the Six Sigma and how their contributions have now made Six Sigma one of the most creditable quality management systems in the world. The Early Beginnings Most people believe that Six Sigma was devised by Motorola Company and was used for the first time in the late seventies. No doubt this is true,... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Friday, 16th May 2008 @ 4:52 AM

DMAIC, short for Define, Measure, Analyze, Implement, and Control, is used for improving existing business processes whereas DMADV, short for Define, Measure, Analyze, Design and Verify, is used for designing and developing completely new products or services from scratch. Both of these are recognized as the finest quality management concept ever devised. So - What Makes Six Sigma So Effective? Well, there are many reasons for that and you can identify a few just by going ... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Friday, 16th May 2008 @ 4:43 AM

Since Six Sigma makes use of facts and figures while initiating quality improvements in business processes, it greatly increases the probability that the implementation project will turn out to be a huge success. However, since there are often just too many variables to consider, it's recommended that businesses follow the prescribed implementation guidelines, as described below. Choose the Right Project Although Six Sigma can be successfully applied to all types of bu... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Friday, 16th May 2008 @ 4:28 AM

The thing that makes Six Sigma training all the more necessary is the fact that such unawareness often extends all the way up to the middle and top management and is not necessarily restricted to the lower levels of the organizational hierarchy. Lack of proper Six Sigma training can severely restrict the understanding of organizational members, something that will make it quite difficult for the business to carry out the planned Six Sigma implementations. Explained below are some ... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Friday, 16th May 2008 @ 4:08 AM

Let's admit it that the 21st century is witnessing cutthroat competition with respect to emerging and new businesses. To gain an edge over business competitors, companies are applying every trick in the book including strategies such as reducing operational expenses, lessening the overall time taken for production and offering the best quality products to their customers with a view to generating more business revenue. Therefore, to gain an advantage over other businesses, many organ... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Thursday, 8th May 2008 @ 1:36 PM

In effect, it basically helps to ensure the timely completion of implementation projects, a prerequisite for deriving the associated benefits. What's In a Project Charter? Well, even though they are important, the irony is that there are no set standards as far as the content of a project charter is concerned. The content varies depending on the type of industry and may include a mix of the following issues related to the implementations: -Core Project Objectives: This... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Thursday, 8th May 2008 @ 11:14 AM

Many businesses that have implemented Six Sigma are now deriving the associated benefits such as improved quality, enhanced efficiency and near-perfect business processes that do not produce more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities that might exist for such defects to occur. All this, despite the fact that the concept itself has undergone various changes over the years, mainly to accommodate the new business variations and technological advancements that have taken place in the la... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Thursday, 8th May 2008 @ 10:53 AM

However, the Lean Six Sigma strategy is characterized by the fact that it uses both, the Six Sigma strategy as well as the Lean Manufacturing methodology. In this case, the Lean methodology mainly aims at quickness and efficiency of the work done, whereas the Six Sigma strategy mainly focuses on elimination of defects and improving the quality of the products. Therefore, once both these methodologies are combined you have strategy that not only provides you with the best quality products... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Saturday, 26th April 2008 @ 3:18 AM

Well, for that they will have to think out of the box and undertake initiatives to develop innovative deployment methods in line with their specific needs and requirements. Explained below are some of the easier deployment methods that have been utilized successfully by smaller businesses over the past few years. Eliminating the Pricey and Lengthy Implementation Process The standard Six Sigma implementation technique stresses altering existing business processes with an ai... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Saturday, 26th April 2008 @ 2:49 AM

Well, if the experts are to be believed, then all businesses need to do is concentrate on the basics i.e. training, change management, and peer support and guidance. For better understanding, let us discuss each one of these individually. Theoretical and Practical Training Although only the most talented and skilled employees are inducted into the Six Sigma implementation team, businesses still need to provide theoretical and practical training. Six Sigma concepts, tools, and tech... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Saturday, 26th April 2008 @ 2:19 AM

The size of the business is also not an issue anymore, as is evident from the ever-growing number of sole proprietorships and small and medium sized businesses that have successfully deployed Six Sigma. So, how is it that Six Sigma is so very versatile? Well, there are many reasons for this, but the main reason is that even after years of evolution, the basic characteristics of Six Sigma still remain the same. Even basic objectives such as improving quality, increasing efficiency, and ac... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Saturday, 26th April 2008 @ 2:03 AM

However, since achieving such high quality levels is often easier said than done, businesses will have to follow the prescribed guidelines while implementing Six Sigma. Explained below are some of the essential requirements of Six Sigma implementations. Identifying Business Processes That Can Be Improved Six Sigma implementations are certainly not easy and this is why it is often not feasible for businesses to implement Six Sigma in each and every business process that mig... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Friday, 25th April 2008 @ 11:27 PM

Innovative strategies may certainly aid the implementation process, but since the success of such implementations depends a lot more on the performance of organizational members, businesses need to concentrate more on this vital aspect. What businesses can do is initiate a performance review program using scorecards that keep a tab on the actual performance of each and every organizational member associated with the Six Sigma implementations. For better understanding, we'll d... more...

Business » Project Management | By Christine Harrell @ Monday, 21st April 2008 @ 12:56 AM

The export of jobs overseas has become a hot-button issue in newspapers, political debates, and business management. Strong feelings exist on both sides and many people simply cringe when they consider the possibility of outsourced accounting services. However what many people don't understand is that outsourcing and foreign jobs are not the same thing. Domestic Outsourcing Keeps Jobs In The US When a company contracts for outsourced accounting services, this means the... more...

Business » Project Management | By Marc Choyt @ Thursday, 17th April 2008 @ 10:48 PM

When we constructed our facility in Santa Fe, we heavily invested in ventilation systems. Over the years, we have also researched solders and fluxes which were as safe as possible. We are constantly looking for ways to improve our work environment. We brought this practical experience with us when we toured two large jewelry factories in Bali. My company wants to do business only with ethical international partners. Though I was not acting in any official capacity... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Thursday, 17th April 2008 @ 6:59 AM

If businesses ignore this and select a Black Belt without evaluating their skills, experience, and aptitude, it's highly unlike that they will be able to do proper justice to the implementations, let alone derive any real-time benefits from the implementations. So, what exactly can businesses do to select the right Black Belt? Well, they just need to follow the standard evaluation and selection process as described in the following paragraphs. Evaluating Behavioral Traitsmore...