Project Management Articles

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...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Thursday, 17th April 2008 @ 6:50 AM

This is applicable all the more so for businesses that just cannot afford to keep solving the same types of problems over and over again and deriving satisfaction from such dubious achievements. So what is the right approach to problem solving? Well, for that you just need to have a look at the time-tested Six Sigma root cause analysis tool that stresses locating and eliminating the root causes of the problem rather than finding quick-fix solutions. In effect, it basically helps business... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Thursday, 17th April 2008 @ 5:40 AM

Having read the benefits of time-tested quality improvement techniques such as Six Sigma, many managers often feel the need to implement the same in their respective domains. However, since permission from top management is required for such implementations and most managers often do not know how to present their case to top management in the right manner, they often fail to bring about the desired revolutionary changes, possible only through Six Sigma concepts and methodologies. However,... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Sunday, 13th April 2008 @ 12:11 PM

Businesses that fail to give due consideration to this aspect, often encounter problems when the implementation team finally passes over the reigns to the concerning functional department. Explained below are some essential tips and suggestions that will help businesses in sustaining the Six Sigma quality levels, achieved during the implementations. Deploy Automated Control Systems The first thing that businesses need to do is concentrate on the deployment of automated qua... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Sunday, 13th April 2008 @ 12:02 PM

Many service sector companies have no doubt successfully deployed Six Sigma and are currently deriving its benefits, but you just cannot declare Six Sigma as the best based on this because what is also true is that the statistics are the same for service sector companies that have failed to derive any real benefits from Six Sigma deployments. Why Failure Rates Are Higher In Mobile Workforces Statistical data also suggests that the largest incidence of Six Sigma setbacks has been n... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Sunday, 13th April 2008 @ 11:54 AM

Since resource planning deals with the basic requirements such as the timely allocation of essential resources such as men, material, technology and infrastructure, businesses aiming to derive the benefits of Six Sigma improvement projects, just cannot afford to ignore it. This is especially true if a business is planning to initiate a DFSS project, which stands for Design For Six Sigma. DFSS projects are usually much larger and since the stakes are almost always higher than they might b... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Sunday, 13th April 2008 @ 11:54 AM

Businesses, no doubt, have the option to make a call to existing management and ask them to shoulder the responsibility, but since in most businesses managers are already too busy with their day-to-day routines, it's highly unlikely that they will be able to do proper justice to Six Sigma implementations. This is the main reason why Six Sigma experts stress creating process improvement teams instead on relying on the existing management to carry out Six Sigma implementations. more...

Business » Project Management | By Joyce McKee @ Sunday, 13th April 2008 @ 12:18 AM

It seems to be a fact of life - we are poor planners. And it is surprising, especially when we talk about planning for various marketing activities which have high price tags. Trade shows have proven to be an effective tool for marketing. Still, there are far too many exhibitors who rush into the activity, throw money at it, and then leave wondering where their money went? What was all that fuss and expense for? Why is this happening? Is it becau... more...

Business » Project Management | By Max Johnson @ Thursday, 10th April 2008 @ 7:33 PM

There are few things as necessary as keeping you and yours safe in some of the harshest conditions. Anyone can have an accident. As a youngster, we had mom or dad to make everything better, but our parents had a hidden arsenal or hugs, kisses, sympathy, and of course, first aid kits to make everything a-okay. As adults, we continue this tradition, and there are plastic first aid kits in our workplaces, in our homes, in our gyms, in the grocery stores, and just about anywhere you can possibly con... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Wednesday, 9th April 2008 @ 10:37 PM

For better understanding, let us shed some light on some of the main reasons that are forcing businesses to look at the inherent limitations of standard Six Sigma analysis tools and techniques in terms of their applicability in today's highly competitive business environment. Increasing Complexity of Business Processes Over the years, business processes have become increasingly complex, making it quite difficult to carry out an analysis using the conventional Six Sigma statis... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Wednesday, 9th April 2008 @ 7:40 PM

The fact that simulation technology is one of the best technologies ever developed is easily evident when we look at its widespread use in almost all types of industries, including both manufacturing and service sector business entities. The effectiveness of simulation tools and techniques however, is proven when we look at how well and how easily they have integrated with Six Sigma, which is considered as the best available quality management tool by most industry experts. For b... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Wednesday, 9th April 2008 @ 7:27 PM

However, associating Lean with just the big boys is certainly not the right thing to do - because the reality is that Lean is quite versatile and can be implemented by any business organization, irrespective of its size. For proof, you just need to have a look at some of the relatively smaller businesses such as a packaging firm that might have implemented Lean Six Sigma. For better understanding, we'll focus specifically on this particular industry and find out exactly how ... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Wednesday, 9th April 2008 @ 4:01 PM

The tool allows for hypothetical testing of real-time problems and also the applicability of the suggested solutions, allowing businesses to take the most appropriate decisions. Proof of its effectiveness is easily evident when you consider the fact that businesses continue to use it even when many new tools and techniques have developed during the past few decades. Explained below are some of the prominent benefits that can be derived by using the Six Sigma cause & effects analysis tool... more...

Business » Project Management | By Daniel Lock @ Wednesday, 9th April 2008 @ 6:28 AM

Actually is increases by the 'square' of the number of steps involved. That is one step has a complexity factor 1 squared = 1. A two-step process has a complexity factor of 2 squared = 4, and ten 'steps' has a complexity factor of 100. It make sense, if you have a task to make a phone call and you ask some one else to do it, the extra complexity of relaying information and the risk of that person not understanding and making mistakes increases significantly. So ... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Friday, 4th April 2008 @ 1:37 PM

Another problem that is even more unnerving is the inability of the implementation team members to understand the real essence of value stream analysis as the Black Belt might be trying to communicate to them. Black Belts, however, need not worry too much - because if they use the prescribed methods, they can easily eliminate all these problems. Explained below are some of the options available to Black Belts, which can be used for overcoming these problems. Getting the Analysis ... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Friday, 4th April 2008 @ 1:30 PM

But since the success of such projects depends a lot on how well an individual understands the intricacies of the targeted business process, Black Belts, especially those hired from outside, have no other option but to get help from existing employees. Not many Black Belts will savor this idea, obviously because the idea would transform them from teachers to students overnight; but since the thing that matters most is the successful implementation of the Six Sigma improvement projects, Bl... more...