Investing in software to support your Six Sigma initiatives is an effective way to ensure that you get the most out of the methodology. In addition, setting up a structure for improvement makes it simpler for people throughout the organization to participate in and effectively oversee continuous process improvement efforts.

Organizations that leverage Six Sigma software collect more opportunities for improvement, implement more solutions, and see a higher ROI for Six Sigma. Several solutions on the market were either developed as Six Sigma management tools or repurposed as such, so we thought it might be helpful to identify some of the most critical capabilities that you should look for when evaluating this type of technology.

While there are several Six Sigma software solutions on the market, they are not all the same. The best platforms for this type of improvement include:

In today’s hyper-competitive and rapidly changing environment, organizations must find innovative ways to improve quality, reduce waste, and get products to market quickly and efficiently. To do so, many organizations of all types are turning to the tools and techniques that manufacturing companies have used for decades to achieve operational excellence. Today, hospitals, construction companies, software developers, and even educational institutions are adapting ideas from the Toyota Production System and Lean manufacturing to suit their needs.

One of the most popular techniques is Standard work.  

Standard work is the documented and current best way to do a particular task, procedure, or process. Workers develop the standard and follow it until an improvement process results in a new standard. Standard work ensures that results are consistent and forms the foundation upon which improvements are made. Leader standard work applies this same concept to the task of driving Lean thinking and behavior throughout the organization.

Gemba walks are an increasingly popular management technique. By visiting the place where work is done, leaders gain valuable insight into the flow of value through the organization and often uncover opportunities for improvement and learn new ways to support employees. The approach is a collaborative one, with employees providing details about what is done and why.

Great results depend on thoughtful planning, execution, and follow-up. Here are the most important steps you can take to ensure that your next Gemba walk is successful.

I often find myself falling into the common trap of believing that if something is worthwhile, it is necessarily difficult. I think we all expect that valuable things are hard. The truth is, however, that sometimes the most effective and impactful things we can do are really quite simple.

When it comes to continuous quality improvement, this is absolutely the case.

Here are 9 examples of quality improvement tools, techniques, and technology that are uncomplicated yet extremely valuable.

The Lean Management System is a popular business process methodology that started in the manufacturing sector but quickly spread to healthcare, software development, construction, and a host of other fields. While its use is widespread, many of the business leaders we talk to still have questions about its origins, structure, and benefits. This post answers the ones we hear most often.

Businesses are increasingly turning to idea management software to capture, manage, measure, and reward employee recommendations for positive change. The innovation software is being used with business management systems like Six Sigma and Lean or as a stand-alone approach to achieving operational excellence.

Modern workers want more than just a paycheck and benefits from their employers today. When employees are surveyed, the reasons that they change jobs are more often related to how they perceive themselves as being valued by their employer and how well their current work is preparing them for their future career goals.

Solutions that invite every individual to contribute toward positive change help address the need to contribute to the mission and attain recognition for excellent work. Employees who participate in innovation projects develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills to make them more effective in their current role and prepare them for the next.

We spend a lot of time on this blog talking about structures and methods for improving business processes, setting operational goals, and deploying the organization's strategy. Today, we want to turn to a more personal subject and discuss professional areas of improvement in any work environment.

It may be helpful to think about which of these areas are your strengths and weaknesses. If you lead others, this could serve as a framework for coaching and performance reviews. No matter where you sit in the organization or how experienced you are, opportunities for improvement abound.

You'll notice that in addition to the skills that make someone proficient at their job, this list includes many soft skills that help employees work well with others and contribute to a culture of positive change.

James Womack and Dan Jones are the founders of the Lean Enterprise Institute and the Lean Enterprise Academy (UK), respectively. Their book, Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation, is considered by some to be the bible of Lean manufacturing. It was initially published in 1996 based on their in-depth study of Toyota’s fabled Toyota Production System (TPS).

What Womack and Jones realized is that every outcome is the result of a process. Process thinking in operations management requires leaders and workers to view businesses as a set of related processes that work together rather than a group of departments that each support a specific function.

These ideas are widely used by businesses of any industry to better design, track, and optimize business processes operations. Companies have not done away with functional departments. However, they view the work departments do differently. A department can't exist as a silo. It receives inputs from other functions, and it provides outputs that other departments must consume to complete their work.

Lean Six Sigma is a business optimization methodology that combines two popular continuous improvement methods, Lean and Six Sigma. These well-proven approaches give organizations a structured path to reaching their strategic goals quickly and profitably.  

While the driving force behind Lean Six Sigma is daily incremental improvement, implemented by employees at every level of the organization, it often involves discrete projects targeted at specific problems or goals. Therefore, defining the scope of each project is critical for both project success and ongoing measurement of the results.