Category Archives: Business Analysis

PDCA Thinking and Sports Team Performance

The PDCA cycle (Plan-Do-Check-Act) is an iterative four-step approach for managing and improving products and business processes.   Today we will discuss how the PDCA approach is used by sports teams, with an eye toward how this same thinking can be applied to improving the performance of business processes and products. The Plan Phase begins with […]

Math Anxiety, Dyscalculia and Six Sigma

In our Black Belt program, we make extensive use of Minitab statistical software.  The software performs the actual mathematical calculations, relieving the student of the burden of knowing how to do them using paper and pencil.   To use Minitab effectively, students must be able to choose the appropriate test or analysis to perform for a […]

When Is a Change an Improvement?

One of my Black Belt students recently submitted an interim project report. The goal of her project is to reduce the time it takes to complete a certain transaction. The project Y metric is success rate, where a success is defined as completing the transaction in 24 hours or less. The goal after improvement is […]

Don’t like the data? Throw it out!

One of the first tasks our Black Belt students are asked to do when completing a project is collect data over time and create control charts for the primary output metric.  The purpose of these control charts is to establish baseline performance, and to determine if the process is stable. One of my students is […]

How Accurate and Reliable is Your Data?

Six Sigma is a process improvement methodology that uses facts and data to make decisions, not hunches and opinions.  It is obviously important that we use facts and data that are accurate and reliable.  The more important the decision and the more serious the consequences, the more care we need to take when collecting data. […]

Which Index is Representative of How the Stock Market is Really Performing?

In an earlier article in this series I discussed the use of sample data drawn from a larger population for the purposes of making decisions.  The data in the sample must be representative of the larger population in order for it to be useful in decision making.  Consider the stock market in general.   What is […]

Data Analytics 101 for BA’s, PM’s and Six Sigma Practitioners

Data analysis is growing by leaps and bounds. More and more, business analysts, project managers, and Six Sigma practitioners have access to more data. The key is how to derive useful information from the raw data. That is where data analytics comes in. TRUISM! Raw data is not fit for human consumption, but the information […]

Can Six Sigma and Business Process Management Coexist?

One of the most powerful ways to improve business performance is combining business process management (BPM) strategies with Six Sigma strategies. BPM strategies emphasize process improvements and automation to drive performance, while Six Sigma uses statistical analysis to drive quality improvements. The two strategies are not mutually exclusive, however, and some savvy companies have discovered […]