Introduction to Six Sigma - Terms Flashcards
accountability
Being answerable, or responsible, to stakeholders. This may include shareholders, customers, employees, government, and the general public.
activity
The work required to proceed from one event to another.
adjourning
The fifth stage of team development. This stage is marked by assessment and closure. See stages of team development.
asset
Anything owned by a business or an individual that has monetary, commercial, or exchange value. See tangible asset, intangible asset.
attribute
A skill, quality, or characteristic that a person or a system should possess in order to perform effectively.
balanced scorecard
A standard reference against which future comparisons can be made.
baseline
A standard reference against which future comparisons can be made.
best practices
A set of learned procedures, techniques, or methods that reliably lead to a desired result. Sometimes used to set standards for an industry.
Black Belt
A professional trained in Six Sigma methodologies and principles. See Green Belt, Master Black Belt, Champion, Six Sigma.
bottom line
Net profits. Total revenues minus costs and overhead equals profits.
brainstorming
A group process during which creative ideas are generated around a particular area of interest, and then the ideas are analyzed and rated according to their appropriateness.
business case
The justification for undertaking, and for continuing, the project.
business strategy
An agreed-upon plan of action detailing how a business plans to accomplish its business goals or desired results. Sometimes referred to as organizational strategy.
capability
The ability of a process to achieve an objective, or a system to achieve a goal.
capital
In economics, capital is the machinery, factories, and inventory required to produce other products. For investors, capital is cash plus the financial assets invested in securities, a home, and other fixed assets.
career path
A planned progression of positions within an organization, each of which develops the skills necessary for an employee to move to the next level.
cause-and-effect diagram
Also called a fishbone or Ishikawa diagram. A graphical presentation of the potential causes of a recognized problem. The structure of the diagram is typically presented as a main arrow (representing effect) off of which smaller arrows (representing causes) branch in a pattern similar to a fish skeleton.
Champion
An executive or manager proficient in all aspects of Six Sigma methodologies. Often acts in a leadership capacity. See Six Sigma.
competency
The capacity to apply and use a combination of skill, knowledge, ability, and behavior to achieve an objective.
competitive advantage
The use of the specific characteristics and factors that differentiate an organization and add value.
competitive strategy
Actions and plans for positioning a company within its competitive environment.
constraint
The limiting element in a system that restricts production. Constraints may be physical or non-physical. See TOC.
consumer
See end user.
continuous improvement
The ongoing and incremental improvement of processes, products, or services.
COPQ
Abbreviation of the cost of poor quality. The loss of value that companies incur when customers perceive their products or services to be of a low quality.
corporate strategy
Actions and plans that influence an organization’s core values.
cost of poor quality
See COPQ.
cost variance
The difference between the budgeted cost of the work performed and the actual cost.
critical path
The series of activities that must be completed on schedule in order for the entire project to be completed on schedule. The critical path is the longest duration path through the work plan. If an activity on the critical path is delayed by one day, then the entire project will be delayed by one day, unless another activity can be accelerated by one day.
customer
A person or entity that has buying authority and who is the beneficiary of the project deliverable. Customers can be internal or external, individuals or organizations.
cycle time
The time it takes to complete a process from start to finish.
defects per million opportunities
See DPMO.
defects per unit
See DPU.
Define - Measure - Analyze - Design - Validate
See DMADV.
delighters
Features that go beyond the customer’s expectations – they are unexpected features and services that impress customers.
deliverable
The end product of a project or the measurable result of activities within the project.
dependency
A constraint on the sequence and timing of a task, step, or activity that is the result of the influence of a separate task, step, or activity.
dependency arrow
A graphic arrow used in a diagram to represent the interrelationships of tasks and activities within a project.
Design FMEA
A tool used to analyze component designs during the development stages of design that focuses on potential component failure modes and their effects caused by design errors.
Design for Six Sigma
A systematic methodology that utilizes tools, training, and measurements to enable the design of products and processes that both meet customer expectations and can be produced at Six Sigma quality levels.
design of experiments
A tool that provides a structured series of steps to follow when designing experiments and analyzing results – these steps help you to understand and control the variation of key process inputs in order to obtain improved results on project outputs.
DFSS
See Design for Six Sigma.
dissatisfiers
Basic requirements in your product or service that cause your customer not to like it.
DMADV
A core methodology for implementing DFSS that runs through the following phases: Define - Measure - Analyze - Design - Validate.
DMAIC
Acronym for the Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control process, a process commonly employed when an organization wishes to improve on an existing process by using Six Sigma.
DOE
See design of experiments.
DPMO
Acronym for defects per million opportunities. The actual number of defects occurring divided by the total number of opportunities for a defect and multiplied by one million. Also referred to as parts per million (ppm).
DPU
Acronym for defects per unit. Calculated by dividing the total number of defects by the number of units or products.
element
A step that must be undertaken as part of a sequence in order to complete a task. See task.
end user
A person or entity that acquires goods or services for direct use or ownership, rather than for resale or use in production and manufacturing. Also known as a consumer.
event
The starting or ending point of an activity or a group of activities. See activity.
experience
Completion of the areas or activities by which someone is likely to have gained the knowledge or attributes that are required of a job.
failure modes and effects analysis
See FMEA. A tool that provides a structured method for analyzing potential failure modes and effects and how these may influence design perimeters.
fishbone
See cause-and-effect diagram.
float
The amount of time that a project manager can delay the start of a task without delaying the start of a successor task or the end of the project.
flow chart
A graphical representation of a process that shows the sequence of events in that process.
FMEA
A tool that provides a structured method for analyzing potential failure modes and effects and how these may influence design perimeters.
forming
The first phase of team development. In this stage the team comes together and begins to formulate roles and responsibilities. See stages of team development.