Management Project Reviews

Management review is a critical success factor for Six Sigma. Regular management review keeps the effort focused and on track. We know of no successful Six Sigma implementation in which management reviews were not a key part of the deployment process. We focus here on management project reviews, and address management reviews of the overall implementation in Chapter 6. Project reviews should be done weekly and monthly, while reviews of the overall initiative are preferably done quarterly, or at a minimum, annually. We begin with management project reviews, since you should already be reviewing status of the initial wave of projects by this time.

Six Sigma projects are most successful when Champions review them weekly, and the business unit and function leaders review them monthly. Such a drumbeat prevents projects from dragging on, and provides leadership with early warning of any problems. A useful agenda for the Champion review is:

• Activity this week

• Accomplishments this week

• Recommended management actions

• Help needed

• Plan for next week

This review is informal and is not time-consuming—taking approximately 30 minutes. The idea is to have a quick check to keep the project on track by finding out what has been accomplished, what is planned, and what barriers need to be addressed. Typically Champions guide only one or two Black Belts, so the time requirements are not great. These reviews help the Champion fulfill his/her role of guiding the project and addressing barriers. Master Black Belts (MBBs) also attend these reviews as needed, and the MBB and Black Belt also meet separately to resolve any technical issues that might have arisen.

All current projects are typically reviewed each month as well. This monthly review with the business unit or function leader is shorter than the weekly review, being no more than 10-15 minutes per project. The purpose is to keep the project on schedule with respect to time and results, and to identify any problems or roadblocks. This review helps the business unit and functional leaders stay involved in Six Sigma, and directly inform them of any issues they need to address. A useful agenda for these reviews is:

• Project purpose

• Process and financial metrics—progress versus goals

• Accomplishments since the last review

• Plans for future work

• Key lessons learned and findings

Notice that this agenda is similar to that for the weekly review with the Champion. In the monthly review much more emphasis is placed on performance versus schedule, progress towards process and financial goals, and key lessons learned and findings. As Six Sigma grows, the number of projects may become large, requiring a lot of time for the reviews. The review time can be reduced by rating projects as Green (on schedule), Yellow (in danger of falling behind schedule if something isn't done) and Red (behind schedule and in need of help), and reviewing only those rated as Red and Yellow.

One way to increase the speed, clarity, and understanding of the review process is to use a common reporting format, such as the one shown in Figure 5-2. This format is similar to templates used by GE, AlliedSignal, DuPont, and other companies. An overall project summary is shown on one page using the four headings of project description, metrics, accomplishments, and needs. Additional backup slides to support the material in the summary can be added as needed. A good way to show progress toward entitlement is to use the graph shown in Figure 5-3 (Rodebaugh [2001]). There will be a separate graph for each process measure impacted by the project.

We all need feedback. Feedback is required to know how your're doing and to improve. Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch used to ask at every opportunity “How am I doing?” The Beatles also needed feedback. The rock group's last outdoor concert was held in Candlestick Park (San Francisco) in 1966. The crowd noise was extremely loud so they knew their music was appreciated, but because of the noise they couldn't hear themselves sing; they had no direct feedback of their voices. Without this feedback the Beatles couldn't monitor their own performance, and improve it where necessary. This led them to discontinue outdoor concerts.

Feedback provided during reviews is an important aid to improvement. Black Belts want and need feedback, and management reviews are one important form of providing it.

In all project reviews it is important to ask questions to identify the methods, logic, and data used to support decisions. It is also important to pay attention to both social and technical issues. Sometimes the social concerns such as interpersonal relationships and leadership skills are more important than the technical issues.

It is important to do a lot of listening. Open-ended questions, rather than those that can be answered yes or no, generally lead to more informative answers. Two helpful questions are: “Could you explain that in more detail?” and “Could you help me understand how you arrived at that conclusion?”

When you want to learn how the project—or any activity for that matter—is progressing, ask two questions; “What's working?” or “What are we doing well?” and “What do we need to do better?” The answers will take you a long way toward understanding what is going on in the project or activity. A more detailed list of good questions to ask is given in Chapter 8.

The Black Belts, the Champions, or a combination of Black Belts and Champions can present the project reports at the monthly reviews. Having the Champions give the reports involves them more deeply in the Six Sigma initiative, as well as increasing understanding and ownership. When appropriate, Champions can report on several projects, reducing the amount of time required for the reviews. Project reviews are critical to success. Infrequent review of projects is a good predictor of a Six Sigma initiative in trouble, as we saw in the case studies of Royal Chemicals and Diversified Paper in Chapter 2.

We noted in Chapter 4 that 30-50% of the projects would produce improvements that have bottom-line results even before the project is completed. Champions and other leaders should be on the lookout for such situations and make sure that the project, the Black Belt, and the Six Sigma initiative get credit for the results as soon as possible. The weekly and monthly reviews are a good place to identify these opportunities and will speed up the impact of the Six Sigma initiative.