Process Improvement Project

Drivers for Six Sigma Process Improvement
Customer expectations for higher quality
Customers want immediate access/service and control over their research process
Competition for scarce resources; potential for cost reduction
Library resources will remain stable or be reduced in the coming years
New business models enabled by advances in information technology
Technology can be designed to facilitate ease of use and reduce costs

Why engage in Six Sigma
Efficiency: 30-40 percent of service organization’s operating costs result from unhealthy processes that produce scrap, rework and needless complexity

Competition: to provide access to information for our academic community, we are pressed to assess our ability to compete on costs and on quality of service

Values: The Library holds to quality leadership principles such as continuous improvement and learning, customer focus, and flexibility.
When to use DMAIC?
Where variation in product or service quality is hurting your customer relationship


When costs are no longer sustainable

When measures suggest the use of control charts or other data analysis tools will help identify the current process capability and the cause of problems
How to Plan for Use of the DMAIC Approach
Gain commitment from leadership group (whole system)
Appoint a team
Some who know the process—and who will implement the new process;
Some who don’t know the process and have no bias
Someone who has clout to convince the organization to support the changes and get buy-in from the top
Combination of people who have strengths on different part of the DMAIC approach
Questioners, learners, no defensiveness re: current way of accomplishing the process
Openness to change
Train in Six Sigma DMAIC
Formal in-depth training is key
Consultant availability helps