Thursday, January 29, 2009

Six Sigma And Data Collection - Ask The Right Questions

By Craig Calvin

Defects and variations in products and services cause dissatisfaction for the customer. This is where the need for Six Sigma improvement products arises. These projects are aimed at achieving zero defects in business processes. In the Measure phase of Six Sigma, the collection of relevant data is necessary so that it can be analyzed and further improvements brought about. This data is important as it comes from customers - internal as well as external. If you want to get the right data, it is necessary for you to ask the right questions.

Various team members and departments which will be affected by the changes that are to be made. Making sure they provide detailed and clear information is the goal. However, that can only be accomplished if you know which questions to ask. An integral part of the process is making it clear to them the importance of the data you are collecting.

The teams need to clearly inform the customer of the need and reasons for the data, as that is the only way they will get answers that aren't tainted with misgivings or misunderstandings about the objective. The person who aske the question also needs to be clear of the goals. Often, by passing on the collection of the data to a third party, impartiality can be assured.

The place and time where the questions are asked can also have a direct effect on the answers. If a question is asked in the middle of the work day, the person may temper their answer because they are busy and don't have time to answer. The format of questions should be simple and easy to understand. Questionnaires are appropriate to use, but for the most success, they should be formatted in columns for easier comprehension. The easier you make it for the person answering, the better their answers will be.

When beginning the data collection process it is also important to provide guidelines on how to answer the questions to assure the respondents give the right answers. Teams should always note the name, department and job description of the staff member answering the questions, so that followup can be done if clarification is needed later. Summarily, the data that is collect is the basis for the entire Six Sigma implementation, so it must be complete and correct. Asking the right questions in a plain and simple way is the key to getting the answers needed to move forward in the process. - 15485

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