Archive for measure
The Marketing Funnel using the Six Sigma DMAIC Methodology – Measure stage
Posted by: | CommentsProcesses lend themselves to measurement. If you treat your marketing as a process, then you should be able to measure your marketing. The define stage answers the question: What is important? The measure stage will answer that question by asking: How are we doing?
I stated in a previous post that the purpose of the Measure stage was to quantify process performance and deliverable was to determine baseline process performance. Without these facts, you will be very ineffective in improving performance. This is the stage which is most difficult for the novice. Adequate measurements in the current state are simply not there many times and as a result we either never get out of this stage be trying to be too precise or we move on without inadequate information that causes us reduce effectiveness of the latter stages. Another common fault is that we start analyzing the data which is the next stage of the process.
Remember that this is a current state not a future state step in the process. Remember, if you think something that you are doing is not measurable, there is someone already measuring it, YOUR CUSTOMER. This brings us back to the marketing funnel and I am correlating the measure phase to the consider phase. In the consider phase, or the like stage of the funnel, prospects are aware of you but now you must prepare them to consider you as a worthy candidate. How do you do that? In the DMAIC methodology we use tools such as Critical to Quality and other tools to determine what is important to a prospect. Instead of thinking about this step from an internal point of view step back and consider what the prospect would use to measure your product or service and make the decision to move through the funnel. Developing measures with customer input will certainly help a prospect move though the funnel.
At this stage, do you know how a prospect is measuring you? What is the most Critical to quality standard that influences your product or service? What is more critical than others? The old saying is that people perform by how they are measured? If your company is based on how they are being measured do you have measurements in places that you are performing too?
This is an area that we taking the process map to a deeper level or developing the current state in a Value Stream Mapping process?
From the Developing and Measuring Training the Six Sigma Way: A Business Approach to Training and Development
Developing marketing measurements requires a mind-set for accountability. Measurements must be understandable, quantifiable, and economic. Customers objectively and clearly state these requirements and pay the supplier for meeting their explicit expectations. We must be there listening and responding to them. The more these requirements are met, the more the customer is satisfied.
Do you have listening posts built into your processes? What targets are you meeting?
Related Posts:
The Marketing Funnel using Six Sigma DMAIC Methodology
The Marketing Funnel using Six Sigma DMAIC – Define stage
Related book: What Customers Want: Using Outcome-Driven Innovation to Create Breakthrough Products and Services
Aalyzing a complex problem, make it simple by using…
Posted by: | CommentsOne of the most often used cause-and-effect diagrams is a Fishbone Diagram. It appears very simple but the results are outstanding. As a result, it is used very often and one that should be mastered. Why would you use it?
- Allows various categories of causes to be explored.
- Encourages creativity through a brainstorming process.
- Provides a visual image of the problem and potential categories of causes
- Analyze Complex probles that seem to have many interelated causes
To create a Fishbone Diagram:
1. Describe the problem on the far right side of the diagram. This may be the actual problem or it may be a symptom – at this point you are not exactly sure.
2. Draw a long horizontal arrow pointing to the box. This arrow will serve as the backbone from which further major and minor causes will be categorized and related.
3. Identify potential causes and group them into major categories. Examples of major categories include people, processes, material, equipment, environment, etc. The major categories are identified using brainstorming techniques, so at this point you are not worried if there is disagreement about whether a category holds the potential cause or not. Just put them all up. Make sure to leave enough space between the major categories on the diagram so that you can add minor detailed causes in later. Each of these major categories will be explored in more detail.
4. Continue to brainstorm the causes by looking at more detailed explanations for each of the major cause categories identified above. Write the more detailed causes on slanted lines that hook up to the appropriate major category lines.
5. Sometimes, the detailed causes will have other, more granular causes coming off of them. If so, connect additional lines to the detailed lines. Three levels of detail is usually the practical limit for this diagram.
6. When you are done brainstorming major categories and more detailed potential causes, begin analyzing the information you have compiled. Evaluate each major cause and the potential detailed causes associated with it. Remember that the original list was compiled by brainstorming where all ideas are included. Now, you must determine which items seem like they are more likely to be the cause (or one of the causes). Circle the items that are most promising and should be investigated further.
7. If there is not an obvious consensus on the top areas to investigate, use some sort of voting system to formally narrow down the top choices with the most chance of success.
8. For each item circled, discuss how the item impacts the problem.
9. Create an action plan for resolving the circled causes. Remember that there may be a number of potential causes that interact together to create the problem. The action plan must account for these interdependencies. If the detailed causes are still complex, or if not enough information is known, they may be assigned to one or more people for further analysis outside of the meeting.
P.S. The fish can swim either way, right or left!
Source of information: Ten Step Project Management archive of Newsletters.
The Fishpone is an integral part of the Measure phase of the DMAIC Six Sigma Process
Measuring your value and become more effective
Posted by: | CommentsYesterday I discussed creating a Value Stream Map to discover the value and opportunities you had in your marketing process. Many companies stop, right there. However, the value cannot be determined till it has been quantified. This is where the use of Six Sigma can be utilized so effectively. If we accept the Current Value Stream as correct, we can progress to the measure stage in DMAIC. A Process Map is usually constructed at this stage. Process Mapping is much more specific than a Value Stream Map and should be created for every product or service defined in the Value Stream.
The Purpose of a Process Map:
- Graphical representation of how the process is performed.
- Identify process steps that are non value added.
- Identify data collection points.
- Created for each service. (Ex -Webinar)
- Created for every project and continuously updated.
- Provides a step by step guide for brainstorming and improvement.
A Basic Process map should include:
- Value added and non-value steps.
- Process owners of each step
- Time for each step.
- Defect rate for each step.
A Real Process Map should include:
- All of the Basic Steps
- Input and outputs of each process step (X’s and Y’s).
- Current requirements of each X and Y.
- Defect rate associated with each X and Y.
Creation of a Process Map
- Assemble Team
- Scope the project/process being mapped. Focus only on a particular service/product such as the example of a Webinar above.
- Identify all steps to perform this process and note if this step is value added or non value added.
- Identify the inputs (X’s) and outputs (Y’s) of each process step.
- Capture current specifications, process owners and materials for each X and Y identified.
- Identify and document all data collection points within the project scope.
I have included this process for a single step in the diagram below for a graphic understanding of the process. Don’t get hung up
on the X, Y, f or the equation. Just start looking at the basic process. I find out the people that want to go to the next step will
and the ones that don’t still receive value in this exercise. They will just rely on “Tribal Knowledge” versus data.
That’s it! But what about results and what we are going to do about all this. This is simple beyond the scope of this step. In the Six Sigma Process of DMAIC, we are only at the Measure stage. The next stage is Analyze. I wonder what we will do next.
