Learning Object ID: 14396 Estimated Time: 02 hr 00 min Description:Organizations must ensure that their processes and products are extremely consistent, as variations can lead to rejected orders, lower revenues, and eventually, financial disaster. Basic statistics can provide Black Belts with the tools to summarize and assess collected data in a meaningful way. Black Belts can use descriptive (enumerative) statistics to tabulate and graphically represent sample data through a number of informative charts and diagrams. Using analytical (inferential) statistics, supported by the central limit theorem, Black Belts can confidently make inferences about the larger population based on their sample data, and can test the statistical validity of their inferences. Thus, basic statistics can provide an organization with a view of its performance in graphical format, and the tools for reaching valid conclusions regarding its processes and products.
This course provides Black Belts with basic statistical tools for describing, presenting, and analyzing sample and population data. It explores the process of preparing and presenting sample data using graphical methods and then making valid inferences about the population represented by the sample. This course is aligned with the ASQ Certified Six Sigma Black Belt certification exam and is designed to assist learners as part of their exam preparation. It builds on foundational knowledge that is taught in SkillSoft's ASQ-aligned Green Belt curriculum.
Learning Object ID: 17675 Estimated Time: 02 hr 00 min Description:Organizations must ensure that their processes and products are extremely consistent, as variations can lead to rejected orders, lower revenues, and eventually, financial disaster. Basic statistics can provide Black Belts with the tools to summarize and assess collected data in a meaningful way. Black Belts can use descriptive (enumerative) statistics to tabulate and graphically represent sample data through a number of informative charts and diagrams. Using analytical (inferential) statistics, supported by the central limit theorem, Black Belts can confidently make inferences about the larger population based on their sample data, and can test the statistical validity of their inferences. Thus, basic statistics can provide an organization with a view of its performance in graphical format, and the tools for reaching valid conclusions regarding its processes and products.
Learning Object ID: 17647 Estimated Time: 02 hr 30 min Description:Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out, says famous motivator and author, Stephen R. Covey. Six Sigma needs both effective leadership and management to deliver its promised results to an organization. It requires all Six Sigma leaders – Master Black Belts, Black Belts, and Green Belts – to effectively lead project teams to deliver their expected results. Understanding team building processes, tools, and role structures helps Six Sigma team members produce desired results and resolve negative team dynamics. In order to achieve this, disciplined schedules, costs, and deliverables are required when managing such projects. The management of Six Sigma projects involves developing and adhering to a project charter that reflects a shared understanding of project expectations, scope, deliverables, and schedule. This course will examine the fundamental project management tools used in a successful Six Sigma project. The course introduces the essential elements of a project charter, explains how project scope and metrics are developed, and gives an insight into the tools used to plan and implement improvement in a Six Sigma initiative. It also looks at team building, team roles, and team dynamics, and examines a variety of team tools that are commonly used in Six Sigma. Along with that, it identifies the most common communication techniques used in the workplace and the situations they are best suited to. This course is aligned to the ASQ Certified Six Sigma Green Belt certification exam and is designed to assist learners as part of their exam preparation.
Learning Object ID: 8915 Estimated Time: 02 hr 30 min Description:Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out, says famous motivator and author, Stephen R. Covey. Six Sigma needs both effective leadership and management to deliver its promised results to an organization. It requires all Six Sigma leaders – Master Black Belts, Black Belts, and Green Belts – to effectively lead project teams to deliver their expected results. Understanding team building processes, tools, and role structures helps Six Sigma team members produce desired results and resolve negative team dynamics. In order to achieve this, disciplined schedules, costs, and deliverables are required when managing such projects. The management of Six Sigma projects involves developing and adhering to a project charter that reflects a shared understanding of project expectations, scope, deliverables, and schedule. This course will examine the fundamental project management tools used in a successful Six Sigma project. The course introduces the essential elements of a project charter, explains how project scope and metrics are developed, and gives an insight into the tools used to plan and implement improvement in a Six Sigma initiative. It also looks at team building, team roles, and team dynamics, and examines a variety of team tools that are commonly used in Six Sigma. Along with that, it identifies the most common communication techniques used in the workplace and the situations they are best suited to. This course is aligned to the ASQ Certified Six Sigma Green Belt certification exam and is designed to assist learners as part of their exam preparation.
Learning Object ID: 14387 Estimated Time: 02 hr 00 min Description:Six Sigma improvement begins with assessing the current performance of an organization's processes and products, and comparing it with the desired performance. An important part of this assessment is choosing a set of measures that will provide a comprehensive picture of how the company is achieving its goals of customer satisfaction, organizational learning and improvement, internal process performance, and bottom-line financial growth. This course examines business measures in two categories: business performance measures and purely financial measures, exploring how these measures reveal the current state of the business and point to gains achievable through Six Sigma.
This course explores how businesses use balanced scorecard and key performance indicators (KPIs) to find their critical success factors and use them to measure progress toward organizational goals. It also explores the varied and sometimes unexpected effects of customer loyalty on business success. Turning to purely financial measures of success, this course explores how these financial measures are crucial in determining whether the potential returns of Six Sigma projects will outweigh the required investment. It provides practice in using the formulas associated with these measures, including revenue growth, market share, margin, cost-benefit analysis, return on investment (ROI), and net present value (NPV). This course is aligned with the ASQ Certified Six Sigma Black Belt certification exam and is designed to assist learners as part of their exam preparation. It builds on foundational knowledge that is taught in SkillSoft’s ASQ-aligned Green Belt curriculum.
Learning Object ID: 17666 Estimated Time: 02 hr 00 min Description:Six Sigma improvement begins with assessing the current performance of an organization's processes and products, and comparing it with the desired performance. An important part of this assessment is choosing a set of measures that will provide a comprehensive picture of how the company is achieving its goals of customer satisfaction, organizational learning and improvement, internal process performance, and bottom-line financial growth. This course examines business measures in two categories: business performance measures and purely financial measures, exploring how these measures reveal the current state of the business and point to gains achievable through Six Sigma.
Learning Object ID: 17690 Estimated Time: 02 hr 00 min Description:Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) is the methodology associated with the design of a process, product, or service, which results in Six Sigma output that satisfies both the external customer and internal business requirements. DFSS is an innovative strategy for the design or redesign of a process, product, or service from the ground up. This course examines several of the common methodologies utilized in Design for Six Sigma (DFSS), beginning with the two common counterparts to the DMAIC methodology: DMADV and DMADOV. Design for X is emerging as an important knowledge-based multifunctional approach to design that is aimed at particular prioritized process constraints, such as cost, manufacturability, testability, or maintainability. This course explores several constraints in more detail, offering strategies for achieving designs concentrated on the chosen criteria. Another recently developed approach, robust design, uses parameter and tolerance control to produce designs which will be reliable during manufacturing and while in use. This course will address the basic aims of parameter control, tolerance design, and statistical tolerancing. This course is aligned with the ASQ Certified Six Sigma Black Belt certification exam and is designed to assist learners as part of their exam preparation. It builds on foundational knowledge that is taught in SkillSoft's ASQ-aligned Green Belt curriculum.
Learning Object ID: 14405 Estimated Time: 02 hr 00 min Description:Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) is the methodology associated with the design of a process, product, or service, which results in Six Sigma output that satisfies both the external customer and internal business requirements. DFSS is an innovative strategy for the design or redesign of a process, product, or service from the ground up. This course examines several of the common methodologies utilized in Design for Six Sigma (DFSS), beginning with the two common counterparts to the DMAIC methodology: DMADV and DMADOV. Design for X is emerging as an important knowledge-based multifunctional approach to design that is aimed at particular prioritized process constraints, such as cost, manufacturability, testability, or maintainability. This course explores several constraints in more detail, offering strategies for achieving designs concentrated on the chosen criteria. Another recently developed approach, robust design, uses parameter and tolerance control to produce designs which will be reliable during manufacturing and while in use. This course will address the basic aims of parameter control, tolerance design, and statistical tolerancing. This course is aligned with the ASQ Certified Six Sigma Black Belt certification exam and is designed to assist learners as part of their exam preparation. It builds on foundational knowledge that is taught in SkillSoft's ASQ-aligned Green Belt curriculum.
Learning Object ID: 15293 Estimated Time: 02 hr 00 min Description:Six Sigma teams design and conduct experiments to investigate the relationships between input variables and response variables. By controlling and changing the input variables and observing the effects on the response variables, a Six Sigma team gains a deep understanding of these relationships. After determining what and how much needs to be changed to meet the desired improvement, teams generate solution ideas based on the best combination of input variables' settings to optimize the response, and then the ideas are tested, implemented, and validated. Later in the Control stage, efforts are made to keep the improved processes, products, or services under statistical control and to retain the gains.
This course explores full and fractional factorial designs and the DOE process. In addition, it teaches how to select, test, and validate solutions using a variety of analysis, screening, and testing tools commonly used in Six Sigma. This course is aligned with the ASQ Certified Six Sigma Black Belt certification exam and is designed to assist learners as part of their exam preparation.
Learning Object ID: 17685 Estimated Time: 02 hr 00 min Description:Six Sigma teams design and conduct experiments to investigate the relationships between input variables and response variables. By controlling and changing the input variables and observing the effects on the response variables, a Six Sigma team gains a deep understanding of these relationships. After determining what and how much needs to be changed to meet the desired improvement, teams generate solution ideas based on the best combination of input variables' settings to optimize the response, and then the ideas are tested, implemented, and validated. Later in the Control stage, efforts are made to keep the improved processes, products, or services under statistical control and to retain the gains.
Learning Object ID: 17678 Estimated Time: 01 hr 30 min Description:As a Six Sigma team moves into the Analyze stage of the DMAIC process, it looks more closely at the variables and variable interrelationships identified during the Measure stage. As part of the analysis, a scatter diagram of dependent and independent variables is drawn to visualize the form, strength, and direction of their relationships. By determining their correlation coefficient, a linear relationship can be quantified and identified as positive, negative, or neutral. Then, using regression analysis, a model is developed to describe the relationship as a linear equation and then used for predictions and estimations. However, it is essential to analyze the uncertainty in the estimate, to test that the relationship between variables is statistically significant, and that the model is valid.
This course discusses two important tools – correlation and regression analysis for measuring and modeling relationships between variables. In terms of correlation, it takes learners through examples of scatter diagrams for two variables, the calculation and interpretation of the correlation coefficient, and the interpretation of its confidence interval. The course also draws learners' attention to some key considerations in correlation analysis, such as correlation and causation. In terms of regression analysis, the course discusses the simple linear regression model, how to create it using sample data, interpret and use it, and conduct a hypothesis test to check that the relationship between the variables is statistically significant. Finally, the course looks into how residual analysis is used to test the validity of the regression model. This course is aligned with the ASQ Certified Six Sigma Black Belt certification exam and is designed to assist learners as part of their exam preparation. It builds on foundational knowledge that is taught in SkillSoft's ASQ-aligned Green Belt curriculum.
Learning Object ID: 14399 Estimated Time: 01 hr 30 min Description:As a Six Sigma team moves into the Analyze stage of the DMAIC process, it looks more closely at the variables and variable interrelationships identified during the Measure stage. As part of the analysis, a scatter diagram of dependent and independent variables is drawn to visualize the form, strength, and direction of their relationships. By determining their correlation coefficient, a linear relationship can be quantified and identified as positive, negative, or neutral. Then, using regression analysis, a model is developed to describe the relationship as a linear equation and then used for predictions and estimations. However, it is essential to analyze the uncertainty in the estimate, to test that the relationship between variables is statistically significant, and that the model is valid.
Learning Object ID: 14386 Estimated Time: 02 hr 00 min Description:The success of Six Sigma deployment in an organization largely depends on the success of individual Six Sigma projects. Organizational stakeholders, including customers, suppliers, and employees, have a strong influence on the implementation of Six Sigma projects. In turn, these projects impact the organizational stakeholders by throwing many opportunities and challenges before them. It is imperative that Six Sigma leaders determine the critical quality, cost, process, and delivery requirements from customers and the organization, and then align projects with these requirements. Benchmarking is used in Six Sigma projects to set measurement goals for the critical requirements against world-class and competitive reference points. Benchmarking may also be used at later stages in the projects to evaluate existing operations, compare them with best-in-class organizations, and incorporate best practices to maximize the success of improvement efforts.
This course explores the Critical to x (CTx) requirements for Six Sigma projects and the importance of aligning projects with these requirements. The course also discusses the concept of benchmarking, various benchmarking types, and how benchmarking is used in Six Sigma. This course is aligned with the ASQ Certified Six Sigma Black Belt certification exam and is designed to assist learners as part of their exam preparation. It builds on foundational knowledge that is taught in SkillSoft's ASQ-aligned Green Belt curriculum.
Learning Object ID: 17665 Estimated Time: 02 hr 00 min Description:The success of Six Sigma deployment in an organization largely depends on the success of individual Six Sigma projects. Organizational stakeholders, including customers, suppliers, and employees, have a strong influence on the implementation of Six Sigma projects. In turn, these projects impact the organizational stakeholders by throwing many opportunities and challenges before them. It is imperative that Six Sigma leaders determine the critical quality, cost, process, and delivery requirements from customers and the organization, and then align projects with these requirements. Benchmarking is used in Six Sigma projects to set measurement goals for the critical requirements against world-class and competitive reference points. Benchmarking may also be used at later stages in the projects to evaluate existing operations, compare them with best-in-class organizations, and incorporate best practices to maximize the success of improvement efforts.
Learning Object ID: 8920 Estimated Time: 01 hr 30 min Description:Measure what is measurable, and make measurable what is not so said Galileo Galilei, the famous Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher. Measuring the key characteristics in your current processes is a very significant step in any Six Sigma improvement journey. As such, sample data from existing processes needs to be identified, collected, presented, and analyzed. Collecting data that is correct and useful is one of the first steps in the measurement process. Various types of data exist, and they all need appropriate treatment during the collection, presentation, and analysis stages. You also need to be careful when applying sampling techniques to ensure data accuracy and integrity. This course will explore continuous and discrete types of data, and nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio measurement scales. It will also introduce methods for data collection, such as check sheets and coded data, and deals with the issue of data accuracy and integrity, focusing particularly on sampling techniques such as random sampling and stratified sampling. The course is aligned to the ASQ Certified Six Sigma Green Belt certification exam and is designed to assist learners as part of their exam preparation.
Learning Object ID: 17652 Estimated Time: 01 hr 30 min Description:Measure what is measurable, and make measurable what is not so said Galileo Galilei, the famous Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher. Measuring the key characteristics in your current processes is a very significant step in any Six Sigma improvement journey. As such, sample data from existing processes needs to be identified, collected, presented, and analyzed. Collecting data that is correct and useful is one of the first steps in the measurement process. Various types of data exist, and they all need appropriate treatment during the collection, presentation, and analysis stages. You also need to be careful when applying sampling techniques to ensure data accuracy and integrity. This course will explore continuous and discrete types of data, and nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio measurement scales. It will also introduce methods for data collection, such as check sheets and coded data, and deals with the issue of data accuracy and integrity, focusing particularly on sampling techniques such as random sampling and stratified sampling. The course is aligned to the ASQ Certified Six Sigma Green Belt certification exam and is designed to assist learners as part of their exam preparation.
Learning Object ID: 14394 Estimated Time: 02 hr 00 min Description:An organization's success depends upon how it delivers on its processes. Before Black Belts can begin to improve an organization's processes, they must measure those processes with the appropriate data. The crucial steps of data collection and measurement precede process improvement in any Six Sigma initiative. Successful data collection starts with careful planning; a knowledge of various data types, sampling strategies, and measurement methods; and an ongoing awareness of best practices for ensuring data accuracy and integrity. Only reliable and suitable data will yield dependable analyses that translate into desired process improvements. As Six Sigma team leaders, Black Belts will help to oversee careful data collection efforts during the Measure phase of the Six Sigma DMAIC process. They will determine what should be measured, how data should be collected, and what tools can be employed to gather data as the basis for further improvements.
This course prepares Black Belts for successful data collection by surveying the types of data, measurement scales, sampling methods, and collection techniques available. It offers guidance for ensuring data integrity, pointing to different collecting methods for different informational needs, and recommending best practices for front-line data collectors. It compares the relative advantages of both manual and automated data collection, and surveys the wide variety of tools available for measuring the properties of an organization's products or services. This course is aligned with the ASQ Certified Six Sigma Black Belt certification exam and is designed to assist learners as part of their exam preparation. It builds on foundational knowledge that is taught in SkillSoft's ASQ-aligned Green Belt curriculum.
Learning Object ID: 17673 Estimated Time: 02 hr 00 min Description:An organization's success depends upon how it delivers on its processes. Before Black Belts can begin to improve an organization's processes, they must measure those processes with the appropriate data. The crucial steps of data collection and measurement precede process improvement in any Six Sigma initiative. Successful data collection starts with careful planning; a knowledge of various data types, sampling strategies, and measurement methods; and an ongoing awareness of best practices for ensuring data accuracy and integrity. Only reliable and suitable data will yield dependable analyses that translate into desired process improvements. As Six Sigma team leaders, Black Belts will help to oversee careful data collection efforts during the Measure phase of the Six Sigma DMAIC process. They will determine what should be measured, how data should be collected, and what tools can be employed to gather data as the basis for further improvements.
Learning Object ID: 8913 Estimated Time: 02 hr 00 min Description:Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) is often called the future of Six Sigma, as it is emerging as a strategy that better serves the current innovation initiatives of many industries. DFSS uses a pay me now or pay me later approach by spending more effort and time on process or product design up front to avoid spending time and effort in those areas later. Whereas Six Sigma just focuses on improving existing designs at a later stage, DFSS focuses on creating new and better products and processes from scratch. It designs virtually error-free products and services from the very beginning and, due to its complementary methodology and amazing results, it is now adopted as a key strategy in Six Sigma implementations. This course will examine how Six Sigma combines DFSS methodologies and tools to reach organizational goals. It distinguishes DFSS methodologies from those of Six Sigma, and outlines some of the key DFSS tools such as quality function deployment (QFD) and Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA). This course is aligned with the ASQ Certified Six Sigma Green Belt certification exam and is designed to assist learners as part of their exam preparation.
Learning Object ID: 17645 Estimated Time: 02 hr 00 min Description:Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) is often called the future of Six Sigma, as it is emerging as a strategy that better serves the current innovation initiatives of many industries. DFSS uses a pay me now or pay me later approach by spending more effort and time on process or product design up front to avoid spending time and effort in those areas later. Whereas Six Sigma just focuses on improving existing designs at a later stage, DFSS focuses on creating new and better products and processes from scratch. It designs virtually error-free products and services from the very beginning and, due to its complementary methodology and amazing results, it is now adopted as a key strategy in Six Sigma implementations. This course will examine how Six Sigma combines DFSS methodologies and tools to reach organizational goals. It distinguishes DFSS methodologies from those of Six Sigma, and outlines some of the key DFSS tools such as quality function deployment (QFD) and Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA). This course is aligned with the ASQ Certified Six Sigma Green Belt certification exam and is designed to assist learners as part of their exam preparation.
Learning Object ID: 17659 Estimated Time: 01 hr 30 min Description:"We are, I think, in the right road of improvement, for we are making experiments," said Benjamin Franklin. In the Improve stage of the DMAIC process, Six Sigma teams design and conduct experiments to study the nature of relationships between input variables and the response variable(s). They do this by controlling and changing the input variables and observing the effects on the response variable(s). After determining what and how much needs to be changed to meet the desired improvement, teams generate solution ideas to optimize the response, and then the ideas are tested, implemented, and validated. Later in the control stage, efforts are made to keep the improved processes, products, or services under statistical control and to retain the gains.
This course explains the basic design of experiments (DOE) concepts and outlines how to select, test, and validate improvement solutions in the final stages of a Six Sigma project. During the course, basic DOE concepts such as factors, levels, interactions, and main effects are introduced. The course also explores the full and fractional factorial designs and the DOE process. In addition, it teaches how to select, test, and validate solutions using a variety of analysis, screening, and testing tools commonly used in Six Sigma. This course is aligned with the ASQ Certified Six Sigma Green Belt certification exam and is designed to assist learners as part of their exam preparation.
Learning Object ID: 14379 Estimated Time: 01 hr 30 min Description:"We are, I think, in the right road of improvement, for we are making experiments," said Benjamin Franklin. In the Improve stage of the DMAIC process, Six Sigma teams design and conduct experiments to study the nature of relationships between input variables and the response variable(s). They do this by controlling and changing the input variables and observing the effects on the response variable(s). After determining what and how much needs to be changed to meet the desired improvement, teams generate solution ideas to optimize the response, and then the ideas are tested, implemented, and validated. Later in the control stage, efforts are made to keep the improved processes, products, or services under statistical control and to retain the gains.
Learning Object ID: 15307 Estimated Time: 02 hr 00 min Description:Six Sigma teams concluding the Analyze phase with a well-understood problem strive in the Improve phase to generate a well-designed solution. Design of experiments (DOE) is a controlled approach to experimentation that enables teams to systematically change the level of one or more input factors and observe the effects on the targeted response. If teams exercise care in choosing the right design – including suitable factors, levels, and responses – their experiments can reveal the precise combination of factors that will optimize the response. Later, that combination will be tested, validated, and ultimately implemented to effect the desired process improvement.
This course surveys the concepts that are fundamental to design of experiments methodology, including the basic elements of experiments; principles for minimizing the effects of error, noise, and aliasing; and strategies for designing experiments with a maximum of power and resolution within the practical realities of resource and time constraints. The focus is on the planning stage of DOE, when teams set experimental objectives; select the factors, levels, and responses to be studied; choose the best experimental design; and prepare to run the experiments. In describing these activities, the course explores the questions teams should consider at each stage of planning, and it provides recommendations for building a design to meet a variety of needs. This course is aligned with the ASQ Certified Six Sigma Black Belt certification exam and is designed to assist learners as part of their exam preparation. It builds on foundational knowledge that is taught in SkillSoft's ASQ-aligned Green Belt curriculum.
Learning Object ID: 17684 Estimated Time: 02 hr 00 min Description:Six Sigma teams concluding the Analyze phase with a well-understood problem strive in the Improve phase to generate a well-designed solution. Design of experiments (DOE) is a controlled approach to experimentation that enables teams to systematically change the level of one or more input factors and observe the effects on the targeted response. If teams exercise care in choosing the right design – including suitable factors, levels, and responses – their experiments can reveal the precise combination of factors that will optimize the response. Later, that combination will be tested, validated, and ultimately implemented to effect the desired process improvement.
Learning Object ID: 17671 Estimated Time: 01 hr 30 min Description:A project charter is the most important document used to initiate and manage a Six Sigma project, and it is treated as an informal contract between an organization and the Six Sigma team. The project charter articulates the problem that the Six Sigma team is going to work on, and the project's scope, goals, and objectives in very clear, specific, and measurable terms. As part of the process of developing a project charter, some performance measures such as cost, revenue, and schedule are identified and developed. Once the project is kicked off, its progress is measured and tracked on a continuous basis using popular project management tools, such as schedules, Gantt charts, and tollgate reviews.This course deals with the key issues in developing project charters and tracking a Six Sigma project. It takes you through some of the key elements of a Six Sigma project charter, including the problem statement and the project's scope, goals, and objectives. It also explains project performance measures and how to review the performance of a Six Sigma project using these measures. In addition, the course introduces common tools for tracking a project's progress and deliverables. This course is aligned with the ASQ Certified Six Sigma Black Belt certification exam and is designed to assist learners as part of their exam preparation. It builds on foundational knowledge that is taught in SkillSoft's ASQ-aligned Green Belt curriculum.