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Six Sigma provides a road map for this. Not every problem needs to have a master statistician overseeing its' analysis. In a transactional environment, it's amazing how much can be gained by simply applying the fundamental principles and simply adjusting your SOP's. By the way, are any of you familiar with the Stat-A-Pult?

You mean the Air Force launcher used to show variation. I played with that in a classs a couple of years ago. Six Sigma has its value and place but like any problem solving process it can be oversold. I think GE has cooled on Six Sigma since Welch left, am I right?

I haven't heard that it cooled since Jack left but from what I know it is now so ingrained into the culture of the company that it doesn't matter. Ultimately, that's the true measure of success. Six Sigma is really about establishing a default way of thinking and organizing processes that is based on verifiable data, simply presented. My problem as the Six Sigma Manager for ____ of Canada is that if I do my job properly in about 3 years I will have made myself redundant. No one will need me or anyone else standing over them saying "Show Me The Data!", it will just be the way things are done.

I have had the most significant success by applying the simplest fundamentals of the methodolgy on intitiatives that were going to be undertaken anyway. It allows one to drive to a particular redesign and prove (or if necessary refute) the validity of the decisions. It ain't rocket science and it doesn't need to be presented that way. People who do that are trying to puff themselves up.

It's real simple:

How do we do this today and how often do we get things right?
What are the things about the way we do things today that could cause us to fail in our mission?
How well are we doing in relation to our targets and our customers' expectations?
How can we reduce the variability in the process and get things right the first time on purpose?
How will we evaluate whether our efforts are improving the process?
How much time or money or both are we saving the company by redesigning the process?

There of course is the hidden questions surrounding risk of change, what happens if we do nothing, etc. But the main point is as a way of approaching a problem or challenge Six Sigma offers some very interesting approaches.

Oh, sorry. I got carried away. Yeah, the guy that taught me to use the Stat-A-Pult was a former math and stats instructor for the USAF. Best d*mned trainer I ever experienced in my life, and as someone who is considered (all modesty aside) not so bad at it himself I mean that as a big compliment