

In that situation, the fastest thinking senior leaders focused first on ‘defective lithium batteries’ and second on ‘defective memory chips’ provided by their suppliers as the cause of the OOBF.
#Six sigma math answers upgrade
For a down-to-earth example, see the case study “ Product Upgrade Pre-launch Out of Box Failure (OOBF)”. The rush to judgment is not confined to space flight programs. That timetable is inevitably short, but it’s not milliseconds short. For that reason, NASA emphasized “fast thinking but slow action,” recognizing the timetable available for deciding and acting on a solution. Sub-titled “The First Answer is Always Wrong,” the section describes “the tendency of flight controllers to want to solve every problem within milliseconds of seeing something happening in their system.” Frequently, however, the first observed anomaly is not by itself indicative of the underlying cause other observations have to be made that in most cases lead to a small number of possibilities from which to choose a course of action. The book, Shuttle, Houston! My Life in the Center Seat of Mission Control, by Paul Dye, (Hachette Books, 2020) has a thought-provoking section about problem solving during manned space flight missions in the Space Shuttle program. I don’t want to be there when your VP of Operations presses you about how you’re planning to resolve the 84% failure rate at final test on your new product pilot build, and you offer up answer (d) or (e)! Sometimes the best answer is to do nothing. Prioritize, if there are multiple problems. For example, one of the most widely available PM training courses offers this 6-step approach to problem solving in your project. How about available Project Manager training? What about continuous improvement? Even less, it turns out.

Good – that’s an excellent source of information! Let’s see what it says about problem solving. And your ability to know and plan fully for all of them in advance is zero!Ĭhances are you have a PMP® certification, and access to the project manager’s most cited reference, the PMBOK®. The number of possible problems that can occur during your project is infinite. Here’s some disconcerting news you probably already know. In short, from working hard to working smart.

♦ From accepting project delays, to having confidence that early delays can be recovered ♦ From over-reliance on one expert, to building skills across the business ♦ From patching symptoms, to permanently solving problems Learning, applying, and mastering certain Lean Six Sigma PM techniques advances the team and business organization in several ways: LSS continuous improvement methods – PDSA, kaizen, 5-Why, and others – can be proactively applied to manage project flow, minimize schedule disruptions, recover time lost in early project phases, and document decisions and actions taken. Following LSS practices helps teams move methodically from observed symptoms to drill down to the source of problems, in order to implement permanent solutions. Lean Six Sigma (LSS) problem solving tools – 8D analysis, cause-effect analysis, root cause and corrective action, and others – provide a disciplined approach to solving complex technical problems.
#Six sigma math answers verification
A design verification test may fail a supplier may be late delivering a critical piece of process or test equipment a competitor may announce a new product feature that will adversely affect your new product’s market acceptance.įurthermore, any change project involves uncertainties in the planning stage that, during execution, may result in schedule slips, resource allocation conflicts, and/or unforeseen costs.

Complex technical change projects are inherently risky problems will arise that may not have been considered during risk planning.
