Six Sigma Forum Magazine vol. 6 issue 1 - November 2006
Abstract: Project oriented deployment of teams to solve well-defined problems is core to Six Sigma, and project definitions stated in the project charter specify the deliverables. But expected deliverables are often vague and poorly stated, resulting in divergent views of what constitutes a successful project. Using a grounded theory approach, a study of several Six Sigma projects in healthcare showed that 90 percent fell into six generic project categories. A set of standard templates was developed to facilitate the formulation of specific project deliverables for each of the six generic project categories. A sample of 100 projects at hospitals in the Netherlands and Belgium illustrate the generic project types encountered in practice. Developing a simple set of problem categories and corresponding templates for Six Sigma projects in healthcare makes it easier and more economical to conduct the projects. A sidebar article offers hospital implementation examples.
Keywords: Healthcare industry - Problem solving - Project selection - Quality Improvement Team (QIT) - Quality improvement (QI) - Six Sigma - DMAIC
