I have talked about Six Sigma tools and deployment but have not dealt on some timeframe for such initiatives. Since Six Sigma requires about 20,000 times improvement to go from 3 Sigma; or 66,807 defects per million opportunities (DPMO) to 6 Sigma; or 3.4 DPMO, it needs a breakthrough performance. We therefore need to perform such improvement at a fast pace; otherwise it would take several lifetimes to achieve a Six Sigma level performance.
According to the article Innovation: the Key To a Successful Project, a breakthrough performance requires innovation.
The article went on to cite Clayton M. Christensen and Michael R. Raynor’s The Innovator’s Solution, which emphasized sustained innovation to achieve business growth. The main innovation tools include TRIZ, an acronym for the Russian theory of innovation, or brainstorming package.
Practitioners must incorporate innovation to DMAIC. To develop innovative thinking, they must challenge the obvious. To solve a problem, they need to think of different ways problems are created. Some common steps to innovative thinking include:
1. Visualizing the problem in different ways, from different angles.
2. Representing your thoughts in visuals.
3. Thinking fast and frequently.
4. Trying different combinations.
5. Investigating the opposite side.
6. Thinking beyond the known.
7. Looking for disconnects.
8. Looking for ignorance.
9. Thinking in teams and building on others’ ideas.
You must also remember that innovation often starts out with being able to generate new ideas. The article further suggests that you learn to think about the ideas behind successful products or processes. Learn from others’ success stories by understanding the premise behind the success story. The following are activities to generate new ideas:
a. Look for ideas continually.
b. Never criticize; wonder.
c. Imagine uncharted territories.
d. Roam around the world in your mind.
e. Visualize situations.
f. Handle multiple variables.
g. Prioritize a combination of variables.
All these cannot be achieved without training and communicating expectations and objectives among others.
Innovation: the Key To a Successful Project
