We all know that Six Sigma has a life-changing effect on organizations that decide to adopt it. Because Six Sigma requires a huge change in operations and overall culture, some organizations cannot even take off.
Over at iSixSigma, Prasad Raje discusses a Maturity Model that shows clearly the stages that companies go through during a Six Sigma deployment.
Called the Six Sigma Maturity Model, it outlines five levels along various axes and describes the evolution of the organization along these axes as it progresses through the levels:
- Launch – This is the starting point – wherein an initial few visionaries in the organization launch Six Sigma, training is initiated and projects are begun. A top-down kind of launch will be better.
- Early Success – The initial projects are yielding results and early successes are being achieved. This is a critical “show me” stage, where it is important for the early successes to be made visible so the rest of the organization can see the real impact from Six Sigma.
- Scale and Replication – The early success has led to other parts of the organization buying in to Six Sigma and a broader launch of projects is under way.
- Institutionalization – Throughout many parts of the company, projects are yielding broad-based financial impact. There is enough financial impact from projects in each organization that meaningful comparisons can be made between organizations on average project impact, average cycle time, total impact, etc.
- Culture Transformation – Six Sigma is part of the organizational DNA, financial impact is sustained and the Six Sigma culture is pervasive – even beyond the Six Sigma practitioners and beyond the company boundaries. The culture has become data-driven, process- and metrics-oriented and focused on financial impact.
There is value in this Maturity Model because it captures the basic, real issues that companies encounter. By being aware of these levels, organizations can somehow prepare for the eventualities, and will make the key players more ready to tackle the coming changes.
*Photo credit: MorgueFile.com
