I stumbled upon this interesting information as I was surfing the web for good Six Sigma resource.
The paper starts with a discussion on the trends of Six Sigma methodology and how is it when viewed through TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) lens. Then it went on to discuss how the 1 Page-Creative Template, also called the Six Sigma Brainstorming Pool, will benefit Six Sigma deployments.
One interesting part in the paper is the A1 Page-Map of Innovation Patterns for the Six Sigma Methodology. Look at the figure below.
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The 1 Page-Map of Innovation Patterns, which reflects the concept of 360° innovation, is basically a graph in which customer delight is plotted against pain. All possible innovation patterns are covered in the figure. Innovation patterns, which relate to TRIZs Inventive Principles, are shown in appendix A. The TRIZ principles can be regarded as more detailed descriptions of innovation patterns that are found predominantly in technical systems. The 9 zones are given metaphorical but meaningful names in order to facilitate referencing; the description of the central (shaded) cell or Octopus Zone is omitted for clarity. The map is a 3×3 rectangular fractal in the sense that each zone can be regarded as a 3×3 map of innovation with similar descriptions for the 9 zones. In this article, the focus is on the 3×3 map as represented in the figure.
From the figure, the predominant direction in the evolution of Six Sigma is towards the Lion Zone, that is, the addition of tools and combination with other methodologies to make Six Sigma more powerful. In general, the range, application, and functionality of the Six Sigma methodology have increased but the pain (in terms of complexity as well as the time and cost of learning additional tools) has also increased. The latter effect is undesirable.
On the opposite end of the evolutionary spectrum, that is in the Minnow Zone in the figure, are variants of Six Sigma which are the results of removing parts and tools from classic Six Sigma. The focus of Six Sigma variants in the Minnow zone is to provide a simplified (less quantitative) view of Six Sigma and its principal tools. The aim is not to tactically apply Six Sigma but to gain an understanding of the philosophy and principles of Six Sigma in order to better position a business and develop strategies for competitive advantage. This approach is sometimes called “Strategic Six Sigma.”
Source:
TRIZ Journal
