Six Sigma for Technical Processes: An Overview for R&d Executives, Technical Leaders, And Engineering Managers

by Creveling, Clyde M.

• ISBN13: 9780132382328
• ISBN10: 0132382326
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-01-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

Use Six Sigma to achieve and sustain excellence in product development and commercialization! To sustain growth and profitability, companies must tightly align product development and commercialization to fast-changing customer requirements. In this book, Clyde Creveling identifies the four process areas most crucial to doing soand shows executives and managers how to optimize each of them. Creveling introduces a Six Sigma-enabled workflow that encompasses strategic product/technology portfolio definition and development, research and technology development (R&TD), tactical design engineering processes for commercialization, and operational production and service support. He presents tools, methods, and best practices for selecting the right projects, prioritizing them, and executing them rapidly, consistently, and successfully. Integrate all key technical processes so they work together in harmony Create Phase/Gate control plans for delivering products with minimal risk Establish scorecards for risk management in technical processes Use Six Sigma tools, such as Monte Carlo and FMEA, to improve project management Bring discipline to your product and technology portfolio renewal processes Systematically optimize your commercialization processes Define stripped-down "Fast Track" processes for commercializing high-risk, high-reward opportunities Provide effective operational support after you launch your product Preview the future of "lean" and Six Sigma in technical processes Use lean techniques to streamline repeatable processes such as R&D, product design, and post-launch production engineering support Learn how to manage the risk of doing a fast track commercialization project when you really must cut corners to get a product out into the market before your opportunity evaporates Foreword by John Boselli xiii Preface xv About the Author xxi Chapter 1: Introduction to Six Sigma for Technical Processes 1 Chapter 2: Scorecards for Risk Management in Technical Processes 21 Chapter 3: Project Management in Technical Processes 35 Chapter 4: Strategic Product and Technology Portfolio Renewal Process 51 Chapter 5: Strategic Research and Technology Development Process 95 Chapter 6: Tactical Product Commercialization Process 163 Chapter 7: Fast Track Commercialization 275 Chapter 8: Operational Post-Launch Engineering Support Processes 293 Chapter 9: Future Trends in Six Sigma and Technical Processes 317 Glossary 323 Index 351

Author Biography

Clyde M. Creveling is president of Product Development Systems and Solutions (PDSS), a leading Six Sigma consulting firm.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. xiii
Preface	p. xv
About the Author	p. xxi
Introduction to Six Sigma for Technical Processes	p. 1
Scorecards for Risk Management in Technical Processes	p. 21
Project Management in Technical Processes	p. 35
Strategic Product and Technology Portfolio Renewal Process	p. 51
Strategic Research and Technology Development Process	p. 95
Tactical Product Commercialization Process	p. 163
Fast Track Commercialization	p. 275
Operational Post-Launch Engineering Support Processes	p. 293
Future Trends in Six Sigma and Technical Processes	p. 317
Glossary	p. 323
Index	p. 35
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Preface Preface What Is in This Book? This book is all about Six Sigma for technical leaders and management professionals and the processes they oversee. It is structured to be a guide for designing the flow of Six Sigma-enhanced work and measuring results within and across technical processes. The kind of Six Sigma we explore is relatively new; it is the form of Six Sigma that prevents problems within well-designed and structured technical processes. Its focus is four process arenas for enabling a business to attain a state of sustainable growth: Strategic portfolio-renewal process: product and technology portfolio definition and development Strategic R&TD process: basic research and technology development Tactical design-engineering process: product commercialization Operational production and service support engineering process: post-launch technical support for production and service engineering This book is not a comprehensive guide to all technical tasks across an enterprise. It is about the portion of those tasks that can be enhanced by Six Sigma discipline. We focus onwhat to do(major tasks enhanced by toolsets) andwhen to do it(major phases within our processes) as leaders, not as doers. The "how" part, for "doers," is a very detailed body of knowledge that can be found, in part, in our textDFSS in Technology and Product Development(by Creveling, Slutsky, and Antis; Prentice Hall, 2003). Anyone interested in how Six Sigma tools, methods, and best practices can enhance and enable these four process arenas will benefit from this new book. We believe this text will help guide the reader to structure a "lean" workflow for completing the right technical tasks using the right tools, methods, and best practices at the right time. So, yes, this book is all about "lean" Six Sigma for technical processes and the results this produces to enhance sustainable growth. This book has almost nothing to do with the older form of Six Sigma known for its five-step DMAIC process for solving problems and cleaning up quality defects. DMAIC stands for five distinct problem solving steps:Definea costly problem,measurethe process (take credible data) where the problem exists,analyzethe data to define root causes,improvethe process so that it meets requirements, and, finally,controlthe process to keep it "on target" using a control plan. Our focus migrates away from these simple five steps to the actual technical processes that are used to run a modern enterprise on a day-to-day basis. Why did I write this book? To help expand the understanding of executives, leaders, and managers beyond the kind of Six Sigma paradigm, workflow, measurement rigor, and "lean" process discipline that exist in the world of Design for Six Sigma found in our first text, previously mentioned. My text on DFSS, which came out in 2003, has become a recognized resource for R&D and product commercialization engineers--the doers.Every time we teach and mentor engineering teams on DFSS and TDFSS (technology development for Six Sigma), they ask, "Do our leaders agree with this approach and are they going to support us? Are they aware that they are flooding us with too many projects? Do they realize that our ability to really do what we do best and do it right the first time is being compromised by giving us too many projects and too little time to complete our tasks? Shouldn't they be working in front of us to assure us we have what we need to do this right? Shouldn't they prevent problems on our behalf where they have the power and resources to do so?" The answer, of course, is always "Yes, yes they should." This text will help you align with and proactively suppor