Editor’s note: The first installment of Scott Cornish’s series on process improvement appeared in the July issue of Newspapers & Technology. In this, the fifth installment, Cornish talks about the foundations supporting Six Sigma process improvement.

This month we’re going to start along the process improvement path. It is critical to get off on the right foot. You have probably heard a variation on this phrase many times, but a project well defined is a project well on its way to being solved.

First, it is important to spend sufficient but not excessive time at this step. It is sort of like the Goldilocks analogy, “not too hot, not too cold, etc.” As you will see, you need to accurately define the problem and establish the project’s scope. To do that, you must start on the correct path.

Second, you and your team should have some general and specialized knowledge, along with appropriate experience, to drive the project. I’m going to assume that senior management or some other entity has designated team members. At a minimum, it is important to have a team leader, a note taker and a scribe (see “Launching a successful process improvement project,” http://www.newsandtech.com/ issues/2006/10-06/nt/10-06_cornish.htm, Newspapers & Technology, October 2006).

The Web has additional information about the criteria these individuals should have.

Third, all team members must have an open mind with no preconceived assumptions or ideas on what the outcome should be. It’s also important for all team members to agree initially to take a “let’s give it a shot” approach. Realize, however, there will undoubtedly be a number of twists, turns, detours and dead-ends along the way.

Fourth, you may need to seek some training as you progress. This series can help, but clearly, it cannot cover everything you might need to know. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to e-mail me at the address below.

Finally, a last important note: If you follow generally accepted Six Sigma practices, have a Black Belt and some Green Belts to lead and participate with the project. While that is the most ideal, many newspaper production process improvement projects won’t require that depth of involvement from experts. That said, let’s get started.

Project Management

A process improvement project, whether using formal Six Sigma techniques, or another technique, requires efficient and effective project management. I will not go into depth on this important subject here. There are plenty of resources available that explain effective project management.

Project Charter

According to Donald W. Benbow and T.M. Kubiak in their Certified Six Sigma Black Belt Handbook, a project charter “is a document stating the purposes of the project. It serves as an informal contract that helps the team stay on track with the goals of the enterprise.”

The Quality Council of Indiana lists some key points that should be covered in a charter:

*Business case, which is a summary of the strategic reasons for the project.

*Problem statement, which details the issue that the team wants to improve.

*Project scope, which refers to the boundaries of the project.

*Goal statement, which will be created and agreed to by the team and team champion.

*Role of team members, to ensure that the team is comprised of qualified people with sufficient expertise to carry off the team’s charter.

*Milestones, to keep the project on track with        deliverables (end products of the project).

*Resources required, such as people, equipment, machinery and other components.

A project charter is important, but it doesn’t have to be an elaborate exercise. Keep these points in mind:

*Answer the key points with no more than a sentence or two. After all, we are going to start small.

*Spend about 10 to 15 minutes at the most on each.

*Have a team member write a draft of the points in memo form, then share the document with the team.

*Meet again, then finish the charter and share it with the newspaper’s senior management for their blessing.

I want to make a crucial point. I am not minimizing the importance of the charter. It is very important and will be referred to many, many times during the project. What I don’t want you to do is spend an inordinate amount of time on this. The purpose of the project is to solve a problem, not create a charter.

Project Definition

Of the items listed above, it is most crucial to complete this first. If you recall, I suggested in an earlier article you select as a process improvement project something that causes some slight pain to the organization. Moreover, it should be a project production is directly responsible for and one that affects the main departments of the newspaper. Given that, I’d like to use this objective as an example: “Examine the processes of production and distribution to ensure a home delivery time of no later than 6 a.m.”

This is a general goal, but there should be no confusion about the expected outcome.

This problem definition statement strikes the right balance for the scope of an initial project. Some statements are too broad, such as this one: “to reduce home delivery problems.” Other statements are too narrow and restrictive.

Seven quality tools

The next step is to gather information. At this point, we will use some of what are commonly known as the “Seven Classic Quality Tools.”  They are simple but powerful.  Below is a list of each of the seven tools along with a brief description, according to The Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence Handbook, 3rd Edition:

*Flowchart, a map of the sequence of steps and decision points in a process. Flowcharting a process is a good starting point for a team, as it helps the group gain a common understanding of what is involved in the process.

*Check sheet, or tally sheet, is a tool for gathering information on root causes. Check sheets are used to gather data on the frequency or occurrence of particular events or defects, and must be designed to gather the specific information needed.

*A cause-and-effect, or C-E diagram, also known as an Ishikawa diagram, after its developer, Kaoru Ishikawa. It’s used to show the many different causes that may contribute to a particular problem. In a C-E diagram, the problem (the effect) is stated in a box at the right side of the chart and the likely causes are listed around major categories that can lead to the effect.

*Pareto chart, based on the work of Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who, in the 19th century, noted that 80 percent of the wealth in Italy was held by 20 percent of the population. Quality expert Joseph Juran took that principle to other applications, noting that 80 percent of the variation in a process is caused by roughly 20 percent of the variables; he labeled these variables the vital few, as opposed the to trivial many.  A Pareto chart graphically shows this.

*Control chart, which serves two vital purposes as a data-gathering tool: It shows when a process is influenced by special causes, creating an out-of-control condition; and indicates how a process behaves over time.

*Histograms, a graphical representation of the frequency distribution of data. The histogram allows detection of distributions that do not demonstrate a typical bell-shaped curve and show how the process spread and central tendency relate to process specifications.

*Scatter diagram, which shows whether there is a correlation between two variables. Correlation does not necessarily mean a direct cause-and-effect relationship, however. If it appears that values for one of the variables can be predicted based on the value of another variable, then there is correlation.

Some of the terminology above may be unfamiliar. Don’t worry about that right now. Next month, I will begin to cover each of the seven tools in depth with examples tied to our 6 am delivery project.

Scott Cornish has more than 20 years’ experience in production and quality assurance at newspapers large and small. He can be contacted via e-mail at scott@practicalprocessimprovement.com.