Designing efficient Six Sigma experiments for service process improvement projects

Author: Kovach, Jami

Source: International Journal of Six Sigma and Competitive Advantage, Volume 3, Number 1, 24 April 2007 , pp. 72-90(19)

Publisher: Inderscience Publishers

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Abstract:

The Six Sigma and Design for Six Sigma methodologies often use experiments to improve product or service quality. However in many situations, there are several challenges associated with planning and designing experiments. Specifically for service industries, the qualitative nature of the parameters involved in quality improvement often causes project teams to struggle with how to design effective experiments that are manageable in both size and cost. To address this issue, we propose the development of a new Six Sigma design/improvement methodology in which the quality function deployment process is used to narrow the scope of experimental factors. The purpose of this method is to provide a systematic method for choosing between potentially important factors, in order to facilitate the design, execution, and analysis of experiments in service sectors. To illustrate the proposed approach, we provide a numerical example concerning a quality improvement project for a banking operation.

Keywords: TECHNICAL JOURNALS; Design and Product Development; MANAGEMENT JOURNALS; Operational Management, Marketing and Services

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJSSCA.2007.013390

Affiliations: 1: Department of Information and Logistics Technology, College of Technology, University of Houston, 312 Technology Building, Houston, TX 77204, USA

Publication date: 2007-04-24

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