Q The final project for this course is the creation of a Process Improvement Plan. All organizations are measured by some set of goals or objectives. These goals can be established by the owners, the stockholders, or the board of trustees. To achieve these objectives, the organization establishes a series of interconnected processes, which, if designed correctly, are capable of achieving the desired result. This is equally true whether in a college admissions office or in manufacturing. However, processes that are not designed correctly mean the desired result is often not achieved and entire organizations, as a result, may not measure up to the standards of all stakeholders. All processes contain opportunities for performance improvement that, if acted upon, can result in greater efficiency for college students and manufacturers alike. Within Six Sigma, there are many improvement methods, of which the most common is DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control), which is a team-based approach to process improvement. In this project, you will develop a strategy to improve a process of your choosing, using the five phases laid out in the DMAIC method. The process you wish to improve could be something in your personal or professional life. This project will showcase your ability to apply the DMAIC phases to an actual situation. While you will not be required to follow through with the process improvement plan you design, you will still have the opportunity to identify the problem, select appropriate measurement techniques, determine appropriate analysis techniques, develop possible solutions, and outline a control plan. Your will document and submit your work in a clear and well-organized process improvement plan. The project is divided into four milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Three, Four, Five, and Six. The final plan will be submitted in Module Seven. In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes: • Articulate specific, measurable goals and objectives that address identified operational process problems within appropriate scope, resource, and timeline constraints • Determine the appropriate data analysis tools relevant to process improvement for identifying gaps in current and desired processes • Prioritize the most prominent causes of operational inefficiencies through an analysis of operational problems • Develop appropriate, feasible solutions that are strategically designed to solve the root causes of operational problems • Recommend basic quality tools for measuring the effectiveness of process improvement project outcomes Prompt Before you develop your process improvement plan utilizing DMAIC, you will need to select process in your life that you would like to improve. This may be a process that is related to your work environment, or you may just want to get out of the house faster in the morning. Regardless of what you choose, it needs to be a process that you are extremely familiar with, as you will not actually be collecting data. Ensure that you consider the critical elements below before selecting the process you would like to improve. Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed: I. Executive Summary: Compose an executive summary that explains the purpose of your project and highlights the key information from each section of your process improvement plan. II. Define: In this section, you will apply the first step of the DMAIC model. Describe the problem you are trying to solve or the process you are trying to improve. You will also need to define the specific goals of the project and describe the scope of the project. A. Describe your selected problem to be solved or process to be improved and why it is appropriate for the DMAIC model. B. Based on your description of the problem, clearly define the goals of your process improvement plan. C. Describe the scope of the project and support your description with relevant information. For example, your relevant information might include timelines, resources, or team members. III. Measure: In this section, you will apply the second step of the DMAIC model. Compare the current state of the process you are hoping to improve to how you would like it to run. You will also determine what you will need to measure and how you intend to collect, and baseline, your data. A. Based on your goals, determine what you will need to measure, and identify the appropriate tools for collecting your data. B. Based on the type of data you intend to collect, select appropriate statistics to baseline the data. C. Based on the measurement tools and statistical tools you have selected, describe the gap between the current and desired process. IV. Analyze: In this section, you will apply the third step of the DMAIC model. Use a fishbone analysis to determine potential root causes of the problem you have identified. You will then prioritize those root causes and select appropriate hypothesis tests to validate those potential root causes. A. Conduct a fishbone analysis to identify potential root causes of the problem you have identified. B. Prioritize the potential root causes of the problem based on your fishbone analysis. C. Based on your prioritization, select appropriate hypothesis tests to validate the problem’s likely root causes. V. Improve: In this section, you will apply the fourth step of the DMAIC model. Develop possible solutions to address the root causes you have identified. Additionally, you will discuss the risks associated with each possible solution and create an implementation plan for those solutions. A. Based on the hypothesis tests you have selected, develop feasible solutions to address the likely root causes of the problem. B. Identify the risks associated with each solution and describe how you will mitigate those risks. C. Create a feasible implementation plan for the solutions you have developed. Your implementation plan might acknowledge resource, scope, or timeline constraints. VI. Control: In this section, you will apply the fifth step of the DMAIC model. Select quality tools to measure the effectiveness of the solutions you have developed. You will also outline a control plan to monitor the solutions and develop a control chart to assess the stability of the improvement solutions over time. A. Select appropriate quality assurance tools to measure the effectiveness of the solutions you have developed. B. Outline a feasible control plan to monitor the possible solutions you have developed. C. Develop a control chart that you could use to effectively assess the stability of the improvements over time. Milestones Milestone One: Define Tollgate In Module Three, you will submit your Define tollgate. Apply the first step of the DMAIC cycle to your selected problem or process, and document your results. Ensure your problem statement addresses the following: states the problem, when it was observed, how long it has been occurring, and what is the business impact of not resolving it. In addition, you must complete a Supplier, Input, Process, Output, Customer (SIPOC) table and include your Voice of the Customer requirements translated to a measurable metric. This milestone is graded with the Milestone One Rubric. Milestone Two: Measure Tollgate In Module Four, you will submit your Measure tollgate. Apply the second step of the DMAIC cycle to your selected problem or process, and document your results. Compare the current state of the process you are hoping to improve to how you would like it to run. You will also determine what you will need to measure and how you intend to collect, and baseline, your data. Create a process map, characterize each step, and summarize these results. This milestone is graded with the Milestone Two Rubric. Milestone Three: Analyze Tollgate In Module Five, you will submit your Analyze tollgate. Apply the third step of the DMAIC cycle to your selected problem or process, and document your results. Revise your project charter as required, create a cause-effect diagram, and identify the potential root cause of the problem. This milestone is graded with the Milestone Three Rubric. Milestone Four: Improve Tollgate In Module Six, you will submit your Improve tollgate. Apply the fourth step of the DMAIC cycle to your selected problem or process, and document your results. Develop possible solutions to address the root causes you have identified. Additionally, you will discuss the risks associated with each possible solution and create an implementation plan for those solutions. Revise the project charter as required, outline the feasibility, cost, and effect of each proposed solution, and develop your implementation plan. This milestone is graded with the Milestone Four Rubric. Final Submission: Process Improvement Plan In Module Seven, you will submit final project, including the Control tollgate. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This submission will be graded using the Final Project Rubric.