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About this lesson

A Lean Six Sigma Black Belt will often chair the stage gate review meetings for Lean Six Sigma projects. In those meetings, the Black Belt needs to ensure the work of the phase was done and the tools were used effectively. This lesson reviews the normal deliverables due at the Analyze stage gate review. It also includes hints and tips for identifying problems to be avoided during that phase.

Quick reference

Analyze Stage Deliverables

The Analyze Stage is the third stage of a Lean Six Sigma project.  The deliverables from this stage clarify the root causes of the problem that was described in the problem statement.

When to use

The Analyze Stage deliverables should be reviewed and approved at the Analyze Stage Gate Review meeting.

Instructions

Throughout the Analzye Stage, the Lean Six Sigma team investigates the problem to identify all the root causes.  The causes are normally consolidated into a prioritized list that is reviewed during the Analyze Stage Gate Review. This list will first list any special cause root causes followed by a prioritized list of the common cause factors that contribute to the problem.  With respect to the process map or value stream map, the analysis will be able to isolate the process steps with waste and inefficiency.  The final result of the Analyze Stage Review is agreement on the list of causes that will be addressed going into the Improve stage.

The Define stage identified the Big Y of the Y = f(x) equation.  The Measure stage captured the list of “x” factors.  Now in the Analyze stage, the analysis will determine how these “x” factors combine to create the “Y” response.  Essentially, this stage defines the “f” functional relationships.  Also, at this time the equation can be used to help to set a reasonable performance target for improvement. 

The major challenge in this stage is the team and stakeholders racing to solutions before they have finished the analysis.   The team wants to solve the problem and they are anxious to do so.  As a Black Belt, you will need to manage the process to ensure they don’t jump to a solution before they have identified the true root causes.  This early jump normally leads to an ineffective solution.  Ensure the team is methodical about completing the analysis. Questions you often must work through during the gate review meeting:

  • What analysis was used to determine the root cause(s)?  Is that the right analytical tool and what is the accuracy of the result? What was the hypothesis and what was determined in the hypothesis test?
  • Are there Special Causes or Common Causes?  Is it a one-of-a-kind unusual event, or inherent in the process design and management?
  • Are these all the primary causes of the defect?  Did you check all the hypothesized root causes, or did you stop at the first one?
  • What is the target for improvement? Why do you believe that is reasonable and impactful?

Hints & tips

  • Don’t get lost and overwhelmed by the data.  Start with some visualization – they will often highlight areas of focus.
  • If you find a special cause, remove it, collect more data, and determine if the common cause factors are also contributing to the problem.
  • Based on the analysis, you may find that you need to collect additional data to pursue a hypothesis.  This is normal.  I often go through two or three rounds of data collection and analysis to isolate and understand the root causes.
  • When doing an analysis of the value stream map, be tough on value-added time.  Process operators and managers often want to claim time that is associated with how they manage the process.  This is not value added to the customer.  Challenge these items – they will often lead to a different and better way to manage the process.
  • Watch out for the tendency to declare success prematurely.  Check for all the root causes, not just the first one.  When you have the full list, you may be able to create a solution that addresses multiple problems at once and not address them in isolation.
  • When setting a target for improvement, I often start with the 50% rule. Reduce the current defect rate or cycle time by 50%. If the data warrants a higher value go with that, but I try to at least have a target of 50% improvement on the defect. A comment on cycle time, this means that I want to reduce the non-value-added time by 50%. That does not necessarily equate to a total cycle time reduction of 50%.
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  • 00:04 Hi, this is Ray Sheen.
  • 00:06 I want to summarize this section by discussing the analyze stage deliverables
  • 00:10 and some of the challenges that you may encounter while those are being developed.
  • 00:15 Let's start by looking at the gate review and
  • 00:17 what is required to get through this meeting.
  • 00:20 The focus of the gate review is to present a list of
  • 00:23 the root causes that contribute to the problem or defect.
  • 00:27 Now, this list is supposed to be an analysis, so
  • 00:30 it's not a topic to be debated, rather it's a list to be explained.
  • 00:34 That means that our critical takeaway is the list in a prioritized order,
  • 00:39 which is the root causes are the major contributors to the problem.
  • 00:43 Since the list has been prioritized, and you have data to support every item
  • 00:48 on the list, the only question to decide at the meeting is how many and
  • 00:52 which of the root causes will be addressed in the next phase?
  • 00:56 That's essentially a time and money question the stakeholders need to decide.
  • 01:00 The biggest risk you need to watch out for at this gate review is instant engineering
  • 01:05 on the part of the stakeholders who may want to jump to a solution.
  • 01:08 At this gate, all we've determined is the prioritized list of root causes and
  • 01:14 a decision on how many to address.
  • 01:16 In the next stage, we'll create solutions and
  • 01:19 then demonstrate that those actually do address these root causes.
  • 01:24 As you prepare for the gate review,
  • 01:26 you need to ask several questions to be certain the team has thoroughly done
  • 01:30 the work that needs to be completed in this stage.
  • 01:33 What analysis was used to determine the root cause?
  • 01:37 How strong was the analytical proof of the cause?
  • 01:40 The p-value of the hypothesis test, or the summary and ratios of a value stream map.
  • 01:46 Are they special causes or common causes?
  • 01:48 This will often have a major impact on the nature of the improvement, so
  • 01:53 the stakeholders need to know if the process must change or
  • 01:57 if they are putting a control around it.
  • 02:00 Are these all the primary causes of the defect?
  • 02:03 Do these root causes account for the magnitude and
  • 02:05 timing of the problem of the defect?
  • 02:08 You don't want to stop at the first cause you find,
  • 02:10 you want to make sure you've identified all the major causes.
  • 02:14 As we've done on the previous phases, we have a flow chart of the activities for
  • 02:18 this phase.
  • 02:19 Essentially, what we are saying is that we decide what type of analysis to conduct,
  • 02:24 do the analysis, and then determine if the analysis gave you results showing
  • 02:29 it's a root cause, or do you need to do more analysis?
  • 02:32 Also, based on your analysis, you may need to update the probability portion
  • 02:37 of the FMEA for particular failure mode.
  • 02:40 Of course, you don't want to hold a gate review if you're not ready, so
  • 02:44 let's look at the typical criteria for what is needed for successful gate review.
  • 02:49 Based upon the analysis of the value stream map and your understanding of
  • 02:53 the magnitude of the common cause and special cause variation, you can finally
  • 02:58 put a realistic measurable target for improvement in front of the stakeholders.
  • 03:02 You can hopefully eliminate the special causes, but there will always be some
  • 03:07 level of common cause variation and this is the time to acknowledge that level.
  • 03:11 If the data indicates there's a special cause, you've identified it.
  • 03:15 And of course, for the common causes, you've determined the level of normal
  • 03:19 variation in the current process and whether that level is acceptable or not.
  • 03:24 Also, the process map and
  • 03:25 value stream map have been analyzed to identify the process flow problems.
  • 03:30 This means the waste in the system and how it contributed to the problem.
  • 03:35 The waste was often one of the common cause problems in the process.
  • 03:39 With the analysis, the team can now put together a relationship of the input or
  • 03:44 x factors that leads to the process big Y.
  • 03:47 That means that you have characterized the function, and
  • 03:50 now you can state the Y=F(x)relationship.
  • 03:53 So let's wrap this up.
  • 03:55 The primary thing to show at this gate is a prioritized list of root causes.
  • 04:00 The top of the list will be the special causes.
  • 04:02 After that, you should prioritize common causes based upon the impact
  • 04:07 they have on the customer CTQ.
  • 04:09 Once again, I will give you a few hints and
  • 04:12 tips to help you get through this stage and have a successful stage gate meeting.
  • 04:17 First, use data visualizations to help you with analysis.
  • 04:21 These are a better way to communicate with the stakeholders than with statistical
  • 04:25 measures.
  • 04:26 That doesn't mean you don't do the statistics,
  • 04:29 just let the visualisation guide your work.
  • 04:31 Look for the special causes first, find them and eliminate them,
  • 04:36 then do another set of measurements so
  • 04:38 you can understand what the magnitude of the common cause variation truly is.
  • 04:43 It's likely you will need to go through several rounds of analysis and
  • 04:47 data collection.
  • 04:48 After eliminating special causes, you need to collect more data.
  • 04:52 And when doing your analysis, you often find an aspect of the process that you
  • 04:56 didn't think about initially, but has now become suspect.
  • 05:00 Once again, more data may be needed.
  • 05:02 Be tough when considering the amount of value-added time in a process.
  • 05:07 The process operators and managers tend to inflate this
  • 05:10 number because they know how much work they actually put into the process, but
  • 05:15 often most of that work is to accommodate process weaknesses.
  • 05:19 Only count the time that is actually contributing to customer value when
  • 05:23 determining the value-added portion of the map.
  • 05:26 It's easy to fall into the trap of declaring victory as soon as you find
  • 05:30 a major contributor, especially if it's a special cause.
  • 05:33 Keep checking to make sure that you understand all
  • 05:37 the major contributors to the problem, including the common causes.
  • 05:41 As a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt,
  • 05:43 it's your job to make sure that all of the critical root causes have been identified.
  • 05:48 The solution won't be effective if you solve the wrong problem.

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