Why Define?

Like morning leads the day, a well defined well scoped six sigma project is more likely to be completed and lead to savings. The project that has directly started at the Measure and Analyze phase has the potential to be ditched as investigation of the current problem may open a can of worms (not literally) which would divert attention from the original goal. In the real world, driven by day to day pains and need for instant fixes, lots of projects will commence with the Measurement and analysis and Improve pooled together in one giant step. This is great when the X’s (inputs) are small in number and their impacts on the Y (output /outputs) is clearly known. But how often is that the case?? More often then not a significant amount of head scratching is done before one can unveil the right X’s (inputs) and have a clear understanding of their impacts on the Y (outputs). I wanted to write about is the importance of Define in the DMAIC model of Six Sigma .

The Define phase consists of a lot of qualitative tools like project charter, problem statement, flow mapping, CTX charts etc... Why are they important? Because they help identify and nail down
What problem we are trying to address (Houston, we have a problem!)
Who are the team members? (The short straw pickers!)
What is the scope? (Let’s not try to boil the ocean!)
What is the current state? (We have always done it this way!)
What is the dollar equivalent benefit of the project? (it is always about the money !)
Why are we doing it? (The money that is being spent because we are miles away from our target!)
What is our goal ? (the utopic perfect world)

As we are all humans and we tend to have miscommunications , it is important to answer all of the above questions and have them down on a piece of paper, pdf file , .doc, .ppt , hey whatever makes you happy to have a “goto” document when we have those questions on why are we doing what we are doing ? This also helps build consensus about our current state , our desired future state and the goals.

In the Define phase we also have discoveries which we never thought existed which typically come in the process flow mapping and value stream mapping tools. Why do we have discoveries? Because in the day to day running of operations we are focused on getting the job done, we do not necessarily stop and analyze why are we doing it this way. The discoveries that we have explain some of the drivers of variation and non value added work.

In the multi roles, that an employee has to play at work it is hard to remember every minute detail .Define phase also acts as a refresher to all of the team members about the process and sometime this review process, causes team member to look at the process with a fresh pair of eyes .

Therefore to conclude, always try and use the Define tools as they can enable to build consensus, enabler for crystal clear two way communication, enabler for discoveries and also to stop and take a fresh look. . This will help keep the eyes on the ball, and help complete projects and translate completed projects into good bottom line savings for the organization. When you are trying to eat a elephant, you have to eat it piece by piece, which is why scoping is very critical for project success.

Make it Visual

The term make it visual is often utilized by P.I.P.’s (people who make their living from utilizing tools of process improvement).These people also speak fancy statistical terms(ANOVA, T test , regression) , a sprinkling of Japanese words(Gemba , Kaizen, Poka Yoka) and the word “add value” is most used. This makes me think that if we actually added a half a percent of value every time we said the “word”, all of the processes in this universe would be at least 90% efficient and we would have excess money left over for research for cancer and the multitude of diseases that mankind does not know how to fix …

Coming back to the point, one of the goals of the Toyota production system is to make processes and work as simple as possible. One of the tools used to make work easier is to take elements in the process and make them very visual. ‘

Ø An example, in the case of driving on the freeway, we have white stripes separating lanes which are an easy visual for the driver to follow and stay in his/her lane.
Ø Mile indicators indicating how far you have traveled and overhead signs , helping decide what exit one needs to take to reach their destination.
Ø Speed limit signs which define what is your maximum and minimum permissible speed.
Ø In the automobile , one has their gas gage telling you how much gas is left in the tank enabling you to make a decision whether you need to fill gas or not.

How can we apply this concept to our daily lives? Keys , we cannot live without our keys .They could be office keys, car keys, house keys , garage keys desk keys and I could go on and on . I personally carry about 7-8 keys on me all the time . So how do I ensure that I waste minimum time looking for these keys every time I leave the house. I place my bunch on a basket that holds the keys right at the door so that every time I leave the house they are right there in the basket , next to the door. You could also have a key holder with a label identifying what the key is used for.

One might think that why do I need to spend time to organize well the answer is simple , it saves you money in the long run , it is not just the minutes you save every time. For something which is not very expensive , it is also human tendency to buy and replace , which means time that could have been spent somewhere else is spent in the activity of traveling to the store , looking for a replacement , buying a replacement and keeping it in a disorganized manner only to repeat the vicious cycle all over again. So do yourself a favor make it visual and let the funds stay in your account.

Another good example are monthly bills, if one has a paper calendar , you can easily highlight the dates, when you have to have the bills paid by .This can be done a year/six months in advance .Just circle the day of the month with a red sharpie and identify why the date has been highlighted .This will ensure that bills are always paid on time and the gas company does not need to send out a collection agency for you. It is part of normal human common cause variation to forget , making it visual minimizes damages as a result of the forgotten elements and sometimes error proofs basic mistakes.


That’s all I had for now so folks remember “make it visual”

Joke tones Anyone??

Ladies and Gentlemen, friends and foes I have finally done it…This is the defining moment of my life. I have crossed over to the world of Inventors….you are probably wondering: what?? What the hell have you invented? How dare you Master’s graduate make such a big claim…so before you get all hot and insecure…let me explain….

This did not come to me when an apple fell on my head or when I was flying a kite in the presence of lightning, this flash of brilliance came to me when I was laughing my backside off at the vintage Bengali comic –Bhanu …if the name does not ring a bell, he is a Bengali comedian from the golden era of Bengali cinema. Most Bengalis of my generation have heard his comedy tapes at some point of time in life. He has the “bangaal’ accent which is the style of Bengali spoken in Bangladesh which adds to the comic element. He has some refreshing perspectives on the social environment that most Bengalis live in.

Ok so enough gyaan what are joke tones? As the name suggests it is a 15-25 second audio clip in a Mp3 format that serves as a ringtone or it is the acoustic vibration that energizes the air particles to generate sensible audible sound within the human hearing range to alert the human owner of the wireless communication device that the human (hopefully!!) owner of another wireless device wants to communicate while creating laughter for the human owner of the wireless communication device. One could obviously diversify the product range by having a joke answer-tone similar to the old music that one listens to when you call one of the 1-800 numbers for support for those devices that highlight our modern day living style- buy as many machines so that you can fill up your spare time doing the maintenance of those machines that were bought to make life easier for you in the first place.

Ok apologize for the deviation but that’s how modern day life is deep and filled with complex variables with unknown outcomes and non quantifiable values. There I go again…

So as you can read that Joke tones are certainly no rocket science….I bet some of u will dispute my inventor status about this. I do really care about this as much as I would care about a rat’s back side.

The main advantage of joke –tones. If you pick the right one it will make you laugh every time you listen to it and put you in a good mood. Also gives you some show-off rights with your friends …but wait we are Indians!! we do not show off …it goes against the humility principle that is ingrained in our desi DNA …all right well at least it puts you in a good mood…

The disadvantage is that you will want to listen to the tone before you answer it, which might mean longer lead times for the caller who is waiting to talk to you and you will eventually get tired of listening to it …which fortunately has a simple fix change it to another good one… we have a big warehouse of comic clips on the world wide web…
So dear friends it is now time to explore and go beyond ringtones….this is it!! Go joke –tones…..

What they say -What it actually means!

Before you read this post , please remember that the views expressed are the author's own. They are my real life experiences therefore none of the views and interpretations expressed are fictional they are harsh realities of everyday life. I have made no attempt to sugarcoat any of it and I totally subscribe by all that has been written below . Your feedack is requested as usual.

What they say ? “You know , I don’t have time to do it”

What it actually means-This one is probably what one hears when you have requested some action from some other person. What the person is trying to say is –“Look buddy I do not want to do what you are asking” or “It is too low on my priority list and I am not going to get to it anytime soon or EVER”. This inference is from the central belief, that If I really wanted to do what you are asking me to do , I would have found some time and completed your request or if I did value you I would tell you why I will not be able to complete your request.

What they say ?“Thanks for inviting me , I will let you know”

What it actually means-This one probably means thanks for inviting me , your request is definitely something I will only oblige if I absolutely cannot find anything else to do and of course I will only confirm when I think it is right .
I will not spare consideration for the fact that you are trying to plan for 20 other people’s catering needs. Your request might also mean that you will probably pick me up, feed me and drop me back to my apartment but that will not cause me to think unselfishly and act in a manner that might just make it easier to do all of the above for me.

What they say ?“I am super busy”

What it actually means-Primarily this means is that I have no clue about what I am doing …my time management skills are non existent…I also like to let you know that I am struggling to cope with my roles and responsibilities assigned to me but I still like to pretend that I am obviously precariously close to solving all of the world’s problems with my minimal skill set….This also gives me some virtual exaggerated self worth which I hope helps create the public perception of me being the Boy/Gal Einstein that I like to believe that I am !!!

Thats all for now ...

THE MIND OF THE COMMON MAN

The economy is going into recession , Hillary and Obama are trying everything in their political sleeves to become the Democratic candidate for president, John Mc Cain the republican nominee for now is taking a breather, the race as the political pundits say is “too close” to call , Indian graduate students are turning up dead in some campuses in the US , India is beating Australia in Australia in cricket –(whats up with that ), the Bombay stock exchange is shedding points like Ex Luv. Gov. Spitzer is losing allies ….sounds chaotic doesn’t it? This reminds me of the song by Billy Joel – “We didn’t start the Fire”

These are certainly not normal circumstances but due to the sheer volume of events can we call these “special” anymore? You must be wondering what do all of the above have to do with me. May be minimal on a day to day basis but all of these are symptomatic of the chaotic world we live in. The major challenge that we face on a day to day basis is to distinguish between what is “real” and what is “fake” in our interactions with other people . What do I mean when I say “real”, honestly I do not have a clue. Why are human relations so complex?

Is it because we tend to over process information and try to prepare ourselves so that we can be in a position of maximum advantage all the time? Or maybe because we are chasing material wealth and success all the time? Or are we always trying to outsmart each other to get a step ahead?

We the homo-sapiens are probably the most adaptive and intelligent animals on Planet earth but our intellectual resources almost always following the “Altius , Citius, Fortius”(faster , higher, stronger) model tends to gain at the expense of other homo sapiens . Is this right or wrong ? I do know that, this is the law of the jungle. Despite all the rules and regulation we live under modern society is it really any better then a modern jungle where to the Victor belong the spoils and almost always the spoils are hedonistic values which one should never chase in the first place …

So the question is friends what do we do ? Think about it !!

18th annual Saraswati Vandana 2008

The 18th annual Saraswati Vandana 2008 was organized in the Knights of Columbus hall on February 25th, 2008. This year’s puja was organized by the Saraswati Vandana Samiti of Columbia, Missouri. There are essentially three segments that volunteers like me enjoy. The setup, the Puja and the evening festivities followed by wrap up.

The first segment is the setup process. This setup process took place the previous evening, volunteers gathered at the Knights of Columbus hall and under the guidance of Dr. Ranadhir Mitra, processed the sitting arrangements, and managed the logistics of setting up the stages for the “Murti” and the cultural events. Dr. Bimal and Alapana Ray then got into the act and along with some volunteers set up the decorations for the stage and background. On a parallel basis, the kitchen and all of the ingredients for the next days “bhog” were being made by Mrs. Moonmoon Mitra and Mrs. Mou Edwards with the help of volunteers.
The second segment is the Puja, the bhog and the cultural activities throughout the day. The Puja commenced at 10 AM and was conducted by Dr. Shukla. Dr. Mitra affectionately known as “Jethu” among the Bengali community presided over all of the other parallel events. Mrs. Roma Mitra, affectionately also known as “Jethima” and Dr. Aniruddha Raychaudhuri, managed the preparation of the “bhog” and the “Prasad preparation and distribution” with the help of numerous volunteers (mainly graduate students at Mizzou). People started trickling in and soon the hall was almost at 75% capacity. The Puja was followed by a Havan, the Pushpanjali ceremony and the Prasad distribution. Following this there was a cultural program, where many parents, spouses and friends watched proudly and clicked furiously as the young and old all joined in to perform, songs, dances and poem recitals. Lunch was served immediately after, it was a sumptuous meal with a very traditional Bengali bhog of “Khichuri” which is lentils and rice cooked with spices and vegetables, “pakoras” – a deep fried delicacy, “papad”, “chutney” and a variety of Indian sweets.

Post lunch, all of the people attending, either headed home to take a short siesta or hang out at the hall to do the “Adda” which translates to “chit chat” with their friends. The evening commences with the “Devi arati” and then Visarjan of the Murti was done for this year. This concluded the puja but most people chose to continue the festivities by singing religious and popular songs in a choir till it was time to wrap up and go home. There were some snacks served for the evening along with tea and soda.

This was a joyful day which passed by quickly leaving us yearning for more. As we say in Bengal “Bolo Bolo Saraswati Maai Ki Joi, Asche Bochor abar Hobe” which translates to Glory to Maa Saraswati, we will celebrate again in one more year.

Lean and Six Sigma in daily life

This week’s article is to talk about how we can use tools like Lean and Six Sigma in our daily lives. The first paragraph will give you a brief idea on what the tools of lean and six sigma are. The following two paragraphs will cite some examples on how they can be used in your daily lives. The last paragraph will be a roundup of all that I have talked about. The concepts of lean and six sigma are heavily used by businesses to reduce waste in the form of lost productivity and lost efficiency in their processes and improve their profits. The scopes of utilization of these concepts are unlimited.

What is Lean and what is Six Sigma?
Lean is a concept developed by Toyota to minimize waste in its various forms in their manufacturing process. By waste I do not mean ‘garbage”, Waste is referred to utilization of resources without gaining any significant output. In day to day life, “waste” can be spending your money on things that you do not really need.

Six Sigma is a concept which has evolved from the theories of Statistical quality control. They were discovered by Bill Smith, an engineer in Motorola. Six Sigma merely uses the Define-Measure-Analysis-Improve-Control (DMAIC) model to generate improvement by minimizing variation. One can wonder what is this “variation” that needs to be minimized. “Variation” is merely the practice of doing thing the same things differently. For example, making one cup of tea the Indian way. My sequence of making tea has the following steps :

Pick up the tea vessel and seat it on the coil of the electric stove.
Measure out a half cup of water and half cup milk and pour it into the tea vessel.
Let the water-milk mixture heat for 5 minutes at a temperature setting of 5 on the stove.
Add one spoon of tea powder.
Let the tea boil with the water-milk mixture till you get an even brown color .(This could take 7-9 minutes)
Switch the electric stove off and pour tea into a cup by filtering through a tea filter.

Now even though I know these are the steps I would need to perform to sip a hot cup of tea , the sequence of operations and the settings used varies almost every time I make the tea. I might pour the milk before the water, might use a temperature setting of 7 if I am in a hurry. This is just human nature; we tend to vary even in repetitive tasks.

Now you might think why is that bad? My theory is if we keep things consistent and consciously try to minimize variation we will consume less resource (in terms of money, time availability) and will get better in managing our day to day lives and tackling the challenges that come our way.

How can we use these ideas in our daily lives? We are all crunched for money .So this is the main topic I will attempt to address. I will give you a few questions that I would ask you if you hired me as a Lean sigma consultant to optimize and maximize the utilization of your money.

Let us talk about money first .Money is something that is never enough. The first thing in optimizing your money utilization is knowing what your exact inflows and outflows are. As a Lean sigma consultant I would make a list of all of your inflows on one column and the outflows in the next column. In the outflows column, I would take a long heard look and classify them as Value Added, Non Value Added (Un-necessary) and Non Value added (Necessary). Value added can be things that you absolutely need to pay for like rent, groceries, cell phone bills, savings contribution, and insurance premiums. Non Value added (Necessary) can be credit card payments, other forms of loan payments etc… Non Value Added (Un-necessary) can be impulse purchases at the mall , that must have electronic item that you have been eyeing which is causing you to pay a 24.99% APR and things like that .

Once the classification process is completed .I would urge you to look long and hard at the items you have identified as Non Value Added (Un-necessary) and minimize/eliminate them. If you are able to do this you my friend have taken your first step towards greater peace of mind and less money oriented stress. This was a lean tool to identify what you have classified as Non Value Added (Un-necessary). You have to next use basic analysis to arrive at the root cause of what causes these outflows. Once you have done that you can use the DMAIC model talked about earlier to completely wipe out any future possibilities of having a recurrence of this Non Value Added (Un-necessary) outflow.

So to wrap up, this may seem like a lot of work but to let you in on a secret that is how life is “painful”. Not to get to negative but life is also about discovering and utilizing new tools to make your life easier. This is one of them tools that you can try out. I will be happy to answer any questions from the readers .It is part of my role as a Lean Six Sigma black belt to educate and spread the lean six sigma joy with what little I know.

Thank you and Happy Diwali !!