Welcome to Six Sigma Black Belt course one, Module Three, strategic planning. Strategic Planning plays a critical role in the success of Six Sigma projects at the organizational level. Over the next several lessons, we will explore many of the most effective planning tools in our six sigma toolbox. First, let's discuss risk and risk analysis. When we plan strategically we based actions and decisions on what is most likely to occur. We leverage these events to ensure successful performance in the marketplace, recognize that this is a continuous process where decisions are made and measured against expected results. In many organizations leaders are operationally knowledgeable of the business, but they lack the ability to think strategically. Thinking strategically requires us to consider the issues and concerns of the business in formulating decisions that move us closer to the goals of the business. Some important considerations in this process would include timeframes, market share growth, investment needs, customer concerns, external threats and quality. The elements from the strategic thinking process coalesce into our strategic plan. This will include our analysis and organization of the key items. As well as a plan for implementation. Our planning process will include the following elements. First, we should develop a purpose for the organization. Next, review existing data related to the endeavor. Once we understand the corporate strengths and weaknesses, we can assess influences outside the control of the company. Next, we establish appropriate goals and develop steps to reach these goals. Recognize that we must consider short term and long term steps. After implementation, we should plan to review the performance and make adjustments to the steps as needed. A risk is essentially the likelihood of a negative outcome. There are many sources of risk. The source will mandate our avenues for treatment. As the name implies, external risk exists outside the organization. These would be risks that we have little control over. They would include acts of God, government mandates, our social economic influences. Internal risk is within the organization and can manifest itself through employee issues, management issues, lack of training or loss of intellectual capital. Technical risks pertains to problems with technology equipment or some combination of the two. Supplier risk deals with the risks associated with the sources for our material, information technology, or other resources. Cascading risks are risks that result from the actions of the firm. These can be intentional or unintentional. Finding risks can take some time and investigation. While some sources of risk can be easy to locate, others may require a deeper exploration. Tools such as FMEA can be invaluable here, FMEA s are explored in great detail and course five. Brainstorming is a collaborative effort between team members and process experts to uncover potential risks at the conclusion of a project. As part of a post mortem, we should also document any things that did not go well. Could these possibly be risks for our new project? Assumptions could also be sources of risks. But be careful not to over analyze the situation. Well, we should not be afraid to challenge our perceptions as opposed to settling for the status quo. Would you not want to plan for things that are factually highly unlikely. We have all heard of the three legs needed to create a sounds tool. We should also look for potential risks within these foundational elements of the project. This can be human resources, equipment, environmental factors. Or regulatory requirements. When we assess our distinction and treatment of mitigation and avoidance is an important consideration. Risk analysis deals with the manner under which risks are mitigated or abated. Once the risk has been identified, risk mitigation and verification proceed through the life of the product. As we will discover the world of Six Sigma demands, regular oversight and confirmation to ensure that actions and processes are performing as they are intended to. Risk avoidance looks to eliminate risk all together, you may wonder why we chose to live with risk if we could just avoid it. The answer lies in the practicality of the endeavor, we could aim to eliminate all risk, but at what risk? Are we creating a product or service. That is so error free that no one could possibly afford it. Additionally, we have the resources to continually produce it. As we will discover in this specialization, all processes have variation, and by extension, risk. Instead of making the product risk free. Focus instead on minimizing the risk that could potentially do the most harm and at the highest likelihoods. We do this by minimizing the occurence of cause and the impact of the failure mode while also improving our ability to detect the risk. Despite our best efforts to control and minimize risk, there will be unknown influences that result in unintended consequences. Unintended consequences or outcomes from actions that were either foreseen or unforeseen There are three types of unintended consequences in Six Sigma circles. Positive unexpected outcomes or benefits, potential sources of problems and a corresponding reduction in In quality or negative effects. In many scenarios, unintended consequences are the product of a corrective action. This is one of the reasons why we press so hard to document corrective actions, their resolution, their timing, as well as insist on follow up. Follow up does not only serve as a verification that the corrective action was addressed. It also helps us uncover other unanticipated behaviors and many quality quality management systems. Unintended consequences triggered their own corrective or possibly preventative action. Even if the result was positive, this will give us a paper trail and in mechanism of oversight, clearly, timely communication with the project leader and the team would also be. In order like anything else, the more we know about the behavior of a process, the better we can predict future behavior. Our failure to properly document and manage unintended consequences, results in gaps in our understanding and ability to address them quickly and effectively.
