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Lean Six Sigma Green Belt

The UC Merced Project Management Office has adopted Lean Six Sigma as our business process improvement methodology.

About Lean Six Sigma

Lean Six Sigma is a methodology used to help continuously improve how we work, the processes we follow, and the services we provide. It starts with the customer in mind and aims at balancing increased efficiency with improved quality. The improvements are systematic and based on well-defined and measured data.

Don't Jump to the Solution

When you notice a problem with your service, it's tempting to jump in and "fix" the problem. Resist. Lean Six Sigma is used to identify the root cause and fix the right problem. It does so by following 5 steps known as DMAIC:

  1. Define. Define the problem and establish the desired project outcome
  2. Measure. Identify and collect data that will allow for informed decisions
  3. Analyze. Investigate and identify the root cause of the problem
  4. Improve. Design and Implement a fix that will solve the problem
  5. Control. Sustain the improved results

The First Step, Business Process Review

Why conduct a business process review?

Something we often forget is that technology and software are meant to support business processes and not the other way around. It is easy to find ourselves asking “how will a system do (fill in the blank)?” before we have even examined what our business needs are.

That's because most of the time our processes are invisible to us. But by utilizing proven business process improvement methodologies like Lean Six Sigma, our team is able to capture and document business needs, which then allow us to work toward long-term improvements.

What are the goals of a business process review?

  • Streamline - Identify process inefficiencies and apply Lean Six Sigma-proven process improvement methodology to streamline and realize cost and time savings.
  • Reduce Variation - Reduce variation in processes and determine unified best practices to be adopted institutionally.
  • Adopt single institutional best practice - Leverage system capabilities and process improvements to gain efficiencies that are configured for consistent implementation and utilization.

How are we conducting business process reviews?

The PMO facilitates teams of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in the review, documenting current and future state processes.

The SMEs are experts in their respective roles supporting various campus units. Combined with Lean Six Sigma experts, SMEs collaborate to develop and propose future state business process improvements. The improvements are reviewed and approved by a project governance team before configuration, testing, training, and implementation efforts begin.

Ready to enlist PMO support? Submit a Request.