Overview/Description Achieving your problem-solving goals typically involves applying problem-solving skills and tools through various steps in an established problem-solving process. Whatever you think of your current problem-solving skills, it is always possible to improve upon them, and even to develop new skills. To improve, you first need to assess your existing problem-solving style, identify your strengths and weaknesses, and develop an ongoing strategy for sharpening and building your skills. You also need to recognize the key barriers that lie in the way of effective problem solving...

Overview/Description 'The problem,' says author and psychiatrist Theodore Rubin, 'is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem.' A problem is a question or situation that presents doubt, perplexity, or difficulty. It's an issue that needs to be corrected or overcome in order to achieve a desired state. Problem solving involves goal-oriented thinking and action in situations for which no ready-made solutions exist. Whether consciously or unconsciously, everybody solves problems relating to their personal or work life every...

Overview/Description In any improvement initiative, organizations must determine whether their existing processes meet the targets and specifications demanded by the business, or by the customer. Measuring and analyzing the capability and performance of a process under review enables organizations to numerically represent and interpret its current state, and to report its sigma level. When done correctly, process capability analyses enable Black Belts to precisely assess current performance in light of future goals, and ultimately, to determine the need and targets of process improvement....

Overview/Description A process is a means of creating and delivering products and services needed by customers. According to Takashi Osada, Japanese author and quality pioneer, "if the process is right, the results will take care of themselves." By Six Sigma standards, a "right process" is one that creates and delivers precisely what the customer needs. By this logic, no Six Sigma effort can start without having a high-level picture of an organization's customers and other stakeholders, their needs, and the business processes meant to fulfill those needs. A thorough analysis of the existing...