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The Practitioner's Guide to Lean Six Sigma Cover and contents

The RDMAICS Framework

The Practitioner’s Guideto Lean Six Sigma

Building improvement from the ground up with the RDMAICS framework

Six Sigma to ISO 13053
Lean added from established practice
Sustain anchored in ISO 9001

Jvalin Sonawala

First edition  ·  2026

For every practitioner who was handed a problem, a deadline,

and no map, and built one anyway.

Advance praise

Praise for The Practitioner’s Guide to Lean Six Sigma

“This reads like a mentor sitting beside you, walking a real project from the first day to the last. The tools finally sit where the work actually happens.”

— A Master Black Belt, financial services

“It begins on the Monday you arrive with no brief, no charter, and no data, and it stays beside you through every phase after that.”

— A continuous improvement lead, healthcare

“The Recognise and Sustain phases are exactly where our projects used to struggle. Seeing them run in full changed how my team works.”

— An operations director, business services

“Tying Six Sigma to ISO 13053 and Sustain to ISO 9001 gives the method a spine. I could hand this to an auditor and to a new belt and both would trust it.”

— A quality manager, manufacturing

“One company, followed from the first walk to the final sign-off. By the end you have not just learned the tools, you have watched judgement being made.”

— A Black Belt, public sector

“It respects the reader. It assumes you know the tools and teaches you the far harder thing, which is when to reach for each one and when to leave it on the shelf.”

— A head of transformation, logistics

Introduction

What this book gives you

This is a practical guide for the practitioner who already holds the tools and now has to lead. It follows one company, Crestline, from the first Monday to the last sign-off, and shows every phase of improvement run in the setting practitioners most often face: a busy, profitable, proud organisation with no improvement function, thin data, and a headcount assumption waiting to be tested.

A framework that fits reality. RDMAICS wraps the familiar DMAIC core in the two phases that decide whether improvement survives. Recognise does the work of finding and framing the right problem before Define. Sustain does the work of holding the gain after Control.

One project, followed all the way. You do not jump between disconnected examples. You watch a single problem move through every phase, so the method reads as a story you can follow and repeat.

Standards you can stand on. Six Sigma is run to ISO 13053. Lean is added from established practice and clearly marked as such. Sustain is anchored in ISO 9001. Every step rests on something solid and auditable.

Every tool, chosen by judgement. Each applicable tool is taught in the order you reach for it, with the template drawn in place and filled with the live case. Scenarios show you how the choice changes with the project in front of you.

A method that meets you where you are. The four grounds and the maturity ladder let you read your own setting honestly and match the work to it, rather than forcing one recipe onto every firm.

The organisational game, handled. Reporting lines, executive sponsorship, the defensive process owner, and the pressure to add headcount are treated as real, solvable parts of the work, not obstacles left to chance.

The judgement to know when not to run it. The gatekeeper and the routing chapter teach you to send a problem to the right method, so your effort lands where it will actually pay.

If you have the belt and now need the judgement to lead, this book was written for you.

Preface

How to use this book

Welcome. You are about to follow a single improvement project from beginning to end, in a company that looks a great deal like the ones most practitioners actually work in. Crestline is busy, profitable, and proud. It has no improvement function, no quality team, and no project history. That is the point. The method in this book is built to work there.

The book is sequenced deliberately. The early chapters set the ground you walk into, the way improvement should sit in an organisation, and the roles that make it work. The case then lands, and only after you have felt the two real gaps for yourself does the framework get its name. This means the method arrives as an answer to problems you already understand, rather than as a diagram to memorise.

From there, each phase gets its own chapter and the same clear shape: what the phase must achieve, how to choose your tools, the toolkit itself drawn and filled with the case, the scenarios that show judgement, the common hiccups, and the tollgate that closes the phase. You can read straight through, or, if you are mid-project right now, turn to the phase you are standing in and use it today.

You do not need to run every tool on every project. The book teaches you to read the project and reach for what fits. The diagnostics, registers, and templates are yours to reuse. Mark them up, adapt them, and make them your own.

Above all, this is a book about judgement. The tools are here in full, taught with care, but the real work is knowing which one to pick, when to hold the line, and how to make a gain that lasts. That is the skill this book was written to build.

Chapter flow

How the chapters connect

A flow of all nineteen chapters, grouped by RDMAICS phase, showing the sequence, the tollgate chain, the belt handover, the routing branch, and the closing loop.

The connections in detail

The book is not a list of chapters. It is one path with five connective patterns holding it together. Read these first, then the chapter map below shows each handoff.

The gap loop. The two gaps you feel in Chapter 1, the unframed problem at the front and the decaying gain at the back, are the two phases named in Chapter 5. The book plants the need, then names the answer.

The belt handover. The Master Black Belt owns Recognise, Chapters 6 to 10, and hands a backed project to the Black Belt for the DMAIC core, Chapters 11 to 15. Sustain, Chapters 16 to 18, is shared. The Master Black Belt view returns in Chapter 19.

The tollgate chain. Every phase from Define to Control ends at a tollgate that is the entry to the next, so the DMAIC core reads as a chain of gated handoffs, never a jump.

The closing loop. Control drifts, Sustain holds and embeds the gain, and Sustain feeds the next Recognise. The process is a loop, not a line, and each pass lifts the firm one step up the maturity ladder from Chapter 1.

The routing branch. Chapter 7 sends work that does not fit the full method out to A3, design, or project management, so only the right problems travel the rest of the book.

Chapter map

Chapter What it establishes What it hands to the next
FOUNDATIONS
Ch 1 Reading the ground you walk into Reads the terrain: four grounds, the maturity ladder, and two gaps you can feel but cannot yet name. The two unnamed gaps, carried to Ch 5, and a read of your own maturity, carried to Ch 2 and Ch 3.
Ch 2 Where improvement should report Places the function in the organisation and shows where its authority comes from. A reporting line and the sponsorship idea, opened up inside the function in Ch 3.
Ch 3 The improvement operating model Looks inside the function: executive owner, Master Black Belt, Black Belt, and the conditions a project needs to start. The roles and a readiness test, tied back to the Ch 1 diagnostic, used for the rest of the book.
THE CASE
Ch 4 Meet Crestline Hands you a live project: a complaint process across three teams, no owner, and a headcount assumption. A concrete case in which you now feel both gaps for real, which sets up the need for a method.
FRAMEWORK
Ch 5 Naming the work Reveals RDMAICS as the answer to the two gaps: Recognise before Define, Sustain after Control, seven phases, each with a tollgate. The named framework and the lead for each phase, launching Recognise.
RECOGNISE · MASTER BLACK BELT LED
Ch 6 Where the work comes from Finds and receives problems through the four voices and the listening walk. A set of raw problem candidates, passed to routing.
Ch 7 Routing the problem Decides what kind of work each problem is. Fit problems, recurring with unknown cause, continue to framing; non-fit work is routed out to A3, design, or project management.
Ch 8 Framing the problem Writes a cause-neutral, measurable problem statement and kills the assumed cause. A clean problem statement, ready to be screened.
Ch 9 Choosing what to run Screens worthiness, builds the improvement register, and sequences the first project. The chosen first project, complaints, ready for sponsorship.
Ch 10 Sponsorship and the mandate Secures the sponsor, maps stakeholders, and writes the one-page recognition note. The Recognise tollgate and the handover from Master Black Belt to Black Belt: the recognition note becomes the charter seed.
DMAIC CORE · BLACK BELT LED · ISO 13053
Ch 11 Define Turns the recognition note into a signed charter, a scope, and the CTQs. The Define tollgate and the bridge into Measure.
Ch 12 Measure Builds a defensible baseline from nothing and checks the data can be trusted. The Measure tollgate and the bridge into Analyse.
Ch 13 Analyse Proves the real cause and shows the headcount assumption is wrong. The Analyse tollgate and the bridge into Improve.
Ch 14 Improve Generates, pilots, and proves the solution, and leads the change. The Improve tollgate and the bridge into Control.
Ch 15 Control Holds the gain with controls that fit a low-maturity setting. The drift that appears weeks later, which becomes the bridge into Sustain.
SUSTAIN · SHARED · ISO 9001
Ch 16 From control to embedded Shows why a signed handover is not a held gain, and transfers ownership into standard work. A gain that no longer depends on you, passed to the management system.
Ch 17 Anchoring in the management system Wires the process into ISO 9001: ownership, documents, audit, and review. Corrective action and continual improvement that feed the next Recognise.
Ch 18 Growing maturity and the next project Tells the result story, refreshes the control, and builds the portfolio. The closing loop, from Sustain back to Recognise, and a step up the maturity ladder.
SCALING
Ch 19 The Master Black Belt view Builds the pipeline, keeps governance light, and scales across teams. The argument, again, for the right reporting line from Ch 2, and a firm that improves on its own.

Reading the entry point. The diagram shows Chapter 1 as the start, with no arrow leading into it. Its first outward link is the dashed one to Chapter 5, where the two gaps are named. That is why Chapter 1 can feel like a cold open: the reader meets the terrain before the argument that explains why the terrain matters.

Contents in brief

The seven parts at a glance

Part 1 · Foundations

1 Reading the ground you walk into

2 Where improvement should report

3 The improvement operating model

Part 2 · The case begins

4 Meet Crestline

Part 3 · The framework revealed

5 Naming the work

Part 4 · Recognise

6 Where the work comes from

7 Routing the problem

8 Framing the problem

9 Choosing what to run

10 Sponsorship and the mandate

Part 5 · DMAIC, run to ISO 13053 with Lean

11 Define

12 Measure

13 Analyse

14 Improve

15 Control

Part 6 · Sustain, anchored in ISO 9001

16 From control to embedded

17 Anchoring in the management system

18 Growing maturity and the next project

Part 7 · Scaling

19 The Master Black Belt view

A full section-wise table of contents follows in the front matter of the complete manuscript.

Table of contents

Section by section, with links

  1. PART 1Foundations
  2. 1Reading the ground you walk into29 min
    1. 1.1What this work is, and what it needs
    2. 1.1.1The work, and where the gains come from
    3. 1.1.2What a finished piece of work leaves behind
    4. 1.1.3Why the same method takes a different shape in every firm
    5. 1.2The ground you walk into
    6. 1.2.1The blank page
    7. 1.2.2The firefight
    8. 1.2.3The false start
    9. 1.2.4The quiet achiever
    10. 1.3Four supports to read
    11. 1.3.1The project pipeline
    12. 1.3.2Data you can trust
    13. 1.3.3A sponsor who backs it
    14. 1.3.4A system that holds
    15. 1.4The culture you are joining
    16. 1.4.1Pride in effort over method
    17. 1.4.2Suspicion of frameworks and outsiders
    18. 1.4.3Why the culture is a starting condition, not an enemy
    19. 1.5The maturity ladder, and where you sit
    20. 1.5.1The five maturity levels, from Initial to Optimised
    21. 1.5.2Where the four grounds sit
    22. 1.5.3What the ladder tells you about the road ahead
    23. 1.6The two gaps to feel
    24. 1.6.1The problem nobody framed
    25. 1.6.2The gain nobody holds
    26. 1.6.3Naming these as problems, not yet as phases
    27. 1.7A diagnostic for your own setting
    28. 1.7.1The reading questions
    29. 1.7.2Reading your answers honestly
    30. 1.7.3What changes across the grounds
  3. 2Where improvement should report24 min
    1. 2.1Why reporting structure matters
    2. 2.2Why improvement must begin from the top
    3. 2.3Improvement under Operations
    4. 2.4Improvement under the PMO
    5. 2.5Improvement under Finance
    6. 2.6Improvement under Change or Transformation
    7. 2.7Improvement under Quality
    8. 2.8What makes an effective organisational home
    9. 2.9The preferred organisational model
    10. 2.10Borrowing authority through executive sponsorship
    11. 2.11Working successfully from an imperfect home
    12. 2.12Building toward the ideal future state
    13. 2.13Diagnosing your organisation
    14. 2.14Key lessons
  4. 3The improvement operating model33 min
    1. 3.1Inside the reporting line
    2. 3.1.1Chapter 2 placed it, now look inside
    3. 3.1.2The operating model matters as much as placement
    4. 3.1.3The shape in one view, an executive owner above, a Master Black Belt running the function, a Black Belt running projects
    5. 3.2What a full function must cover
    6. 3.2.1The firm-level work, finding and backing and holding
    7. 3.2.2The project-level work, running one piece end to end
    8. 3.2.3The two parts an immature firm always leaves uncovered, the front and the back
    9. 3.3The executive owner above the function
    10. 3.3.1The executive owner, named by altitude not by title
    11. 3.3.2Why the senior owner must understand the method, not just fund it
    12. 3.3.3What an informed executive owner gives you, air cover, reach, patience for the cycle
    13. 3.3.4An invented failure case, ownership routed up through executives who did not know the method
    14. 3.3.5The bar for the executive owner, and the gap when it is not met
    15. 3.4The Master Black Belt runs the function
    16. 3.4.1The Master Black Belt runs the function
    17. 3.4.2Why running the function sits with the senior most belt, the firm-level work needs that depth
    18. 3.4.3The Black Belt runs the projects beneath the lead
    19. 3.4.4Green Belts and capable people without a belt, team members, never the lead
    20. 3.4.5How the function sits beneath the executive owner
    21. 3.5Belt depth is capability, not position
    22. 3.5.1The belt ladder as a scale of method depth
    23. 3.5.2Why most firms treat the belt as a skill, not a job title
    24. 3.5.3Why the lead needs both depth and standing, capability from the belt, authority borrowed from above
    25. 3.6When the firm has no Master Black Belt yet
    26. 3.6.1The common reality, the bar is set and the firm cannot meet it
    27. 3.6.2Holding the bar, a Black Belt acting up with a coach above
    28. 3.6.3Buying or borrowing the depth until you build it
    29. 3.6.4Why you do not lower the bar, a non-belt lead is a gap, not a solution
    30. 3.7Sizing the function to the firm
    31. 3.7.1The lone belt
    32. 3.7.2The small team
    33. 3.7.3The coached setup
    34. 3.7.4Sizing read against the maturity ladder and the Chapter 2 home
    35. 3.8The sponsor and the process owner
    36. 3.8.1What a sponsor must provide, authority and independence
    37. 3.8.2Choosing the sponsor by the spread of the problem
    38. 3.8.3The conflict when the head owns the process
    39. 3.8.4Governing the conflict when you cannot raise the sponsor
    40. 3.8.5The manager who owns the process
    41. 3.9Shared literacy across the firm
    42. 3.9.1When the firm adopts the method, the terms become the common language
    43. 3.9.2A minimum belt across the workforce, White or Yellow, so the function is understood
    44. 3.9.3Literacy for the many, capability for the few
    45. 3.10What the function needs to operate
    46. 3.10.1An informed executive owner or a sponsor who stands in for one
    47. 3.10.2Access to the people and the work
    48. 3.10.3A decision rhythm
    49. 3.10.4Ready or not ready, tied to the Chapter 1 diagnostic
  5. PART 2The case begins
  6. 4Meet Crestline17 min
    1. 4.1The company
    2. 4.1.1A business services firm of around four hundred people
    3. 4.1.2Profitable, busy, and proud
    4. 4.1.3No improvement function, no quality team, no project history
    5. 4.2The pressure from the top
    6. 4.2.1Rising client churn
    7. 4.2.2The board’s attention
    8. 4.2.3The headcount assumption
    9. 4.3The problem in the work
    10. 4.3.1The complaint flow across three teams
    11. 4.3.2No owner end to end
    12. 4.3.3Resolution from two days to three weeks
    13. 4.4The cast
    14. 4.4.1The director and sponsor
    15. 4.4.2The defensive process owner
    16. 4.4.3The capable but untrained team member
    17. 4.4.4The senior leader pushing for headcount
    18. 4.5The Monday morning arrival
    19. 4.5.1No brief, no charter, no data
    20. 4.5.2The first walk through the process
    21. 4.5.3What you know by Friday
  7. PART 3The framework revealed
  8. 5Naming the work13 min
    1. 5.1The gaps, now named
    2. 5.1.1The unframed problem at the front
    3. 5.1.2The decaying gain at the back
    4. 5.1.3Why both sit outside the DMAIC cycle
    5. 5.2What the standard cycle assumes
    6. 5.2.1A problem ready at Define
    7. 5.2.2A system that holds after Control
    8. 5.2.3Why neither holds at Crestline
    9. 5.3The two added phases
    10. 5.3.1Recognise, the work before Define
    11. 5.3.2Sustain, the work after Control
    12. 5.3.3Why these carry the most weight here
    13. 5.4The shape of the framework
    14. 5.4.1The seven phases in order
    15. 5.4.2Who leads each phase
    16. 5.4.3The tollgate at every boundary
    17. 5.5The standards behind the method
    18. 5.5.1ISO 13053 sets the Six Sigma method and the tool set
    19. 5.5.2Lean is added from established practice, not from ISO 13053
    20. 5.5.3ISO 9001 anchors Sustain
    21. 5.5.4Why the book names which parts are standard-backed
    22. 5.6How the book runs the framework
    23. 5.6.1Crestline as the worked case
    24. 5.6.2Tools chosen by project type, not by a fixed order
    25. 5.6.3Where to turn next
  9. PART 4Recognise
  10. 6Where the work comes from21 min
    1. 6.1The Master Black Belt as scanner and problem gatekeeper
    2. 6.1.1Why finding and receiving work is a senior job
    3. 6.1.2The mindset of active search
    4. 6.1.3The gatekeeper who receives the problems that arrive
    5. 6.2The four voices
    6. 6.2.1Voice of the customer
    7. 6.2.2Voice of the business
    8. 6.2.3Voice of the process
    9. 6.2.4Voice of the employee
    10. 6.3The listening walk
    11. 6.3.1Walking the process end to end
    12. 6.3.2Listening at the handoffs
    13. 6.3.3Recording what you hear without judging it
    14. 6.4Gathering candidates
    15. 6.4.1Capturing problems in plain words
    16. 6.4.2Resisting the urge to choose early
    17. 6.4.3The Crestline candidates after a week
    18. 6.5The toolkit, in the order you reach for it
    19. 6.5.1The gemba and listening walk
    20. 6.5.2The problem scan log
    21. 6.5.3The handoff map
    22. 6.5.4The eight wastes as a scanning lens
    23. 6.5.5Voice of the customer capture for complaints and lost clients
  11. 7Routing the problem23 min
    1. 7.1The gatekeeper’s first question
    2. 7.1.1What kind of work is this, asked before is it worth doing
    3. 7.1.2Why routing comes before framing or screening
    4. 7.1.3The cost of forcing every problem into the method
    5. 7.2Reading the problem
    6. 7.2.1Is there an existing process to improve
    7. 7.2.2Is the cause already known
    8. 7.2.3Is the problem recurring, with real variation
    9. 7.2.4Is this design, delivery, or improvement
    10. 7.3The routes and when to use each
    11. 7.3.1A3 for small, local, fast fixes
    12. 7.3.2DMADV or design when there is no existing process
    13. 7.3.3PRINCE2 or PMP for delivery and implementation
    14. 7.3.4Straight project management when the cause is known
    15. 7.3.5The full method for recurring process problems with unknown cause
    16. 7.4Routing in practice
    17. 7.4.1The routing decision tree
    18. 7.4.2The routing comparison table
    19. 7.4.3The triage checklist
    20. 7.4.4Worked routing of the Crestline candidates
    21. 7.5The intake and the record
    22. 7.5.1A front door for problems
    23. 7.5.2The routing register
    24. 7.5.3The intake and routing flow
    25. 7.5.4The cast, and who owns each step
    26. 7.5.5Reading the funnel
    27. 7.5.6The cadence that runs it
    28. 7.6Routing honestly
    29. 7.6.1Why the gatekeeper must not become a gate that kills good work
    30. 7.6.2Sending a problem on without offloading it
    31. 7.6.3What continues into the rest of the book
  12. 8Framing the problem16 min
    1. 8.1Symptom, problem, and cause
    2. 8.1.1What people feel
    3. 8.1.2The gap in the process
    4. 8.1.3The cause you will prove later
    5. 8.2The assumed cause trap
    6. 8.2.1How leaders attach a cause to a symptom
    7. 8.2.2Why accepting it poisons the project
    8. 8.2.3The Crestline headcount assumption
    9. 8.3Writing a cause-neutral statement
    10. 8.3.1Making it measurable
    11. 8.3.2Pointing at the process, not the fix
    12. 8.3.3A worked statement for Crestline
    13. 8.4Holding the problem open
    14. 8.4.1Peeling the cause off, every time
    15. 8.4.2Separating Recognise from Analyse
    16. 8.4.3Why a pre-baked solution kills a project
    17. 8.5The toolkit, in the order you reach for it
    18. 8.5.1The symptom-to-problem worksheet
    19. 8.5.2The problem statement template
    20. 8.5.3The is and is not analysis
    21. 8.5.4Five-why, used only to separate symptom from problem
  13. 9Choosing what to run16 min
    1. 9.1The worthiness screen
    2. 9.1.1Impact
    3. 9.1.2Feasibility
    4. 9.1.3Control
    5. 9.1.4Data availability
    6. 9.2Weighting for an immature firm
    7. 9.2.1Why control matters more here
    8. 9.2.2Why data availability matters more here
    9. 9.2.3Reading the four criteria together
    10. 9.3Building the improvement register
    11. 9.3.1A shared tool, not a private sheet
    12. 9.3.2What to record against each candidate
    13. 9.3.3The register as the start of portfolio work
    14. 9.4Sequencing the first project
    15. 9.4.1Visible enough to matter
    16. 9.4.2Contained enough to win
    17. 9.4.3How the first win funds the next
    18. 9.5Placing the Crestline candidates
    19. 9.5.1Plotting impact against feasibility
    20. 9.5.2The control and data check
    21. 9.5.3Why complaints is the first project
    22. 9.6The toolkit, in the order you reach for it
    23. 9.6.1The worthiness screen, scored
    24. 9.6.2The improvement register
    25. 9.6.3The impact against feasibility grid
    26. 9.6.4The project selection checklist
  14. 10Sponsorship and the mandate21 min
    1. 10.1Executive sponsorship in a corporate world
    2. 10.1.1What a sponsor is for
    3. 10.1.2Why the sponsor stands in for missing authority
    4. 10.1.3Choosing the right level of sponsor
    5. 10.1.4Who can sponsor, and who cannot
    6. 10.2Where sponsorship comes from
    7. 10.2.1You identify the level, you do not name the sponsor
    8. 10.2.2Why a belt cannot grant authority
    9. 10.2.3The route to a sponsor when there is no function
    10. 10.2.4When no one with authority will own it
    11. 10.3Sponsorship across the grounds and up the ladder
    12. 10.3.1What sponsorship looks like on each ground
    13. 10.3.2What changes as the firm matures
    14. 10.3.3Reading your own ground before you ask
    15. 10.4Speaking the sponsor's language
    16. 10.4.1Cost and customers, not tools and phases
    17. 10.4.2The time to a first result
    18. 10.4.3Framing the ask for the Crestline director
    19. 10.5Stakeholder mapping
    20. 10.5.1The three departments and their interests
    21. 10.5.2Influence and resistance
    22. 10.5.3Planning for the defensive process owner
    23. 10.6The mandate
    24. 10.6.1What you must secure
    25. 10.6.2Keeping the ask small
    26. 10.6.3Spotting empty sponsorship
    27. 10.7The one-page recognition note
    28. 10.7.1The seven fields
    29. 10.7.2Why one page
    30. 10.7.3From note to charter seed
    31. 10.8Closing Recognise
    32. 10.8.1The Recognise tollgate
    33. 10.8.2The handover from Master Black Belt to Black Belt
    34. 10.8.3What the Black Belt receives
    35. 10.9The toolkit, in the order you reach for it
    36. 10.9.1The stakeholder map and influence grid
    37. 10.9.2The one-page recognition note, filled
    38. 10.9.3The sponsor briefing one-pager
    39. 10.9.4The project RACI at handover
  15. PART 5DMAIC, run to ISO 13053 with Lean
  16. 11Define51 min
    1. 11.1What Define does
    2. 11.1.1The purpose of the phase and what it must produce
    3. 11.1.2Setting the objective before you have a baseline
    4. 11.1.3The ISO 13053 Define objectives and the mandatory minimum
    5. 11.2Choosing the tools for your project
    6. 11.2.1The rule
    7. 11.2.2The three readings that settle most of the choice
    8. 11.2.3The worked selection for Crestline
    9. 11.3The toolkit, walked through the three ISO Define steps
    10. 11.3.1Voice of the customer LEAN · established practice
    11. 11.3.2CTQ characteristics MANDATORY · ISO 13053 Factsheet 04
    12. 11.3.3Affinity diagram SUGGESTED · ISO 13053 Factsheet 02
    13. 11.3.4Kano model SUGGESTED · ISO 13053 Factsheet 03
    14. 11.3.5House of quality RECOMMENDED · ISO 13053 Factsheet 05
    15. 11.3.6Benchmarking RECOMMENDED · ISO 13053 Factsheet 06
    16. 11.3.7Six Sigma indicators MANDATORY · ISO 13053 Factsheet 20
    17. 11.3.8Financial justification MANDATORY · ISO 13053 Factsheet 01
    18. 11.3.9SIPOC RECOMMENDED · ISO 13053 Factsheet 09
    19. 11.3.10Process map and process data RECOMMENDED · ISO 13053 Factsheet 10
    20. 11.3.11Project risk analysis MANDATORY · ISO 13053 Factsheet 07
    21. 11.3.12RACI matrix RECOMMENDED · ISO 13053 Factsheet 28
    22. 11.3.13Gantt chart RECOMMENDED · ISO 13053 Factsheet 08
    23. 11.3.14Project charter MANDATORY · ISO 13053 Factsheet 07
    24. 11.4The Define tollgate
    25. 11.4.1The mandatory tools confirmed done
    26. 11.4.2The ISO 13053 project review with the sponsor
    27. 11.4.3The bridge into Measure
  17. 12Measure2 hr 19 min
    1. 12.1What Measure is for
    2. 12.2Choosing the tools for your project
    3. 12.2.1The rule
    4. 12.2.2The three readings that settle most of the choice
    5. 12.2.3The worked selection for Crestline
    6. 12.3.1CTQ characteristics carried forward
    7. 12.3.2Detailed process flow chart
    8. 12.3.3Timed value stream map
    9. 12.3.4Takt, cycle and lead time
    10. 12.3.5Spaghetti diagram of movement
    11. 12.3.6Time observation at the handoffs
    12. 12.3.7Data collection plan
    13. 12.3.8Operational definitions
    14. 12.3.9Sample size determination
    15. 12.3.10Measurement system analysis
    16. 12.3.11Probability distribution tests, continuous data
    17. 12.3.12Probability tests for attribute data
    18. 12.3.13Descriptive statistics, histogram and box plot
    19. 12.3.14Pareto
    20. 12.3.15Trend and run charts
    21. 12.3.16Statistical process control, baseline
    22. 12.3.17Six Sigma indicators, DPMO and sigma score
    23. 12.3.18Capability or performance analysis
    24. 12.3.19Project review, the Measure tollgate
    25. 12.4Fitting Measure to the project in front of you
    26. 12.4.1The data-rich baseline and the data-poor baseline
    27. 12.4.2A formal gauge study, and an attribute agreement check when the system is people
    28. 12.4.3The Lean-led measure and the Six Sigma-led measure
    29. 12.4.4Measuring without disrupting a defensive team
    30. 12.4.5The wrong-tool trap, chasing a full MSA the process cannot support
    31. 12.5Hiccups and how to clear them
    32. 12.5.1There is no data
    33. 12.5.2People record inconsistently
    34. 12.5.3A formal MSA is impossible
    35. 12.5.4The act of measuring flatters the baseline
    36. 12.6The Measure tollgate
    37. 12.6.1The mandatory tools confirmed done
    38. 12.6.2The ISO 13053 gate review with the sponsor
    39. 12.6.3The bridge into Analyse
  18. 13Analyse7 hr 2 min
    1. 13.1What Analyse does
    2. 13.1.1The purpose of the phase and what it must produce
    3. 13.1.2What changes when the cause is contested and the data is thin
    4. 13.1.3The ISO 13053 Analyse objectives and the mandatory minimum
    5. 13.2Choosing the tools for your project
    6. 13.2.1The rule
    7. 13.2.2The three readings that settle most of the choice
    8. 13.2.3The worked selection for Crestline
    9. 13.2.4The same kit on different ground
    10. 13.3The toolkit, walked through the ISO Analyse steps
    11. 13.3.1Process mapping for analysis
    12. 13.3.2Waste analysis, the eight wastes quantified
    13. 13.3.3Value stream analysis, current against ideal
    14. 13.3.4Bottleneck and flow analysis
    15. 13.3.5Cause and effect, the Ishikawa diagram
    16. 13.3.6Brainstorming
    17. 13.3.7Five-why
    18. 13.3.8Process FMEA
    19. 13.3.9Scatter and Pareto plots
    20. 13.3.10Hypothesis testing
    21. 13.3.11Regression and correlation
    22. 13.3.12Analysis of variance
    23. 13.3.13Design of experiments
    24. 13.3.14Reliability and the Weibull analysis
    25. 13.3.15Capability analysis
    26. 13.3.16Project review, the phase gate
    27. 13.4Choosing tools by project type
    28. 13.4.1When a statistical test is justified and when it is not
    29. 13.4.2Process analysis versus data analysis
    30. 13.4.3Variation problem versus flow and waste problem
    31. 13.4.4Letting the data weight decide the tool
    32. 13.5Scenarios
    33. 13.5.1Hypothesis testing on clean data, and process analysis on thin data
    34. 13.5.2A simple five-why, and a full fishbone with verification
    35. 13.5.3The Lean-led analyse, waste first, and the Six Sigma-led, test first
    36. 13.5.4Running an FMEA where the owner reads every failure mode as blame
    37. 13.5.5The wrong-tool trap, a designed experiment where a process map answered it
    38. 13.6Hiccups and how to clear them
    39. 13.6.1The sponsor wants to skip to Improve
    40. 13.6.2The data is too thin for a clean test
    41. 13.6.3The owner reads the FMEA as blame
    42. 13.7The Analyse tollgate
    43. 13.7.1The mandatory tools confirmed done
    44. 13.7.2The ISO 13053 gate review with the sponsor
    45. 13.7.3The checklist
  19. 14Improve4 hr
    1. 14.1What Improve does
    2. 14.1.1The purpose of the phase and what it must produce
    3. 14.1.2What changes when the team prefers the old way
    4. 14.1.3The ISO 13053 Improve objectives and the mandatory minimum
    5. 14.2Choosing the tools for your project
    6. 14.2.1The rule
    7. 14.2.2The three readings that settle most of the choice
    8. 14.2.3The worked selection for Crestline
    9. 14.3The toolkit, in the order you reach for it
    10. 14.3.1Brainstorming and creativity tools SUGGESTED
    11. 14.3.2Flow and pull redesign LEAN
    12. 14.3.3Standard work for the new handoff LEAN shown in this section
    13. 14.3.4Single-piece flow where it applies LEAN
    14. 14.3.5Levelling the workload, heijunka LEAN
    15. 14.3.6Mistake proofing, poka-yoke RECOMMENDED
    16. 14.3.7Solution selection matrix RECOMMENDED shown in this section
    17. 14.3.8Prioritisation matrix RECOMMENDED
    18. 14.3.9Design of experiments RECOMMENDED
    19. 14.3.10Analysis of variance RECOMMENDED
    20. 14.3.11The Kaizen event LEAN
    21. 14.3.12The pilot and reliability run RECOMMENDED
    22. 14.3.13The updated FMEA RECOMMENDED
    23. 14.3.14The capability study RECOMMENDED
    24. 14.3.15The RACI for the rollout SUGGESTED
    25. 14.3.16The house of quality RECOMMENDED
    26. 14.3.17The Gantt chart for the rollout SUGGESTED
    27. 14.3.18The project review RECOMMENDED
    28. 14.4Choosing tools by project type
    29. 14.4.1When a designed experiment is warranted, and when it is not
    30. 14.4.2Redesigning flow against tuning a parameter
    31. 14.4.3Solution selection when the choice is unclear
    32. 14.4.4Matching the change to what the team can adopt
    33. 14.5Scenarios
    34. 14.5.1A pilot with rich data, and a pilot judged on a thin signal
    35. 14.5.2A single obvious fix, and a structured selection across options
    36. 14.5.3The Lean-led improve, and the Six Sigma-led improve
    37. 14.5.4Leading the change against a defensive owner and an untrained team
    38. 14.5.5The wrong-tool trap
    39. 14.6Hiccups and how to clear them
    40. 14.6.1The team loves the first idea
    41. 14.6.2The pilot succeeds only because you were watching
    42. 14.6.3Leadership wants full rollout on day one
    43. 14.7The Improve tollgate
    44. 14.7.1The mandatory tools confirmed done
    45. 14.7.2The gate review with the sponsor
    46. 14.7.3The checklist and the bridge into Control
  20. 15Control2 hr 10 min
    1. 15.1Control as a job in an immature firm 3
    2. 15.2Control walked on Crestline 7
    3. 15.3The toolkit, in the order you reach for it 12
    4. 15.4Choosing tools by project type 79
    5. 15.5Scenarios 82
    6. 15.6Hiccups and how to clear them 86
    7. 15.7The Control tollgate 89
    8. 15.1Control as a job in an immature firm
    9. 15.1.1What the phase must achieve
    10. 15.1.2What changes when there is no quality function to keep the gain
    11. 15.1.3The compliance minimum the standard requires
    12. 15.2Control walked on Crestline
    13. 15.2.1A control plan the team will actually use
    14. 15.2.2A visual signal over a chart nobody reads
    15. 15.2.3A response plan for when the metric moves
    16. 15.3The toolkit, in the order you reach for it
    17. 15.3.1Control plan
    18. 15.3.2Standard work and leader standard work
    19. 15.3.3Mistake proofing
    20. 15.3.4Visual management and the team board
    21. 15.3.55S
    22. 15.3.6Total productive maintenance where relevant
    23. 15.3.7Statistical process control and control charts
    24. 15.3.8Ongoing capability
    25. 15.3.9Further MSA
    26. 15.3.10Descriptive statistics
    27. 15.3.11Financial justification, actual against expected
    28. 15.3.12Project review and project closure
    29. 15.4Choosing tools by project type
    30. 15.4.1The three questions, in order
    31. 15.4.2What the team can read and act on
    32. 15.4.3Control on a manual process versus a system
    33. 15.4.4Matching the control to local capability
    34. 15.5Scenarios
    35. 15.5.1A chart that works, and a board that works better
    36. 15.5.2A simple check, and a full SPC scheme where the data supports it
    37. 15.5.3The Lean-led control, and the Six Sigma-led control
    38. 15.5.4Handing a control to a team that has never held one
    39. 15.5.5The wrong-tool trap, a control chart nobody on the floor can read
    40. 15.6Hiccups and how to clear them
    41. 15.6.1You hand over a chart nobody can read
    42. 15.6.2The new way lives in your head and one spreadsheet
    43. 15.6.3It drifts six weeks later
    44. 15.7The Control tollgate
    45. 15.7.1The mandatory tools confirmed done
    46. 15.7.2The gate review and sign-off
  21. PART 6Sustain, anchored in ISO 9001
  22. 16From control to embedded1 hr 41 min
    1. 16.1Why a signed handover is not a held gain
    2. 16.1.1What Control hands over, and where it stops
    3. 16.1.2The four decay paths
    4. 16.1.3Why the decay runs faster where there is no quality function
    5. 16.1.4What Sustain has to build
    6. 16.2Sustain walked on Crestline
    7. 16.2.1Six weeks after the signature
    8. 16.2.2What the walk back in finds
    9. 16.2.3A control that failed and a control nobody worked are not the same fault
    10. 16.2.4What Crestline needed, in the order it needed it
    11. 16.3The toolkit, in the order you reach for it
    12. 16.3.1Ownership transfer agreement · TEMPLATE
    13. 16.3.2Process owner RACI · PRACTICE
    14. 16.3.3Sustainment plan · TEMPLATE
    15. 16.3.4Standard work in the operating rhythm · LEAN
    16. 16.3.5Leader standard work and the layered check · LEAN
    17. 16.3.6Skills and competency matrix · LEAN
    18. 16.3.7Training plan and one point lessons · LEAN
    19. 16.3.8Handover pack and knowledge file · TEMPLATE
    20. 16.3.9Decay risk register · PRACTICE
    21. 16.3.10Staged withdrawal and the dependency test · PRACTICE
    22. 16.3.11The thirty, sixty and ninety day check schedule · PRACTICE
    23. 16.4Choosing the tools for your project
    24. 16.4.1The rule
    25. 16.4.2The three readings that settle most of the choice
    26. 16.4.3The four types and their kit
    27. 16.4.4What to drop when there is no leader routine
    28. 16.4.5The load budget
    29. 16.5Scenarios
    30. 16.5.1The capable owner and the nominal owner
    31. 16.5.2The staff move at week eight
    32. 16.5.3Lean led and systems led sustainment
    33. 16.5.4Ownership split across a handoff
    34. 16.5.5The wrong tool trap
    35. 16.6Hiccups and how to clear them
    36. 16.6.1The owner signed to end the meeting
    37. 16.6.2The new way lives in one person habit
    38. 16.6.3Leadership stopped asking
    39. 16.6.4The process changed and the control did not
    40. 16.6.5You are still being called
    41. 16.7The bridge into the management system
    42. 16.7.1What people hold, and what the system has to hold
    43. 16.7.2Which decay paths are still open
    44. 16.7.3What Chapter 17 anchors
  23. 17Anchoring in the management system41 min
    1. 17.1Why ISO 9001 makes a fix permanent
    2. 17.1.1The standard as a sustainment frame
    3. 17.1.2Working with an existing or emerging management system
    4. 17.1.3What changes when a process is controlled
    5. 17.2The process and its owner
    6. 17.2.1Process approach, clause 4.4
    7. 17.2.2Roles and responsibilities, clause 5.3
    8. 17.2.3Closing the no-owner gap that caused the problem
    9. 17.3Documenting the new way
    10. 17.3.1Documented information, clause 7.5
    11. 17.3.2Control of provision, clause 8.5.1
    12. 17.3.3The procedure people actually follow
    13. 17.4Checking and governing the gain
    14. 17.4.1Internal audit, clause 9.2
    15. 17.4.2Management review, clause 9.3
    16. 17.4.3Keeping leadership attention on the result
    17. 17.5Correcting and improving
    18. 17.5.1Corrective action, clause 10.2
    19. 17.5.2Continual improvement, clause 10.3
    20. 17.5.3Feeding the next Recognise
    21. 17.6The crosswalk in practice
    22. 17.6.1Mapping each phase to its clauses
    23. 17.6.2Using the crosswalk on a live project
    24. 17.6.3Reference to the appendix
  24. 18Growing maturity and the next project39 min
    1. 18.1Telling the result story
    2. 18.1.1Reporting the gain to the board
    3. 18.1.2Translating the result into business terms
    4. 18.1.3Using the story to fund the next project
    5. 18.2The audit and refresh cycle
    6. 18.2.1Setting the rhythm
    7. 18.2.2Catching drift early
    8. 18.2.3Refreshing the control as the process changes
    9. 18.3Building the portfolio
    10. 18.3.1The Master Black Belt returning to the improvement register
    11. 18.3.2Selecting the next project
    12. 18.3.3Raising maturity one project at a time
    13. 18.4Closing the loop
    14. 18.4.1From Sustain back to Recognise
    15. 18.4.2The Sustain tollgate
    16. 18.4.3Moving up the maturity ladder
  25. PART 7Scaling
  26. 19The Master Black Belt view33 min
    1. 19.1Where the first project leaves you
    2. 19.1.1RDMAICS in one view, phase by phase
    3. 19.1.2What Crestline looked like end to end
    4. 19.1.3What exists now, and what is still missing
    5. 19.2Building the pipeline
    6. 19.2.1Keeping the improvement register alive
    7. 19.2.2Balancing the portfolio
    8. 19.2.3Sequencing for momentum
    9. 19.3Light governance
    10. 19.3.1Standardising without smothering
    11. 19.3.2Accreditation and recognition
    12. 19.3.3Avoiding bureaucracy
    13. 19.4Scaling across teams
    14. 19.4.1Spreading beyond the first team
    15. 19.4.2Repeating the model
    16. 19.4.3Arguing again for the right reporting line

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