Most organizations find it useful to have a way to evaluate the capacity of products, services, and processes. This step provides them with an idea of where they are on the Six Sigma map, where to focus improvement projects, as well as point out areas where data is available or needs to be collected in the future. It is important to note that there may be different approaches used to apply these concepts because each situation is different.
There are three types of analysis that can be done to estimate capability; product benchmarking, process baselining, and capability analysis. With product benchmarking, metrics are calculated for products and services to compare them to each other and to the best in class. With process baselining, we develop metrics to compare key processes and identify improvement areas. Capability analysis is done at the CT level and is usually the focus of a Black Belt's Six Sigma improvement project.
The ultimate goal is to compare things with a common metric, the Sigma value. Product benchmarking can be done at both the macro and micro level. The focus of macro-level product benchmarking is to obtain an overall Sigma value for selected products. Micro-level product benchmarking is used to evaluate the capability of several products or services (deliverables) for a functional area using more detailed data, such as the number of opportunities for defect.
For process baselining, we focus on key processes that have leverage, such as processes which run across many products. Existing data must be gathered on key processes to determine metrics. At this point, we are not interested in organizing a big data collection. We are simply interested in estimating the current situation. If there is no existing data, this is an opportunity for a Six Sigma project.
For key processes, process maps will help identify data collection points for a particular process. At each step of the process, it is important to determine the CTs that are being measured. Data that is available for these CTs will enable us to determine the process baseline for particular processes. At this point, it is usually discrete data that is used for process baselining, since it is more available in most organizations.
Calculating metrics will help identify improvement opportunities for Six Sigma projects. Eventually, when there is continuous data available for these CTs, we will be able to roll temp up to obtain an overall Sigma capability for the organization.
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