What are some of the metrics used by  
Q: Should Six Sigma metrics be distinct from
companies that are successful with Six
Sigma?
A: The
 Innovative, as well as
easy
classical/typical metrics make up
answer
successful measurement
would be
frameworks.
to review a
 Vanguard translates performance
list of
"voices" into drivers and ultimately
classical
CTQs, for a unique focus on clients,
and/or
business and crew.
typical Six
Sigma metrics. Classical measures of quality such
as timeliness, accuracy, ease of doing business
and cost are important and often abundant on
most companies' Six Sigma measurement
framework. Other typical Six Sigma measures
such as rolled-throughput yield, sigma and DPMO
tell a good story, when applied properly.
Still, simply collecting and calculating these
measures are not enough to be successful.
Successful businesses apply these metrics in the
right context and in innovative ways to solve client
opportunities. Companies that are successful with
Six Sigma tailor metrics to align with core
processes and its critical-to-quality (CTQ)
characteristics. Understanding clients' CTQs and
ensuring they are measured and addressed are
paramount.
Another element of success is ensuring measures
are "leading" rather than "lagging." Leading
measures focus on the process, its inputs and
suppliers, whereas lagging metrics focus on
results or outcomes. Ultimately, the truly
successful companies understand the cause-and-
effect relationship between the leading and
lagging measures.
At The Vanguard Group, feedback from clients,
business leaders and the crew is collected,
utilizing both proactive and reactive means. By
translating these "voices" into drivers and
ultimately CTQs, a measurement framework is
constructed that has a unique focus on the client,
business and crew.
Q: How can companies ensure they are
measuring the "right" things?
the rest of the business metrics? If so, for how
long?
 As organizations strive to
manage with data, Six Sigma
A: Ideally, metrics should be fully integrated.
Six Sigma  Improvement projects,
metrics business operations and
should not leadership forums all leverage a
be distinct common measurement
from the rest framework.
of the
business metrics, but rather one and the same.
Practically speaking, however, this is often a work-
in-progress, especially in the early stages of a Six
Sigma implementation.
Consolidating Six Sigma metrics with business
metrics is an exercise in change management.
The saying "never solve a problem before its time"
applies. Forcing a business (and its culture) to
change to a new set of metrics can lead to
resistance.
So what to do? Effectively managing a continuous
improvement initiative, such as Six Sigma, will
produce a waterfall effect on metrics by not only
identifying new ways to consider and measure
what's important to the business, but also creating
better data the current business metrics are based
on.
As continuous improvement initiatives are
executed, more actionable and relevant business
data is produced. Business operations are
motivated by results to incorporate Six Sigma
metrics. With leadership leveraging better
business data, a more informed strategy can be
put in place that better addresses client needs and
how the company can more effectively address
them.
Q: What are some of the ways that these
metrics can be effectively displayed to upper

A:
Arguably  Fundamentally understanding
the most clients' processes is a cornerstone.
critical step  Prioritizing strong CTQs and
in ensuring metrics (though correlation or
a company causation) focuses on adding value.
measures
the "right" things is to understand its clients'
needs. Fundamental understanding of a client's
processes or value chain allows a company to
gain critical knowledge of a client's needs and
therefore CTQs, enabling definition of business
processes from the client's point of view.
A common challenge in identifying client-focused
CTQs and metrics is the sheer number identified.
Complex business processes often deliver a
lengthy list of CTQs, and therefore metrics. While
all CTQs are important, the right things to measure
are those that are most critical. It is usually
impractical to measure every CTQ or metric
identified due to limited time and resources.
At this point, a company must develop and utilize
an effective means of separating strong from weak
CTQs and metrics. The means of prioritizing CTQs
depends on the business, its clients and the
nature of its processes. In most cases, a
correlation or (hopefully) causation link can be
established between an input and an outcome
through quantitative and/or statistical means. In
other cases, it may be as easy as asking the client
and utilizing a prioritization tool such as pairwise
comparison or a prioritization matrix.
However the CTQs are prioritized, ensuring that
metrics are focused on successfully adding value
to the client is the way of ensuring you are
measuring the right things now and in the future.
management?
A: How  Examples of effectively displayed
the metrics include dashboards and
metric is balanced scorecards, digital or low-
derived tech.
and  The metrics displayed should
used is represent the most critical drivers and
outcomes identified for a business.
important. First, regardless of the tool, the metric
must be based on data that is sufficient, relevant,
representative, contextual and timely. Without the
data possessing these attributes, the metric based
on this data can lead upper management to bad
assumptions and wrong conclusions.
Second, the metric must be actionable. An
actionable metric is one that is accompanied by
specification limits of some sort. "Actionability"
allows upper management to assess current levels
and determine whether or not those levels are
acceptable.
Third, metrics should be presented in a format that
establishes a clear "line of sight," cutting through
the business' core processes and, therefore,
process owners. Establishing clear accountability
not only for the quality of the metric, but also the
action taken to improve the metric is critical to the
success of the dashboard, and the business.
Upper management should be able to consider a
high-level metric and drill down into the business
to gain a better understanding of where the
problem originates (drive to root cause).
Last, metrics should be presented in a simple
manner. Do not crowd as many metrics onto the
dashboard as possible, but rather present the
most critical seven-to-twelve metrics required to
run the business successfully.