DESIGN FOR SIX SIGMA PROJECT REPORT TEMPLATE

Pat Hammett, PhD

The University of Michigan

Comments

 The following template provides guidelines for preparing a Design for Six
Sigma written certification project report. Your report should be similar in
organization and contain similar headings. Subheadings and length of each
section will obviously vary based on your findings and writing style. For a
complete sample report using the template, see “Sample Project Report”.

 The information in your report should follow the Design for Six-Sigma
Methodology of IDD, IOV or IDDOV depending on the scope of the project (or
may use another recognized DFSS methodology). This includes a description
of the project, key points about customer focused idea generation, concept
selection/development, optimization and detailed support for your
conclusions and any recommendations. Reports should be approximately 10-
15 single-spaced pages (excluding appendices), including tables and figures.

 Please use the headings in this report template in your written report. In
addition, some general guidelines for grammar and format are provided for
your reference.

 We recognize that some information contained in this template is repetitive

across sections. However, since different audiences will read your report to
various degrees of depth, we believe that it is essential to repeat certain
information. Ultimately, we want you to produce a high quality,
professionally-presented report that has sufficient detail to help other Design
for Six Sigma practitioners utilize and build upon your project findings.

Design for Six Sigma Report | Hammett, University of Michigan | © 2014 The Regents of the University of
Michigan 051214
 Title of Report

Submitted to:

Name, Title
Department/Organization
Address (optional)

Prepared by:

Name, Title
Department/Organization
Address (optional)

Date Submitted

Note: Do not put a page number on your title page. Begin numbering the pages with the
Executive Summary.

Design for Six Sigma Report | Hammett, University of Michigan | © 2014 The Regents of the University of
Michigan 051214
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Executive Summary presents the major information contained in the report.
Its readers are typically managers who need a broad understanding of the project
and how it fits into a coherent whole. These readers do not need or want a
detailed understanding of the various steps taken to complete your project.
Therefore, the Executive Summary allows readers to learn the gist of the report
without reading the entire document, to determine whether the report is relevant
to their needs, or to get an overview before focusing on the details. We consider
writing a concise (typically one-page) and comprehensive executive
summary a critical element of a Design for Six Sigma project report. The
Executive Summary should NOT include terms, abbreviations, or symbols
unfamiliar to the reader. Readers should understand the content of the Executive
Summary without reading the rest of the report.

The Executive Summary should include the improvement opportunity/project

scope, summary of approach used, major project findings and recommendations.

 Improvement opportunity/Project scope

 Concisely describe the improvement opportunity (few sentences).
 Identify the time period of the problem
 Discuss the project scope, potential benefits for the customer and its impact
on the business (if possible).

Example: Develop Next Generation of Automatic Belt Tensioner Units (ABTU)

to address current design related issues and automatically regulate the
tension inside the timing belt with a rotation load and combination of a
spring load & damping load which lowers the cost and is easier to mount for
the customer. It reduces warranty costs and customer complaints for the
company due to high performance quality (Ppk > 1.67), and high Reliability
(90% of systems (B5 Design Life) expected to last more than 200,000 miles)

 Summary of Approach used (methods used to develop the new design)

Example: We formed a cross-functional new product development team from

the following departments. This team used the Design for Six Sigma IDDOV
process to develop a new design. First, we conducted a voice of the customer
analysis to identify the customer requirements. Next, we set up a matrix to
convert these requirements into measureable design neutral functional
requirements. Based on these requirements, we created and developed
various designs using creativity activation tools and benchmarking. Through
this process, we were able to develop various design features for our new
product which would improve customer desirability. Finally, we optimized the
requirements to create a robust design which was minimally sensitive to the
effects of noise.

Design for Six Sigma Report | Hammett, University of Michigan | © 2014 The Regents of the University of
Michigan 051214
  Major project results or findings and recommendations -- should include KEY
information.

Example: A major finding of our project is that the majority of our customers
are not satisfied either due to low belt life (<200,000 mile life) which also
leads to high warranty costs or the belt tension which needs to be adjusted
often requires substantial time and effort to set the tensioner correctly. The
customer is calling for a tensioner that does not need to be set, with
improved quality at or below the current price ($10). Our analysis resulted in
several recommendations for our new ABTU. This includes automatically
regulating the belt tension using the rotation load and combination of spring
load and damping load.

1.0 IMPROVEMENT OPPORTUNITY: IDENTIFY PHASE

Discuss the problem you examined. Explain how you identified your specific
Design for Six Sigma project. You might possibly integrate visuals and data
summaries using tools such as a Pareto chart, Nominal group technique or a
Project prioritization matrix.

Some topics that should be included in this section are:

1.1 Identify Improvement Opportunity (Problem) Statement

 List the projects which were considered initially. Some ways to generate a list
of project ideas is to brainstorm using a cross functional team or get
suggestions from mangers/process owners.
 Describe how you identified an appropriate project which related to key
organizational performance measures (quality, cost, time/delivery, efficiency,
customer satisfaction, etc.). To identify an appropriate project you may
select/prioritize projects using a structured approach like Nominal group
technique or Project prioritization matrix.

1.2 Briefly describe improvement opportunity and goal of the project

 Include a brief description of your project. List potential benefits for the
customer and/or company. What is the desired outcome (what will you do
with the result?)Example: Develop a new design (product and/or process),
establish a new product requirement, Develop a new best practice etc.
Identify metric/criteria to measure success (time, defect rate, etc.). Also list
any project constraints (compatibility, cost, timing, etc.)

1.3 Discussion of project scope

 Include discussion of scope if you chose to limit your project to a particular
part of a larger problem statement or due to timing constraints or span of
influence.

Design for Six Sigma Report | Hammett, University of Michigan | © 2014 The Regents of the University of
Michigan 051214
  Note: To control project scope, you should clearly identify what is included
and excluded. Obtain buy-in from process owners/business units on project
boundaries. A general guideline for project scoping is 3-6 months.

2.0 DEFINE IMPROVEMENT/PRODUCT REQUIREMENTS: DEFINE PHASE

2.1 Identify the customer requirements

State whether your project focused on an external or internal customer. Describe
your target market, customer profile and constraints (e.g., price, quality loss
function).
Some steps to follow here to effectively gather VOC are:
 Identify target market/customer segments (existing and potential)
 Observe customer behavior (identify unspoken needs/wants)
 Ask them the right questions (identify important topics)
 Ask the right questions in the right way (avoid biases)
 Understand the answers (interpret the results and assign importance ratings
for each requirement)
 Summarize the customer requirements using one or more of the following
tools:
1. Large sample surveys/Kano analysis
2. Interviews/Questionnaire
3. Focus groups
4. Usability tests
5. Customer complaints/feedback data
6. Benchmarking data

2.2 Create metrics for voice of the business:

Describe how you established metrics and requirements to monitor the health of
the business. Example.,Time to develop the product, Cost to develop the product
(including engineering change costs), Cost to produce product, Return on Assets,
etc.

2.3 Translate customer requirements to functional requirements:

Include how you translated the fuzzy, typically dimensionless, subjective wants
and needs expressed by customers into functional requirements (quantifiable
metrics related to product functions) using one or more of the following:
1. VOC – FR metrices
2. Fast Diagram
3. Value analysis
4. QFD – House of Quality 1
5. Design scorecard

Functional Requirements should be design neutral where possible to maximize

creative/inventive options. Try to provide data driven/evidence based link between
customer requirements/satisfaction and functional requirements.

Design for Six Sigma Report | Hammett, University of Michigan | © 2014 The Regents of the University of
Michigan 051214
2.4 Prioritize functional requirements based on customer importance:
Summarize the prioritization of various functional requirements based on customer
importance using CTS matrix, HOQ 1 or design scorecard. Include benchmarking
information to depict how the competitors rank the various requirements and the
ones in which you lag behind.

3.0 DEVELOP PRODUCT DESIGN: THE DESIGN PHASE

The Design Phase should include a detailed description about Idea

Creation/Concept Development and Concept Evaluation/Selection. Include
alternative solutions considered and clearly communicate with data when possible
why you recommended a particular design solution. Note: Much of the design
phase is spent developing an improved design and typically reports only include
pictures or descriptions of new system

3.1 Idea creation/Concept generation:

Describe the thought process which you went through when you came up with
various innovative design concepts and new ideas to satisfy the design neutral
functional requirements. State how you used one or more of the following
creativity and innovation activation tools to come up with various design
alternatives:
 Brainstorming
 Convergent and divergent thinking
 Axiomatic Design
 TRIZ
 Bio mimicry
 Lateral/Parallel Thinking, etc.

3.2 Concept evaluation and selection:

Try to evaluate how well various design alternatives conform to and satisfy the
functional requirements. Specify criteria for choosing a course of action. Present
conclusions regarding alternatives and identify recommended solution. Describe
the prioritization and decision matrix methods used for evaluation and selection
such as:
 Simple and complex design scorecards
 Pugh decision matrix
 Design for manufacturability/Assembly analysis
 Simulation
 Design of experiments.

Mention about hybrid designs, if you had created any. Briefly describe the final
design you have chosen and how it improves customer satisfaction/desirability and
business objectives.

Design for Six Sigma Report | Hammett, University of Michigan | © 2014 The Regents of the University of
Michigan 051214
4.0 FIND OPTIMAL AND ROBUST SETTINGS (PROCESS DESIGN): THE
OPTIMIZE PHASE

Report about the tools and techniques used to develop products and processes
that optimize design objectives/requirements and are minimally sensitive to noise.

4.1 Create a P-diagram:

 Describe how you created a P-Diagram(s) to identify key process inputs,
process control factors, uncontrollable noise factors, failure modes and
critical output metrics.
 Discuss whether you seek to minimize response (with minimal variation),
maximize response (with minimal variation) Maximize Response (with
minimal variation) or hit a target (Nominal is Best with minimal variation).
 Fix whether the signal factors are static or dynamic.

4.2 Establish a transfer function:

Where appropriate, establish a transfer function to model relationships between
critical inputs and outputs. Some of the methods you could follow to develop
transfer functions are:
 Physical-Deterministic Relationships based on Laws of Science (or) Empirical
Models:
 Engineering equations (by experts in a field of study)
 Simulation (e.g., numerical estimation based on different possible input
combinations)
 Physical Testing using Observational Data: Regression modeling & analysis
 Physical Testing using Design of Experiments: Controlled experiments
 Company/Employee knowledge

4.3 Conduct a DOE, if necessary:

If you have conducted a DOE, specify whether it was a fractional DOE or Taguchi
DOE. Report about the experiment setting:
 Type of experiment (e.g., optimization, robustness)
 Response of interest (e.g., mean, variance)
 # of factors and levels considering the cost and ability to measure
 Strategy to handle noise factors
 Describe whether you are modeling noise as signal factors or following a two-
step optimization.

If the design has multiple responses, describe how you used methods like multi
response optimization and response surface methodology to identify the region
that contains the optimal solution.

4.4 Perform Reliability analysis:

Establish the system failure probabilities using either a
 Reliability Block Diagram (or)

Design for Six Sigma Report | Hammett, University of Michigan | © 2014 The Regents of the University of
Michigan 051214
  Fault free diagram
Then, describe how you improved system reliability by following principles like:
 Material Selection - use proper material to meet reliability goal
 Technology Selection – use proper technology to meet goal
 Joining/Attachment Process and Interface Design
 Redundancy
 Derating -- specify operating conditions less stringent than those concept
Design
 Burn-in -- use product prior to shipment to reduce likelihood of early failures
(reduce infant mortality).
 Preventative maintenance/ Replacement – repair/replace components before
they fail (e.g., furnace filter, oil change)

4.5 Tolerance modeling and analysis:

 Describe your tolerance stack up function and establish whether you are
using statistical or worst case tolerance analysis.
 In establishing tolerances, you may work top-down (allocation), bottom up
(synthesis), or both (hybrid)
 Use virtual testing/simulation (tolerance simulations) and/or physical testing
to establish optimal components specifications, and/or tolerances needed to
meet desired performance levels

Use the following methods to adjust your tolerances, if necessary and mitigate
stack-up effects:
 Include a mean allowance factor (mean drift allowance)
 Include a compensation factor to eliminate a component stack-up factor
 Include special cause shift allowance (processes will exhibit some instability
 over time)
 Determine appropriate weights or coefficients for various factors in tolerance
model (not all factors have an equal contribution end-product)

5.0 VALIDATE AND VERIFY SOLUTION: THE VALIDATE PHASE

The final phase of the report should describe the reviews, evaluations, functional
audits and reliability tests you did to verify and validate your solution. Verification
takes place before validation and not vice versa.

Include how you verified the proposed design. This should include
review/evaluation of your designs, documents, and plans to ensure requirements
have been incorporated and met in the design. This may be done via check lists,
walkthroughs, meetings, simulation, etc.

Then describe your validation process which would involve physical testing of the
product using its process to confirm that the product meets its design function.
Final validation may not be complete until after product has been produced using

Design for Six Sigma Report | Hammett, University of Michigan | © 2014 The Regents of the University of
Michigan 051214
actual production process and is ‘in use’ at customer. Some prefer to conduct
reliability tests and audits in a lab setting to validate their design.

Example:
Reliability Analysis summary
Existing Design:
Average Mean Time to failure (hours): 195,000
New Design:
Average Mean time to failure (hours): 323,148
B10 Design Life: 90% of systems expected to last > 200,000

There is no universal agreement on the difference between verification and

validation. As such, some prefer the term V&V or just Validation. Hence it is
acceptable if your report contains just a validation phase using a few of the
following methods/tools:
 Design Verification Reviews
 Simulation/Virtual Manufacturing and Assembly
 Prototypes and ‘Early Production Builds’
 Confirmation Tests (Among Multiple Alternatives)
 Hypothesis Tests (Parametric/Nonparametric)
 B vs. C Nonparametric Test (‘6-Pack Test’)
 Tukey Quick Test
 Confirmation Test (Test design versus acceptance criteria)
 Function audit /Design scorecard assessment
 Reliability/Durability test

If you had performed a process validation, include a brief description of the method
followed and tools used if any such as Glide paths, coordination slow builds and
part swapping. Finally, demonstrate improvement via:
 Updated Design Scorecard
 Comparison of Old vs. New System using Performance Metrics, etc.

Comment: We realize that it might not be possible to include data that supports
that an actual improvement was made because of the project time constraints. If
this is the case, please at least discuss the potential benefits of implementing
your new design.

6.0 CONCLUSION

Briefly restate the problem addressed, the process followed to reach a solution,
and the chosen solution. List the potential benefits to the chosen solution. Note: if
your results or recommendations are incomplete or sensitive to your company,
please try to discuss potential benefits in relative terms. (e.g., a 20% reduction in
warranty costs or a 10% cost savings). If appropriate, explain any further action to
be taken, including the responsible team members and schedule.

Design for Six Sigma Report | Hammett, University of Michigan | © 2014 The Regents of the University of
Michigan 051214
APPENDICES

Use appendices to present information that is too bulky to be presented in the

body of the report or that will interest only a few readers. For example, large
diagrams or charts, computations, software package graphics, test data, and texts
of supporting documents should appear in appendices. Appendices have the
following characteristics:
 Titled "Appendix," not "Figure" or "Table."
 Usually lettered rather than numbered.
 Referred to at appropriate points in the body of the report so they are
accessible to the reader who wants to consult them.

Only use an appendix when the data is not relevant to the report but might be of
interest to some other readers. We expect most if not all of your tables and graphs
to be in the main body of the report.

GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR WRITING REPORTS

The following list presents reminders to help you write reports that are easy to
read and understand. You do not have to follow every one of these
recommendations. How you present your written argument depends on your
situation. These tips are offered as basic guidelines. For more information about
techniques for writing clearly, consult a writing handbook or a writing website such
as: http://www.plainlanguage.gov/

 Know your audience and purpose when writing.

 Choose and organize your content around your purpose and audience.

 Use frequent, informative headings and subheadings. Headings and

subheadings help readers preview and review the major sections of
information.

 Divide material into short sections.

 Introduce the sequence of sections that follow to let readers know what's
coming in the report.

 Limit each paragraph to one topic.

 Vary structure and length of sentences. However, prefer short, direct

sentences.

Design for Six Sigma Report | Hammett, University of Michigan | © 2014 The Regents of the University of
Michigan 051214
  Use "you" to speak to the reader. Use "I" or "we" to refer to events in which
you were involved. Note: Using "I" or "we" is now widely accepted in
technical writing.

 Be concise. Avoid unnecessary words.

 Select appropriate diction. Prefer clear, simple language. Avoid inflated,

obscuring words.

 Prefer active voice. Use the passive voice only when the identity of the
agent is irrelevant.

 Be consistent in tenses. Prefer present tense.

 Prefer active verbs to abstract nouns.

 Use terms consistently to refer to the same object.

 Use lists.

 Use parallel grammatical structure for ideas or facts of equivalent

importance (often presented in lists). For example: Instead of Accidents can
be either personal injury producing or cause property damage write
Accidents can either produce personal injuries or cause property damage OR
Accidents can either injure people or damage property.

 Use visual cues to guide readers such as:

1. bullets or numbers to signal items in a list
2. indented lists
3. boldface to emphasize key points

 Use good document design: use plenty of white space; avoid all uppercase
letters and underlining; use serif typefaces (such as Times New Roman used
here); and use left-justified, ragged right margins.

 Display material suited to visual presentation in well-designed, clear visuals

such as tables, charts, and maps.

Design for Six Sigma Report | Hammett, University of Michigan | © 2014 The Regents of the University of
Michigan 051214