INFORMATION MANAGEMENT PROCESS OPTIMIZATION KNOWLEDGE CENTER ABOUT CSI

iSixSigma - Ten Ways to Boost Up a Pretty Good Six Sigma Program (Larry Holpp, 10/29/2008)
Master Black Belt Larry Holpp discusses how a Six Sigma deployment that is just getting by can be solidified and lead to more impressive results simply by following ten relatively simple and straightforward actions.

iSixSigma - Trailblazing Efforts Drive Strategic Objectives (Larry Holpp, 10/15/2008)
Process expert Larry Holpp discusses how trailblazing is a participative, team-based problem solving process that targets a key initiative – customer experience.

iSixSigma - What Belts Should Know About the Cost of Poor Quality (Jeff Stroud, 9/3/2008)
Master Black Belt Jeff Stroud discusses how reducing the cost of poor quality may have the power to transform marginally successful companies into profitable ones. By calculating and reporting the financial value of a project, Belts will have the numbers to back up their effort and gain buy-in.

iSixSigma - How to Avoid Deep-sixing a New Six Sigma Program (Larry Holpp, 8/20/2008)
Process expert Larry Holpp discusses three key issues that may have been a problem during past TQM deployments should be resolved before starting Six Sigma.

iSixSigma - Preparing to Measure Process Work with a Time Study (Larry Holpp, 8/6/2008)
Process expert Larry Holpp discusses how to prepare for a time study by determining what is to be measured and how, and by introducing the concept to employees.

iSixSigma - Displaying Project Storyboards Reenergizes Effort (Timothy J. Soehl, 7/23/2008)
CSI-DeLeeuw client, Tim Soehl of NYISO, discusses how to leverage successes by displaying project storyboards to focus employee opinions on the benefits of Lean Six Sigma.

iSixSigma - The Change Game: Engaging Exercises to Teach Change (Jeff Stroud, 7/9/2008)
Jeff Stroud discusses how using simulations, exercises or games, practitioners can enliven their learning environments and improve knowledge retention, skills and applications. While some adults see games in class as childish, as long as the games are not too ridiculous, many adults are willing to give them a try.

DMReview Magazine - Building a Leadership Foundation (William McKnight, 7/1/2008)
Many in information management hunker down in the technology and fail to develop their vision and their relationships. These are both necessary to achieve the leadership required for success today. When you know you need to do something to meet your goals, start doing it. It may be uncomfortable at first, but the key is making it a habit. Then, it’s easier, if not easy. McKnight discusses areas where information management leaders can look to build a leadership foundation.

iSixSigma Magazine, print edition - Six Sigma Basics: Taking Flight With a Pilot (Jeff Stroud, 7/1/2008)
A pilot approach allows a project team to test and improve a new process before it is fully implemented. Original article published online March 5, 2008.

iSixSigma - Three Elements of a Deployment Governance Framework (Bryan Carey, 6/25/2008)
The goal of any Lean Six Sigma program is to achieve operation and execution excellence, which can only come about through a well thought-out and executed deployment governance framework that concentrates on teams, knowledge transfer and people.

iSixSigma - Sustaining Change Requires Focus on Stakeholders (Barbara McConnell, 6/11/2008)
A Six Sigma initiative – or any change process for that matter – is only successful in the long run if the stakeholders truly adopt and sustain the change. This requires planning and focus and should be an integral component of any deployment.

iSixSigma - Process Improvement for Lean Six Sigma Program Too (Bryan Carey and Brad Thorne, 6/8/2008)
A Lean Six Sigma program is a dynamic process and needs to be systematically and objectively reviewed for opportunities to improve. Continuous process improvement is applicable to the Lean Six Sigma deployment in the same way it is to other processes.

DMReview Magazine - Leadership and Information Management (William McKnight, 6/1/2008)
A tremendous amount of leadership exists within the ranks of information management. This is definitely true with the various clients that I have under my advisory at this time. However, all would agree that more leadership would help.

iSixSigma - Project Management: Remembering the Human Element (Jeff Stroud, 5/28/2008)
The strength of relationships between project team members directly impacts a project, and also affects interactions between team members. Two social methods can help practitioners prepare to work as a team with different personality types

iSixSigma - Business Intelligence Adds to Process Reengineering (Bryan Carey and Jeff Stroud, 5/14/2008)
Infomation about a business, known as business intelligence, should be part of any business process reengineering effort. It is a driving force for determining an organization’s efficiency gains and final specs, and helps in making key decisions.

DMReview Magazine - The Face of Analytic Data Access (William McKnight, 5/1/2008)
The face of analytic data access is changing, whether it occurs in operations or with a batch-loaded data warehouse. Investments in the online analytical processing paradigm give way to embedded and machine-driven forms of business intelligence (BI), allowing business analysts to accede to higher functions of the business. Information leadership drives power to the business and the programmer.

iSixSigma - Defining CTQ Outputs: A Key Step in the Design Process (Jeff Stroud, 4/30/2008)
After starting a project and gathering VOC data, it is time to define the critical-to-quality outputs. To prioritize their actions during this process, practitioners may use a quality function deployment (QFD), also known as the house of quality.

iSixSigma - Gaining and Using Six Sigma Intelligence (Bryan Carey, 4/2/2008)
Six Sigma "intelligence" – the information that helps practitioners pick projects more effectively, achieve results faster and reach long-term success – comes from collecting actionable data through voice-of-the-customer research.

DMReview Magazine - The Data Warehouse Conundrum (William McKnight, 4/1/2008)
The data warehouse faces a conundrum, and companies need to make a decision about it.

DMReview Special Reports - Why you Need Master Data Management (William McKnight, 3/20/2008)
Vendor hype drives business for a while, but soon MDM will have to prove its mettle.

iSixSigma - To Pilot or Not to Pilot a Six Sigma Project or Design (Jeff Stroud, 3/5/2008)
It is possible to pilot all or some of every solution or new design that an organization wants to implement. And it is almost always worth the extra effort to pilot especially if conducting a DFSS (design for Six Sigma) project.

DMReview Magazine - The Information in Chief Information Officer (William McKnight, 3/1/2008)
Like a maze for humans from a Stephen King novel, today’s CIOs find themselves facing a variety of roads to business intelligence (BI). Trying to build BI, make information into a corporate asset and create competitive advantage for the business with information can be a daunting challenge in a world of vendor promises, competitive accusations, demo parity and buzzword overuse. The power of information is becoming recognized as a driver of corporate growth and a significant element of corporate strat

DMReview Magazine - Why you Need Master Data Management (William McKnight, 2/1/2008)
The vendor hype machine is up and running, and master data management (MDM) will be in your favorite software salesperson’s messaging and in their quotas by the time you read this. That hype drives business for a while, but soon MDM will have to prove its mettle. So should you listen or care? Is MDM a fad, as some believe, or is it here to stay?

iSixSigma - Business Requirements Document: A High-Level Overview (Jeff Stroud, 1/23/2008)
A business requirements document (BRD) details the business solution for a project including the documentation of customer needs and expectations. The BRD process can be incorporated within a Six Sigma DMAIC culture.

DMReview Magazine - Hospitality Industry Business Intelligence: Checking In (William McKnight and Stuart Mullins, 1/15/2008)
Inside the hotel, there is, or could be, business intelligence (BI) all around you. The market has shifted from one focused solely on providing the traveler with a clean room and the necessary amenities to one focused on capturing repeat corporate business through discounts and loyalty programs. With occupancy rates remaining fairly high amid a supply shortage, hotel managers are tasked with driving more revenue, or revenue per available room (REVPAR). The wave of acquisition and consolidation has cr

iSixSigma - Use Forecasting to Predict Future Conditions (Jeff Stroud, 1/9/2008)
Forecasting is a business and communicative process and not merely a statistical tool. Basic forecasting methods serve to predict future events and conditions and should be key decision-making elements for management in service organizations.