In my years of process improvement work, I've identified some problems that hinder the achievement of excellence. These are likely not unique to my experience and I want to share them with you, along with some suggestions on how to avoid them.

Pitfall No. 1: Lack of upper-level management support for process improvement initiatives

This can have a number of causes, including lack of understanding of the potential value, a poor implementation process, insufficient sustain controls, inadequate validation process, or loss of focus on the bottom line.

There are a number of things that can/should be done to minimize this. For example, you can schedule an orientation session with upper management. Or better yet, encourage them to become trained and run a project. Routine project reviews should include participation, not only from the process owner, but also from those over him/her. Ensure that improvement initiatives always maintain their focus on the business' bottom line. The language of management is money. If they don't see benefit hitting the bottom line, they question the validity and/or value. Toward that end, you need to ensure that independent, active, financial participation is a part of the process, particularly when the project is being scoped and again as the control plan is being put into place (more on this later). Finally, it may be necessary to revitalize the existing process with a new wave, initiative, or focus.

We implemented a pilot Six Sigma program from the middle of our organization. At the end of that first year, top management noticed millions of dollars positively affecting the bottom line -- and wanted to know where it was coming from. As a result, they searched us out, and we gained active, broad support to expand the initiative throughout the business.

Pitfall No. 2: Failure to link project objectives with corporate/business goals

This also can have a number of causes, such as project scoping that is done at the local/functional level without feedback from corporate functions. Or it could be that functional metrics rather than global metrics are used to measure success. In other instances, corporate goals or objectives may not be clear, or even worse are conflicting at different levels/functions within the organization.

To prevent this, projects should be ranked according to corporate/business goals (e.g. cause and effect matrix), not just functional objectives. To do this, business project requirements need to be determined and used to rank all projects.

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