Unit 2: Projects and Processes

Chapter 7: What is a Process?

In Unit 1, we introduced Six Sigma as a concept and covered a lot of principles that are
foundational to creating and maintaining improvement in a business. In Unit 2, we’ll begin
looking at what a process is, why quality is important in a process, and how Six Sigma projects
can improve processes. The concepts you learn in Units 1 and 2 become the bricks used to build
project work that we discuss throughout the rest of the book.

What is a Process?
A process is a collection of tasks, steps, or activities that are performed, usually in a specific order, and
result in an end product such as a tangible good or the provision of a service. In a business, multiple
processes work together to achieve organizational goals. Technically, the business or organization itself
can be seen as one enormous process. For example, a law firm that handles criminal defense cases
operates via a huge, complex process. Defendants and their cases enter the process. The output of the
process is the result of the case: a bargain with prosecutors, a win or loss in court, or dismissal of
charges prior to court.

Within the huge process that sees the defendant through to his or her outcome, there are hundreds,
possibly thousands, of smaller processes. There are processes within processes. A lawyer and team of
paralegals might move through the process of negotiation; a legal secretary might go through the
process of setting appointments. Holding depositions, making copies, sending letters, and filing legal
documents are all examples of processes. At the most detailed level, even answering the phone or
typing a letter can be considered processes.

In Chapter 6, we briefly introduced the idea of scope and scope creep. To define and maintain proper
scope, we said that a Six Sigma team had to identify the processes that were related to a process
improvement or project. In the legal firm example, a project to reduce the time it takes to set
appointments would likely not include a process for filing a legal brief. To know that, however, you have
to know that the legal brief process doesn’t share components with the appointment setting process. In
this chapter, we’ll cover the components of processes and a format for mapping those components
known as a SIPOC.

Four Layers of the Process Definition

As you continue with this chapter, you’ll see that processes can be very complex. Our basic definition
above is just that: Basic. Before we begin defining the components of a process, let’s peel back the
layers of this concept known as “a process.”

The Steps
Whether physical, digital, or ideological, every process is a series of some number of steps. You can put
those steps on paper in the form of instructions—often called a standard operating procedure in a
formal business training or policy document -- or a visual diagram known as a process map. A process
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map uses standard shapes and connections to create a map of a process that can be understood by
most employees and any Six Sigma team member.

Processing Time
Processes all take a certain amount of time, and processing time can change with a variety of factors.
Process maps and documents can only record information such as the average time a process takes or
measures of variation in the processing time. This information is often noted in such documents because
it provides valuable information to teams, but real-time observation of a process almost always provides
better information about processing time.

A retail chain might create a process map for restocking a certain area. The process documentation
notes an average time of two hours to fully restock the shelves in the defined area. In an effort to obtain
more data about the process, a Six Sigma team observes employees actually performing job functions in
real time at various times of day for two weeks. Some notes that come from those observations include:

• Stocking in the evening takes only minutes.

• Stocking during the day is hampered by the movements of customers.
• Stocking work performed during peak shopping hours usually takes the longest.

With just this information, you can probably see an easy way to reduce stocking time in this example:
move stocking duties to non-peak times when possible. Simply understanding the steps to stock the
area is not enough to understand the process; you also have to gather data about process times.

Interdependencies
Almost any process in a business will be dependent upon one or more other processes. Remember, the
business itself is a series of linked processes all working toward the same goal or goals. Sometimes,
interdependencies are noted on processes maps. Other times, interdependencies are resource-related.

For example, consider a very simple passenger train scenario. The train leaves station A with passengers,
carrying them to station B. Before the train can leave, the engineer must be on board and prepared to
operate the machine. Safety checks, clearance from the rail yard, the closing of all the doors: these are
all processes that must be completed before the train leaves the station. The process of the train
transporting passengers is dependent upon the completion of other processes.

When working with processes during a Six Sigma improvement project, teams must be aware of
interdependencies. What does any process you are working on rely? What relies on your process? The
first is important because you might need help from processes or people upstream from your process
when making improvements. The second is important because you have to know how your
improvements will impact downstream processes and people – and improvement in the performance of
your process doesn’t do any good for the company or organization as a whole if it hinders the

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performance of a downstream process.

Resources and Assignment

Processes require resources. Like a motor vehicle requires fuel or electricity to run, a process requires
resources such as power, people, cash, digital bandwidth, computer equipment, machinery, supplies,
parts, and even skill. Since someone in an organization has to approve and pay for resources, project
teams must understand the resources involved, the cost of those resources, and the owners of the
processes and resources in question so they can make appropriate requests about needing additional
resources.

Major Process Components

Processes are made up of components that include inputs, outputs, events, tasks (activities), and
decisions. Inputs enter the process when a specific event occurs; tasks and decisions are performed
upon or with the inputs. At the end of the process, an output is generated. Most of the time, the idea of
process components is introduced with a simple factory-based illustration: raw goods of some type
enter the factory, work is performed, and finished goods leave the factory. For example, if a factory
makes hard candy, things such as sugar, water, plastic, and electrical power enter the factory.
Equipment and employees take the inputs and work with them. The end result is a wrapped piece of
candy ready for the store.

The figure below illustrates the idea of process components using a pizza shop example. An event – the
ordering of a certain pizza – begins the process. You can see all of the components in the diagram, and
we’ll talk about each component in detail in the section that follows.

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 Customer places an
order for a medium
cheese pizza.

Process: Make medium cheese pizza

Inputs: Tasks: Decisions:

Cheese Putting the What size

Dough ingredients crust/how
Sauce together many
ingredietns?
Oven Placing pizza
temperature in oven How long
does the
Cook time Taking pizza pizza cook
out of oven for?

Output:
a medium cheese
pizza

Figure 1 Medium Cheese Pizza Process

Inputs
Input refers to anything that enters a process or is required to enter a process to drive the creation of an
output. In the pizza example above, the inputs are all the ingredients needed to make the pizza. You
might also consider factors such as oven temperature, type of oven, and the cook’s skill level to be
inputs in the process.

Understanding all inputs to a process is important in Six Sigma because inputs are often causal – or
related to causal – factors regarding a process. Inputs or the results of those inputs can cause errors or

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defects in the process. The cookies burn when the oven is too hot. The computers made in a factory
don’t function when the circuit boards are bad. A lawyer doesn’t win his case if his or her information is
wrong. The oven temperature, the circuit boards, and the lawyer’s information: these are all inputs into
processes that are also causing problems within the processes.

Other reasons for defining inputs when working with a process include:

• Understanding the resources required for a process to run

• Identifying extraneous inputs that aren’t required
• Understanding costs for the process
• Understanding how the process relates to processes that come before it

Remember, in a business, processes are linked together to accomplish a final goal or goals. The inputs
entering process B might be the outputs leaving process A.

Outputs
The output of a process is the service or product that is used by the customer of the process. In the pizza
example, the output is the cheese pizza the customer is going to eat. In the candy factory example, the
output is the hard candy that will be sold by the retail store.

The process customer is not always the traditional end customer who purchases a product or service.
Customers can be internal or external. An example of a process serving an internal customer might be
seen in a business office that employees a receptionist to answer phone calls. If the receptionist takes
messages or transfers phone calls, he or she is serving both the person on the phone and the person
who is receiving the call or message.

In some cases, the customer of a process is not even a person. Many processes feed other processes. In
a pharmacy, the process of entering data about a prescription feeds the process that bills an insurance
company for the medication.

From a Six Sigma perspective, an output is almost always of more value to the ultimate process than the
input is. The process itself involves adding value of some kind to the inputs. A bakery puts raw bread
dough through the oven to add value to it: the result is an edible and tasty product that a consumer is
more likely to purchase or to pay more for.

Events
Events are specific, predefined criteria or actions that cause a process to begin working. A process that
performs well responds to an event just like a light bulb responds to the action of a switch being pulled.
Six Sigma teams must determine what events trigger a process because it helps them understand why a
process is being performed and whether the process is being run when it isn’t needed.

Consider an example about compliance audits in a financial sector company. Perhaps a company created
a specific audit process that initiates when red flags on accounts are raised; the audit process is
comprehensive and usually takes an average of 80 labor hours. You can imagine that it is an expensive
process to run. In investigating, a Six Sigma team identifies the event associated with the process:
anytime a discrepancy in an account is noted by a clerk, the compliance process is triggered.

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The team investigates and realizes that this is true even when the discrepancy was minor – a few dollars
or less – or the clerk was able to reconcile the discrepancy later in the day. The team might suggest that
the relationship between the process and the event is a problem. The process is running at times when
it might not be valuable for it to do so.

Tasks
Tasks, or activities, are the heart of a process. Just as the heart pumps blood through your body, the
tasks within a process pump the inputs through, turning them into the outputs. Tasks are the physical,
automated, or computerized actions within a process. Examples of tasks include:

• A machine joining two metal parts with a weld

• A person entering data into a software program
• A computer processing data to create a report
• An email being written
• A piece of computerized work being routed within a workflow system
• A chef chopping ingredients for a recipe

Decisions
Decisions are closely related to tasks and can be tasks themselves. A chef preparing ingredients for a
soup dish has to chop those ingredients, but he also has to decide how much of each ingredient he
needs. His decision will likely be guided by the recipe and the number of people he has to feed.

Decisions within a process are typically governed by a set of rules. Sometimes those rules are formally
documented; other times, decisions are made via informal rules along with staff knowledge and
experience. Processes that are governed by informal rules can have problems of consistency; even when
all staff are experienced, they could have individual variations on performing a task. And, as we
discussed in Unit 1, variation can lead to more opportunities for defects and a reduction in quality.

Using the task examples above, here are examples of decisions in a process:

• A person entering data into a software program makes a decision to select a certain drop down
category because of training or rules provided by the software
• A computer processes a report; the result of that report is a number above a set threshold, so
the computer sends the report to a person
• When writing an email, a person chooses to include certain specific information, such as an
order number or customer number, because it is protocol to do so when sending this type of
email

All Components Are Related

You’re probably noticing that processes can be extremely complex, and the relationships between all
the components are equally complex. Inputs can be outputs from previous processes; outputs can be
inputs in the next process. A decision might result in an event that starts a new process, but it can also
be the factor that decides which task begins. As Six Sigma teams work with processes – observing them,
diagramming them, and measuring them – the teams begin to understand the relationships of the
components, and that helps them make decisions about possible improvements and changes.

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Process Owners
As teams work to improve processes, they need to understand who the process owners are. Depending
on the business organization, process owners can be the people with the power to approve changes. In
some organizations, the lowest-level owner might not have veto or decision power about all changes,
but he or she is held responsible for the performance of the process.

A process owner can be:

• A person in charge of a very specific process or function

• A team supervisor or department manager
• An executive-level individual who is probably responsible for a number of processes in his or
her division

What does a process owner do?

The responsibilities of a process owner are often defined by the infrastructure of a specific business, but
commonly, a process owner will:

• Monitor how the process performs, usually using one or more metrics or regularly reported data
elements.
• Understand how the process fits into the overall business, why the output of the process is
critical to business goals, and what inputs feed the process.
• Ensures the process is documented via standard operating procedures (SOPs) and that process
documentation is kept current and accurate.
• Ensures operators within the process have the resources and training they need to complete
their jobs.

In a Six Sigma environment, process owners might also ensure a control plan is in place and regularly
review the process for possible improvement opportunities.

Data
Finally, all processes generate some form of data. Even if data isn’t yet being captured, information is
inherent in any process. A computer program that automatically routes work in a workflow might
generate data such as the number of items in work queues, how many items were worked that day, the
time items have been waiting in queues, how many items were transferred, and where those items
were transferred to. A process for filling bottles with liquid might generate data such as how much liquid
is placed in each bottle, how many bottles per hour are filled, and perhaps variation between bottles.

Data is extremely valuable to Six Sigma teams because it’s often how they define whether a process is in
control and successful.

Defining Process Components: The SIPOC

The SIPOC diagram is often an important part of the define stage of a Six Sigma project. But you can use
the SIPOC diagram anytime you want to learn more about a process or understand how a process in a
business environment is linked to other processes.

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SIPOC stands for Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, and Customer. For the purposes of a SIPOC, inputs
and outputs follow the same guidelines described previously in this chapter. Suppliers are the people,
processes, and organizations that supply inputs to your process. Customers are the people, processes,
and organizations that make use of the outputs of your process. The process itself is the series of steps
that take the inputs and make them outputs.

Benefits of a SIPOC Diagram

SME: Subject Matter Expert
The SIPOC diagram is one of the most often used tools for
understanding process components and process relevance An SME is someone who is closely
because it is so effective and simple. Teams can create associated with or familiar with a
SIPOC diagrams in a single brainstorming session, though process or work function. Six Sigma
effective diagramming usually requires the presence of a teams invite SMEs to participate in
process owner and one or more SMEs who are familiar with discussion, process mapping sessions,
the process on a daily level. or problem and solution
brainstorming, because SMEs have
SIPOC diagrams are also infinitely scalable. Teams can
valuable insight that might not be
diagram processes at a very minute level, but they can also
provided by high-level process
use SIPOC to diagram an entire business. We’ll walk
owners or a review of the data.
through creating a SIPOC diagram and then provide some
examples of SIPOCs at various levels to illustrate scalability.

Creating a SIPOC Diagram

You can create a SIPOC diagram as an individual exercise or within a team environment. SIPOCs can be
created using a computer and software tool such as Word or Excel, but you can also draw them
freehand on a whiteboard or piece of paper. Freehand diagramming is a valuable brainstorming tool
because teams can quickly edit the rough draft of the diagram as they discuss a process. Keep this in
mind :many of the diagrams presented in this book look clean because they have already been typed
and edited. As you diagram your own processes, they can tend to look messy at first with edits, arrows,
scratch outs, and inserts. “Editing” or putting rules on the brainstorming process can limit the ideas and
information that flow during the process. You can always create a clean copy of the diagram for
presentation purposes when you are finished brainstorming.

Step 1: Create Swim Lanes

A SIPOC diagram is based on swim lanes. Swim lanes let you show how cross-functional activities and
resources relate to your process. A SIPOC diagram gets five lanes: one each for Suppliers, Inputs,
Process, Outputs, and Customers. You’ll end up with something that looks like the figure below.

Suppliers Inputs Process Outputs Customers

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Step 2: Set Boundaries and Name Your Process
Before beginning a SIPOC session, set a definition for where your process or responsibility begins and
ends. If you don’t understand the scope of your process, then your SIPOC session can get out of hand or
produce a diagram that isn’t useful for your project.

Naming your process helps the team identify more readily with a specific aspect of the business. For
example, a team working to improve processes within a medical office might look at a process named
“Gathering New Patient Information.” By naming the process, the team has put some scope limitations
in place: the team will talk about things related to gathering information from patients. The scope is
further limited to the process by which staff gathers information from new patients.

As you work through the SIPOC diagramming exercise, you can point back to the name and the scope
you’ve defined to keep the team on task with the discussion.

Step 3: Complete Swim Lanes

You can complete SIPOC swim lanes in any order, but best practices usually have teams enter data in the
following order:

• Process
• Outputs
• Customer
• Inputs
• Suppliers

Realistically, teams will think of things as they work through the process, so you’ll be returning to swim
lanes repeatedly to move information around and add new information.

A SIPOC isn’t usually a low-level or detailed map of the actual process, so keep teams high-level when
completing the process swim lane. You can simply enter the name of the process in that section, or you
can list some of the high level steps required for the process. Listing steps is a good exercise if teams
aren’t sure about outputs and inputs – beginning to visualize the process usually helps ideas flow about
how the process is connected to other processes and resources in the company.

To keep the session from turning into a detailed process mapping activity, ask the team to describe the
process in less than five to seven steps. Keep things simple by limiting process steps to short verb-noun
combos such as “Enter information,” “Collect money,” or “Place labels.”

Name Outputs and Customers

Once you have a rudimentary process definition, begin with either inputs or outputs. Ask the team
“What does this process make? What comes out of this process?” Those answers go into the outputs
swim lane.

Next, ask the team “Who or what uses the things that come from this process?” Place those answers in
the customer swim lane. Remember that customers can be external or internal, and another process can
be the customer in cases of automation.
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Name Inputs and Suppliers
Ask the team “What does the process need to perform? What raw goods or materials feed the
process?” Record those answers in the inputs section.

You can divide the idea of inputs into two types, if you like. First, you have the actual inputs – the goods
and services that are transformed by the process to create the outputs. Second, you have enablers of
the process. These aren’t technically inputs because they don’t enter the process and aren’t changed by
the process; instead, they are required for the process to function. Machinery is an enabler. In a process
that cuts metal parts from a steel sheet, the machine that does the cutting is an enabler. While it’s not
required, separating enablers on your SIPOC helps you define the process and provides additional
information for later in the project.

Once you have a list of inputs, ask the team, “Where do the inputs come from? Who or what supplies
the process with these things?” As with customers, suppliers can be external or internal. A vendor might
provide the raw sugar that goes into the candy in a factory; the marketing department might provide
the leads that the sales department uses to create orders.

Suppliers can also be other processes, particularly in an automated environment, and you can have a list
of several suppliers for one input in a raw SIPOC diagram. For example, support tickets come into the
Information Technology (IT) department. The supplier of the ticket could be both the end-user
submitting the ticket and the automated process that routes the ticket to the appropriate work queue. If
you are documenting enablers, you might record the end-user as the supplier and the automated
process as the enabler.

Step 4: Validate the Information

Ensure that your understanding of the process at this high level is accurate by validating your diagram. If
you’ve put together a comprehensive team that includes SMEs, the team can validate most of the
information on its own. It’s always a good idea to get a second opinion on anything the team isn’t sure
about, though. Invite other SMEs or the process owner to review the diagram briefly with the team and
provide feedback.

Tips for a SIPOC Brainstorming Session

One of the best ways to create an initial SIPOC diagram during a team session is on large pieces of paper
or a whiteboard. Create swim lanes by drawing them on the whiteboard or hanging a piece of paper for
each swim lane on the wall. Provide the team with sticky notes and markers; write on sticky notes
instead of writing directly on the board or paper. This lets you move components around quickly as you
work through the diagram.

Sample SIPOC Diagrams

Here are some sample SIPOC diagrams. The first diagram is at the highest level: the process is the
business itself. The second diagram features an automated process. The third diagram illustrates a
people-powered factory process and includes enablers.

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Business-Level SIPOC Diagram
This diagram shows the SIPOC for a mid-sized printing company. It’s a very high-level, simplified SIPOC
that shows how customers and vendors provide information and items; the printing company then turns
those inputs into products such as printed business cards. The final product goes to individuals,
businesses, and marketing professionals who placed the order.

Suppliers Inputs Process Outputs Customers

Paper vendor Orders/customer Receive order Business cards Individuals

specifications

Ink vendor Layout designs Brochures Business owners

Paper

Copy and print Print designs Banners and Marketing

machine provider Ink signs departments

Deliver printed
Customer Designs product Mailers

Letterhead

Most of the time, a Six Sigma team won’t deal with a business-level SIPOC diagram. However, if the
team includes members from outside the division or company, such as vendors or consultants assisting
with an improvement, then starting with a high-level diagram can help those outside of the business
understand the overall goals of the company.

SIPOC of an Automated Process

The diagram below represents an automated process in a mail-order pharmacy. The process in question
puts labels on bottles that are to be filled with corresponding medications. The scope of the process is
only the labeling of the bottles.

Suppliers Inputs Process Outputs Customers

Bottle sorting Unlabeled Choose bottle size Labeled bottle Bottle-filling station
machine bottles

Print label
Label machine Data for labels

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 Affix label

Prescription Labels
software

Ink for printing

Ink and label
vendors

Because this is a process within a chain of automated processes, almost all of the components are
machines, processes, and things. Prior to labeling, a machine sorts bottles by size. That machine feeds
the labeling station as needed. After the labeling is done, another station fills the bottles.

SIPOC with Enablers Noted

The SIPOC diagram below illustrates how enablers might be recorded for your process. The process in
question takes place in a factory that makes furniture; in this process, a person attaches legs to a
barstool on an assembly line. For the purposes of this illustration, leg attachment is the last step in the
completion of the product, which means the product moves from the leg attachment station to packing
and shipping.

Suppliers Inputs Process Outputs Customers

Upholstery station Stool top Align legs Barstool with Packing station
(provides final top legs attached
of stool)
Legs Attach legs with
screws
Warehouse
(provides legs, Screws
screws, and Place protective
protective cover) cover
Protective
cover

Enablers:

Conveyor machine that moves

products

Drill for application of screws

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Without the conveyor machine, the people in involved in this process would have to move items
manually. The conveyor isn’t 100 percent required for legs to be added to the stool, but it enables the
process to move at a more efficient pace. A case could be made that the drill isn’t required either –
screws can be installed manually – but it’s certainly what enables the process to move at a speed
required for mass production.

With just this simple SIPOC diagram of a process, a Six Sigma team would already have some idea about
where variation could be hiding, what drives efficiencies in the process, and how the process relates to
the overall business.

Create Your Own SIPOC Diagram

Whether working in a team or on your own, choose a process you know about and practice creating
your own diagram. Pick a process associated with your business or a business example you have
experience with. Use the templates on the next page to get you started.

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 Suppliers Inputs Process Outputs Customers

Enablers:

Suppliers Inputs Process Outputs Customers

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