Selecting Six Sigma project: a comparative study of DEA and LDA techniques

Abstract

Purpose Nowadays, most of the organizations have focused through the world on Six Sigma to reduce the costs, improve the productivity and enhance concerned individuals’ satisfaction, especially customers’ satisfaction. Annually, these organizations define and execute thousands of Six Sigma projects which involve a great deal of investments. But are all of these projects successful and do the organizations benefit from the above advantages? The purpose of this study is to proposing a methodology to to answer this question that: How can we reduce the risk of failure in Six Sigma projects? The first step to reduce the risk of failure in Six Sigma projects is selecting optimal ones which have the most profits and the least expected risks. Design/methodology/approach First, the effective criteria are recognized and defined in selecting Six Sigma projects. Then, a new data envelopment analysis (DEA) model is proposed for project selection process. A real example is resolved by the presented model. Finally, the authors use linear discriminate analysis (LDA) to examine the validity of obtained results from the proposed model. Findings The results show that the proposed model is a suitable tool for selecting Six Sigma Projects. The findings demonstrate that the selected projects by suggested integrated DEA model are those confirmed by LDA. Originality/value The paper, using a real case study, provides a mathematical model to enhance decision quality in Six Sigma project selection. Applying the specific DEA model is remarkable itself, which joined to a pioneering procedure to use LDA to validity evaluation of the results.

Lean six sigma through an Australasian lens: project definition, structure and practices

“…As part of a systemic approach to improving performance, selecting the right project is important for a successful LSS implementation (Holmes et al , 2015; Sony et al , 2020; Sreedharan et al , 2019). Also, a strong analysis is required before the project initiation to minimize the risks that can occur during project execution (Hadi-Vencheh and Yousefi, 2018; Usman Tariq, 2013). To improve our understanding of the project selection process the following questions were asked, after asking them to recollect their most recent LSS project:…”

Why do process improvement projects fail in organizations? A review and future research agenda

“…Often, top management selects and prioritizes PI projects rather than functional experts who understand the exact deficiencies that need improvement (Iyede et al , 2018). To ensure that the right project is selected, specific guidelines and criteria should be established to enhance the benefits obtained from PI projects and satisfy organizational needs and objectives (Flifel et al , 2017; Hadi-Vencheh and Yousefi, 2018).…”

A DEA-Based Decision Support Framework for Organizations’ Performance Evaluation considering TQM and Knowledge Management

“…However, some research can be found which applied DEA for selecting, improving, or evaluating six sigma projects as well. For example, Hadi-Vencheh and Yousefi [26] and Wen et al [27] applied a hybrid DEA technique to select six sigma projects whereas Azadeh et al [28] performed a PCA-DEA approach to investigate the effect of six sigma extension on key job features in car industry.…”