Quote From ady:
A loooong time since I posted although I was a five star member in my heydays!!!
Just wondering if anybody could point to good electronic resources about Lean and/or Six Sigma, particularly in Educational settings.
Thanks if you can help
Ady
This is terminology I've faced in my not so enjoyable world of Quality Assurance (as said elsewhere, I want to retrain and escape).
Quality theory is that the methodologies can be applied to any setting, though I do wonder if the way education is structured if any system set up would be maintained. Academics do live in their own little worlds, meaning lack of cross-organisation interation would probably see an attempt at applying a Quality Management System not succeed beyond the confines of a research group, at times notoriously separate from the main University structure.
Wikipedia has an article on 6-sigma. Bear in mind it's seen as a professional qualification as well as a set of methodologies (see below link).
You might also look up "8-D" (if an issue, you make a plan to deal with the problem, form a cross-functional team, define the problem, put in place a quick fix / containment, investigate problem via "five whys", put in place permanent solution once root causes found, monitor outcome to ensure problem does not recur, implementing a plan via process and procedure modification so there is not a recurrence, then give the team a pat on the back or pints after work to say thanks) and "5-Whys" (you keep asking why a problem is occurring until you find the root cause) for root cause analysis and solution of problems.
I've found that at times these methodologies actually get in the way of people doing their jobs or blow a simple "human error" (not supposed to exist in Quality terminology) in non-conformance investigation out of all proportion. Previously a miniscule, low impact problem or sitiation would be sorted on the spot. Now it's subject to extensive investigation.
Ian