SOFTWARE DESIGN FOR SIX SIGMA (DFSS): A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR SUCCESSFUL DEPLOYMENT - Software Design for Six-Sigma: A Roadmap for Excellence - page 235

It is a critical step, in a DFSS project endeavor, to establish and maintain a DFSS
project team that has a shared vision. Teamwork fosters the Six Sigma transformation
and instills the culture of execution and pride. It is difficult for teams to succeed
without a leader, the Belt, who should be equipped with several leadership qualities
acquired by experience and through training as the leader. It is a fact that there will
be team functions that need to be performed, and he or she can do all of them, or
split up the job among pioneer thinkers within his team. One key function is that
of facilitator. The Black Belt will call meetings, keeps members on track, and pay
attention to team dynamics. As a facilitator, the Black Belt makes sure that the team
focuses on the project, engages participation from all members, prevents personal
attacks, suggests alternative procedures when the team is stalled, and summarizes
and clarifies the team's decisions. In doing so, the Black Belt should stay neutral until
the data starts speaking, stop meetings from running too long, even if it is going well
or people will try to avoid coming next time. Another key function is that of liaison.
The Black Belt will serve as liaison between the team and the project stakeholders
for most of the work-in-progress. Finally, there is the project management function.
As a manager of the DFSS project, the Black Belt organizes the project plan and
sees that it is implemented. He or she needs to be able to take a whole project
task and break it down into scoped and bounded activities with crisp deliverables
to be handed out to team members as assignments. The Black Belt has to be able
to budget time and resources and get members to execute their assignments at the
right time.
Team meetings can be very useful if done right. One simple thing that helps a lot
is having an updated agenda. Having a written agenda, the Black Belt will make it
useful for the team to steer things back to the project activities and assignments, the
compass.
There will be many situations in which the Black Belt needs to give feedback to
other team members. It is extremely important to avoid any negative comment that
would seem to be about the member, rather than about the work or the behavior. It
is very important that teams assess their performance from time to time. Most teams
have good starts and then drift away from their original goals and eventually collapse.
This is much less likely to happen if, from time to time, the Black Belt asks everyone
how they are feeling about the team, and does a performance pulse of the team against
the project charter. It is just as important to the Black Belt to maintain the team to
improve its performance. This function, therefore, is an ongoing effort throughout
the project's full cycle.
The DFSS teams emerge and grow through systematic efforts to foster continuous
learning, shared direction, interrelationships, and a balance between intrinsic moti-
vators (a desire that comes from within) and extrinsic motivators (a desire stimulated
by external actions). Winning is usually contagious. Successful DFSS teams foster
other teams. Growing synergy originates from ever-increasing numbers of motivated
teams and accelerates improvement throughout the deploying company. The payback
for small, up-front investments in team performance can be enormous.
DFSS deployment will shake many guarded and old paradigms. People's reaction
to change varies from denial to pioneering passing through many stages. On this