Kure Helps Lean Six Sigma Green Belts Deliver Better Results — Faster
TL;DR
Kure helps Green Belts be more productive by:
Streamlining project workflow to reduce the time to complete projects
Organizing all projects and timelines in one place
Reducing analysis paralysis (tool use confusion)
Integrating statistical analysis
Completing more projects in less time that deliver better results
If you have a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt, you’ve worked hard to earn it! Chances are, your first project was a challenge. After learning dozens of tools from the standard body of knowledge, you had to decide which ones to use and in what order and manner.
“A handful of tools will get you a lot of mileage on nearly any project.”
That’s amazingly common since the standard training approach is to teach a lot of tools, leaving it up to the user to decide when and how to use each. However, when it comes to the tools, the Pareto Principle is alive and well: a handful of tools will get you a lot of mileage on nearly any project.
That’s the thinking that drove the creation of Kure. As a result, Kure doesn’t attempt to implement DMAIC but is based on the time-honored Scientific method and PDCA, which is the driving force behind all modern root cause problem-solving methods, such as Six Sigma, Ford’s 8-Discipline, Toyota’s QC Story, and many more.
Kure is structured as a Project Management app specifically designed for process improvement, paired with tools most often found useful by practitioners.
A Clear Pathway
It’s not unusual to find yourself wondering what to do next. Kure makes it easy. The Root Cause Exploration™ pathway lays out the steps to successful problem-solving. After you complete one task, Kure automatically takes you to the next. It provides gentle guidance but doesn’t hold you hostage – you can skip a step and come back later if you choose.
Guidance, With Flexibility
To complete a project, you’ll need to complete all the tools. The pathway suggests a preferred sequence, but you’re free to work out of order as long as you come back to finish any incomplete tools.
Best Practices
The Six Sigma body of knowledge includes many more tools than anyone would need in a single project, but it may not be clear which tool to use and when. Kure makes it easy. Developed by Master Black Belts with experience in thousands of projects, the path forward streamlines what you need and nothing more.
“Kure not only strongly encourages the use of stratification factors but checks to see if they make a difference in the result, proposing clues to root causes if they do.”
A case in point is data collection.
Many problem solvers identify far too many things to measure. Kure starts by focusing on the Goal Statement. You’re trying to achieve that, so it becomes the primary measure. Next is anything that can affect the values of the Goal Statement measure, the Stratification Factors. Many problem solvers overlook the power of stratification factors and miss important clues to root causes.
Kure not only strongly encourages the use of stratification factors but checks to see if they make a difference in the result, proposing clues to root causes if they do. In addition, Kure automatically identifies outliers and common non-random patterns in your data, suggesting clues when found.
Developing Your Team
You’re often responsible for developing your team members as a team leader. Kure’s Quick Win pathway is perfect for introducing people to problem-solving. They must identify a process to investigate, and they’ll experience process mapping, process walks and developing Quick Wins to improve their processes. This pathway gives them a solid foundation for Root Cause Exploration™. You can encourage all team members new to problem-solving to get their feet wet with Kure’s Quick Win pathway.
“Kure helps those new to problem solving with a layered approach to learning.”
Kure helps those new to problem solving with a layered approach to learning. Each tool in the pathway contains tooltips, sample inputs, tutorials, explainer videos and blogs. Users can go deep into learning and exit when they’ve got what they need.
Kure’s approach allows you to spend more time coaching your team on the successful application of improvement rather than forcing your team to endure months of training.
Building Your Team and Managing the Work
As your project develops, you’ll need to involve others – initially forming your team and later implementing solutions. As you identify participants, Kure will automatically invite them to participate in your project and apprise you of the results.
Initially, each step of the pathway is assigned to the project leader, but any step can be assigned to a team member. Kure automatically notifies the person assigned to the task and due date and keeps track of progress for you.
Statistics Without the Pain
Kure automatically provides statistical analysis, helping you find clues in data without the agony of conducting the analysis yourself. When your baseline data has been entered, along with stratification factors, Kure flags outliers, trends, oscillation and significant differences between stratification factor levels. Each item identified provides an opportunity to record a clue to a potential root cause.
Reality Checks Built In
“Goal Statements should be simple, but many struggle with overly complex goals. Kure enforces the discipline of a single measurable goal.”
Identifying root causes can be challenging – Kure helps you get it right by automatically creating a Logic Check for each 5 Whys sequence completed. By reviewing this Logic Check, you can confirm that the reasoning behind the 5 Whys sequence makes sense and correct it if it doesn’t.
Goal Statements should be simple, but many struggle with overly complex goals. Kure enforces the discipline of a single measurable goal. Usually, the goal calls for increasing or decreasing a measured value. Kure checks to ensure the before and after values specified are consistent with the choice to increase or decrease. This may be a minor issue but can prevent the embarrassment of an inadvertent error.
Automatic Documentation
Kure maintains a record of your work, producing a complete documentation package by the time you finish. So there’s no need to spend hours creating slides for a leadership briefing – it’s all right in the app, ready for export.
Whether you're a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or brand new to project management, Kure gives you the power to complete successful process improvement projects — no experience required.
Try it for free today!
