Six Sigma Project Project Schedule
This is a practical guide to building a project schedule for a six sigma project project — the planned dates for performing activities and reaching milestones, adapted to the realities of reducing defects and variation in a process.
What a Project Schedule is
A project schedule is the planned dates for performing activities and reaching milestones. For the full concept and how it works in general, see Project Scheduling. On a six sigma project project it plays the same role, tuned to this kind of work.
Why it matters for a Six Sigma Project project
Six Sigma Project projects live or die on reducing defects and variation in a process. A well-built project schedule gives the team a shared, explicit reference for exactly that — reducing ambiguity, aligning stakeholders, and making problems visible early enough to act. Skipping it, or doing it generically, is how six sigma project projects drift into avoidable delay and cost.
What to include
- Activity list
- Durations and dependencies
- Critical path
- Milestones
- Baseline dates
Six Sigma Project-specific considerations
Tailor the project schedule to the risks that most often derail six sigma project projects:
- Data availability
- Root-cause complexity
- Sustaining control
Example
On a real six sigma project project, the project schedule would be shaped by reducing defects and variation in a process. In particular, it should explicitly account for the project’s biggest risks — data availability, root-cause complexity, sustaining control — rather than treating them as afterthoughts.