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Six Sigma Program Maturity Assessment

Six Sigma programs often stall not because the tools are wrong but because project selection, data, skills or follow-up are weak. This ten-question assessment scores your program on those dimensions and gives next steps for your band.

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1. How are improvement projects selected?

Think about the last five projects started.

2. How trustworthy is your measurement data?

3. How is SPC used on the floor?

4. How do you report process capability?

5. What training do the people running improvement projects have?

6. How do you check that root causes are real?

7. How are gains made permanent?

8. How involved is leadership?

9. How are financial benefits verified?

10. How easy is it to get quality data from your ERP or MES?

How to use it

Answer for how the program actually works today, not how the policy says it should. Ideally a quality manager, a plant manager and a Black Belt answer separately and compare scores. Differences between their answers often show where the real gaps are. You get a score out of 100, a band and recommendations. Export the result and revisit every six months to see progress.

Answer based on the last five projects, not the best one
Have two or three people answer independently
Retake it after each major change

What the questions cover

The questions follow the typical failure points: how projects are chosen, whether measurement systems are trustworthy, whether SPC is used for decisions, how capability is reported, whether people are trained, how root causes are verified, how gains are sustained, how involved leadership is, whether finance validates benefits and how easily quality data can be pulled from the ERP or MES. Each answer is scored from zero to three.

Reading your band

Ad hoc and Emerging programs gain most from fixing fundamentals: measurement system analysis, project selection and control plans. Established programs usually need discipline: sustainment audits and consistent financial validation. Embedded programs should look outward at suppliers and transactional processes and keep refreshing skills. A high score on tools with a low score on leadership or sustainment usually predicts that results will fade.

Common mistakes

Teams often equate belt count with maturity, though trained people with no sponsor or data produce little. Another is to launch many projects at once without capacity. A third is to measure success by the number of projects closed rather than the verified, sustained benefit. A short list of strong projects with clear owners generally beats a long list.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this assessment tied to a formal Six Sigma standard?

No. It is a practical self-assessment based on common program failure points, not a certification or a formal standard such as ISO 13053. Use it as a conversation starter, not an audit result.

Does it apply if we use Lean rather than Six Sigma?

Mostly yes. The questions on project selection, data, leadership, sustainment and financial verification apply to any improvement program. A few refer to statistical methods that a Lean-only program might not use.

What score should we aim for?

Aim to move up one band at a time. A realistic goal for most plants is Established, with a high score on sustainment and data. Embedded takes years of consistent leadership attention.

How often should we repeat it?

Every six months is a good rhythm, or after a significant change such as a new ERP, a new site or a leadership change. Keep each result so you can show the trend.

If easy access to defect, scrap and inspection data is your weakest area, Netray can help connect your ERP and MES data for improvement teams, read-only by default.

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