From now on, we will enter more technique 6 Sigma world, every phase I will follow " What, Why, How" consequence logic.

what is Define Phase, and what output of Define Phase?

in the define phase, we are going to determine what team are going to do for the 6 Sigma, in term of 6 Sigma, the output of Define phase is the Charter;

Why Define is come first? as define phase will determine what we are going to do in the next couple months, so if the topic is wrong, we will go to wrong place and waste resource.

How to complete the Define phase, there are several rules and tools we can use to elevate our efficiency.

I will start from output and then track back to how.

The Charter is used to present to Management Board to get their approval for the kickoff, so in the Charter, you need to tell the Board, Why we need to take time and put resource on your project, what you are suffering now. then what we can benefit from this project, other details like what's goal ( SMART), what is the project scope( is it reasonable and realistic), what is the constrain(what you need support from top management), what is the finical saving, what is the team organization, what is project schedule and how is the communication plan.

from my personal experience, at the beginning, if you want 6 Sigma success, you must get the top management involved, the top management support is one key factor for 6 sigma success or not.

after you know what you need to do for the Define phase, below is a general process flow chart and tools for reference.

How to select a good project for the 6 sigma?

the 6 sigma project needs to align with Company strategy (VOB), or can solve a problem which is a longstanding headache(pareto chart), and also need to align with Customer of Voice, there is several tools can be used in this Phase (1) Brain storming to get the ideas;(2) Tree Diagram to recognize the VOC VOB (3) Effort and Benefit Analysis to choose the best project; (4) SIPOC(Supply, Input, Process, Output, Customer) to map the general process to understand better the project scope;(4) Stakeholder analysis to identify the resistance and support, and to gain more friends. (5) Communication Plan to escalate to top management and build the routine communication plan. (6) in the end of every phase, there should be a tollgate to review the progress and output to make sure we are on the right track.

and also when you define the big Y, normally the there are some small y below the big Y, and also need to define clear what is Y, and how to measure the Y and how to calculate the Y.