Course and Faculty Introduction

The purpose of this course is to provide an executive‐level introduction and exploration of process improvement principles and applications, enabling learners to see how process improvement complements other business disciplines to create value and achieve organizational goals.


Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, you will:

  • Recognize the common principles underlying popular process improvement initiatives

  • Understand the defining end‐goals of Lean and Six Sigma

  • Learn how to put in place a structure for continuous process improvement

  • Become familiar with techniques for connecting process improvement objectives to organizational strategy and individual responsibilities

Course Overview

Theories

This course provides the foundation for formulating a process management strategy that persistently focuses on value creation in organizations. The course has two parts, and we will use two popular process improvement frameworks – Lean and Six Sigma – as points of reference in both parts. In the first part, you will learn about the foundation of process improvement by studying the origins of Lean and Six Sigma.

Deployment

In the second part, you will learn how to deploy process improvement in your organization by assigning responsibilities and organizing project selection. Together, the two parts of this short course will prepare you to deploy process improvement in alignment with other functions of your organization. Careful deployment of process improvement ensures that it becomes part of day to day work and helps sustain a culture of continuous improvement.