Is there a difference between 6 Sigma, Lean, Kaizen, BPM, Continuous Improvement and Reengineering?

Anyone new to process work can easily get confused by so many different terms that seem to mean the same thing. Sometimes I wonder why we keep adding new terms to what basically boils down to “quality”. All of these techniques have the same goal: to achieve improvements in the delivery of a product or service to the customer. The “improvement” can take the form of greater efficiency for the business or greater effectiveness for the customer. All methods are connected to the Total Quality Management (TQM) movement promoted by gurus such as W. Edwards Deming and Joseph M. Juran, among others. Some offer a more philosophical approach than a specific set of tools.

With so many techniques to choose from, do you select the newest method, the trendiest, or perhaps the tried and true method? Do you have to choose a technique? Why not take the best of everything and call it something else that works in your culture? You can simply call your technique Business Process Improvement, Continuous Improvement, or something similar that works for your organization. The name you decide to use makes a difference in the acceptance rate at your company because, as we all know, “culture trumps process every time.”

You may find my simplified explanation of the various terms (in alphabetical order) helpful:

• Business Process Management (BPM): Recent term denoting process management software. It comes from the world of IT and companies that have software to sell promote this technique. It seeks to continually improve processes by promoting business efficiency, effectiveness, flexibility, and integration with technology. I see it simply as a new twist on the use of technology for process improvement… not a bad thing, but did we need another term?
• continuous improvement: A more philosophical concept than a technique, CI strives to constantly improve processes. Promotes a culture of innovation and constant improvement.
• Hoshin Kanri: A method of strategic planning that uses the collective thinking power of all employees to help a company reach the top in its field. The concept of including “everyone” is key to Hoshin Kanri so that the company is focused on a shared goal. “Hoshin” means Compass and “Kanri” means management (gold control).
• kaizen: The Japanese word for continuous improvement. “kai” means continuous and “zen” means improvement. It is not just another technique, but a philosophy that denotes an incremental, constant and repeatable improvement.
• Lean: Focuses on the value stream for the customer; everything else is considered waste. Companies that follow Lean have the goal of reducing the time between a customer’s order and shipment by eliminating waste. When you think of Toyota, you think of Lean.
• Lean Six Sigma: Sometimes seen as the best approach as it combines Lean and Six Sigma, this technique fuses the “process variation” aspect of Six Sigma with the “Flow of the process” aspect of Lean, both important concepts. However, the term strikes me as more of a sales term.
• Reengineering: Focuses on radial redesign of end-to-end processes. It ignores the current business process and starts by designing a new process from scratch based on customer needs. While popular in the mid-1990s, it was not very successful in the long run due to a lack of focus on change management or process governance.
• six sigma: A statistical method (coined by Motorola) that seeks to reduce variation in process performance and strives for perfection. The “six” refers to six standard deviations. Walter Shewhart’s work in the 1920s showed that processes required correction when they got within three sigma of the mean. With the introduction of “belts” (credited to GE), it sometimes seems like Six Sigma is the best method, and while it focuses on preventing defects and helping you understand the complexity of the process, I don’t think it’s just enough. If you use this technique, remember the cultural effect of any changes to the process.

In short, all the techniques are focused on improvement; all have the customer at the center; and everyone wants to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and adaptability of the business. As you read more about these techniques, you may notice what seems like turf wars between some of the methods, for example, Lean vs. Six Sigma or continuous improvement vs. reengineering While you will find some differences (evolutionary or revolutionary, ongoing or unique, specific tools), you will see more similarities than differences.

In the end, just think about process improvement and spend time defining what “quality” means for your organization.

Copyright 2011 Susan Page