Standardizing Healthcare Projects

The project oriented deployment of teams to solve specific welldefined chronic problems is core to Six Sigma. Indeed, this capitalizes on J.M. Juran's wise observation that "quality problems are solved project by project and in no other way." It is well-known that poor project definitions and early stage planning are two of the common causes for project failure. The project definition, captured in the project charter, specifies the deliverables, among other things. The deliverables indicate the quantifiable benefits expected to result from completing the project. But expected deliverables are often vague and poorly stated. As a result, it is not uncommon that the project developers, Black Belt (BB) and Green Belt (GB) project leaders and project owners (Champions) have diverging views of what constitutes a successful project. Wasted effort, missed deadlines and even conflicts might result.