Six Sigma Project Charter: Template, Examples And Elements

One of the first and most crucial steps in any Six Sigma project is chalking out a Six Sigma project charter. The document offers a project overview and acts as a contract between management and the Six Sigma team outlining the anticipated project results. It contains a detailed explanation of accountability as well as the roles and obligations of the team. The charter also lays out a strategy for financial control over the project's duration by including predicted expenses and financial gains.

In this article, we will discuss the crucial areas of the project charter, following a brief description of each, a six sigma project charter template, and much more.

What is a Project Charter in Six Sigma?

Six Sigma's project charter may be a document of two to fifty-pages long, although it is often less than five pages. It describes a project to enhance a process. The project's need is explained through data-driven information in the charter. The paper becomes the main resource for the Six Sigma team once it has been authorized.

Similar to conventional project charters, a Six Sigma project charter is the first document that outlines the objectives of a project. It is also a dynamic document that can be revised and updated as the project progresses.

These fundamental components are present in both conventional project charters and Six Sigma project charters: 

• Contract: It is an agreement between the project crew and the management department. 
• Alignment: It outlines project objectives with corporate objectives. 
• Business Case: It describes the project's business case. 
• Overview: It outlines the project's goals, resources, and schedule. 
• Project Expectations: It determines the project's scope and expectations for the future. 
• Reference/Inspiration: It is a reference point for the project's duration.

A Six Sigma charter must be created and carried out by a team certified in the Six Sigma technique, unlike a regular project charter. Along with meeting the objectives mentioned above, the Six Sigma project charter will include the following -

• Methodology: Identify the Six Sigma tools and techniques you intend to employ to improve the business processes.
• Certifications and Roles: The team members allocated to the project should be identified with their Six Sigma certifications and project roles.
• Statements: It describes any potential implementation problems and the process improvements the project will make.

What is the Lean Six Sigma Project Charter?

A lean six sigma project charter serves as a road map for your project, outlining important facts, objectives, and many other crucial elements. Additionally, it serves as a contract between the project's implementation team and its sponsor, who provides financial support. To keep everyone on track and informed, including shareholders and team members, this project charter helps spell out expectations, including milestones and deliverables.

Who Drafts a Six Sigma Project Charter?

The Six Sigma project charter is created by a project champion, who could sometimes be a project head. This team member leads a group of certified Six Sigma Green and Black Belts and takes ownership of the process. Additionally, they depend on subject matter experts to deliver pertinent project information.

Each organization will have a different team structure. The general roles that should be included are -

1. Project Champion: The project head serves as the process owner and a point of contact for the project team and management. The charter's creation is the appointed head's top priority.
2. Green Belt/Black Belt: The team leader for the project is chosen by the project head. A Green Belt manages projects part-time, whereas a Black Belt oversees projects full-time.
3. Team Members: These are recruited as subject matter experts and are responsible for completing the majority of project work. 
4. Master Black Belt: Guides the company regarding Six Sigma procedures.

All team members working on the charter, except for the Subject Matter Experts, must have good knowledge of Six Sigma practices and elements of the project charter in Six Sigma. For learning and revising the concepts of the Six Sigma project charter in-depth, you can take up the online six sigma courses.

How to Create a Six Sigma Project Charter?

Drafting a Six Sigma project charter is similar to writing previous project charters. Six Sigma project charters will include roles and duties following the Six Sigma methodology is a significant distinction.

1. Collect Data

Green Belts or Black Belts are responsible for data collection by the project champion. For a few weeks, this team tried to collect any data that would help the project. The champion then enters the data into a charter template and collaborates with the group to edit it.

2. Weigh Competing Priorities

All project tasks are identified, evaluated, and prioritized by the team. This task aids in managing scope creep and making the most of the team's time.

3. Six Sigma Pick Chart

Teams adopt a quadrant chart, also known as a payout matrix or a PICK chart (possible, implement, challenge, and kill), to identify the actions that will yield the largest payoff with the fewest resources.

4. Possible

Items with minimal difficulty and little reward that are doable will be listed under this section. These tasks would be done after acquiring the challenges.

5. Implement

Items essential to the project yet are also low-stakes and high-paying will be included in this part.

6. Challenge

Mark down the high-risk, high-reward products that will be challenging but might be worth the effort. Achieving these must be a goal first. 

7. Kill

Mar down the high-difficulty, low-reward tasks that are unnecessary to attempt and ought to be killed. You can avoid these tasks during the initial phase of the solution. 

8. Review

The project champion revises and edits the charter and solicits any additional supporting information from stakeholders before submitting the document to management.

9. Submit for Approval

The project sponsor receives the completed charter from the champion. Before approving the project, the sponsor seeks agreement from all parties.

10. Schedule Formal and Informal Updates

Timely updates and changes are important for the charter. Therefore, after the final verdict of management, the project head must regularly review the charter.

6 Major Elements of a Six Sigma Project Charter

There are six elements of a project charter in six sigma, namely: a business case, a problem statement, a goal statement, a scope, a timeframe and milestones, and team members.

1. Business Case

The business case explains why the corporation values this initiative. Why should the company back this project?

2. Problem Statement

The problem statement gives a brief account of the "pain" that the organization is going through. It needs to be connected to the customer's voice. The phrase "voice of the customer" (VOC) describes the thorough procedure (whether internal or external).

3. Goal Statement

What is the project's mission statement? How much progress is envisioned? The project's objective must be clear, quantifiable, doable, relevant, and time bound. Also, the objective has to be connected to the issue you're attempting to resolve.

4. Scope Statement

The project's physical boundaries are precisely described in the scope statement. What is included and excluded in the project are specified in the scope. The scope may encompass product lines, regions, divisions, etc. 

5. Timeline and Milestones

A timeline drafts the schedule and determines the team members working on a specific project. Going further, the timeline is split into phases and milestones. Each phase comprises a defined overview of resources and teammates influencing the work. Identify the major milestones within and at the termination of every phase.

6. Team Members

All the necessary components to work on this project are included in the team member's section. The project sponsor, significant stakeholders, teammates, and subject matter experts are typically highlighted in this section.

Additional Project Charter Components

The Six Sigma charter will include the same things as conventional charters - 

• General Info: Note the project title, the start date, and the projected finish date. Include any clarifications the group might find helpful.
• Critical Success: Factors: Identify the critical success criteria that could prevent your project from being completed successfully, like financial/time/resource constraints, etc.
• Financial Benefits: Detail any financial gains your organization will receive from the project as well as any lost opportunities. 
• Risks, Constraints, And Assumptions: Forecast possible occurrences or dependencies that could impact the project's execution, timetable, budget, or quality. Examine the team's suppositions.

Six Sigma Project Charter Format

There are various ways to format a Six Sigma project charter. Typically, the team gathers data in order and lists them under the defined section. Here is an example given below to follow.

Sections	Points to include.
General Information	Project's Goal  Project title  Sponsors  Stakeholders
Business Case	The significance of the project  Project alignment with the purpose and vision of the business  Risks and repercussions of not putting the proposal into action.
Scope Statement	Focused on  Deliverables  Objectives  high-quality tracking metrics  Scope and Expectations
Timeline and Milestones	Objectives and milestone activities
Team Members	Black Belt  Green Belt  Project Head  Team members
Monitoring Strategies	What to do if the project is not finished as expected  Comparison of project progress to the desired outcome  Comparison of the planned and actual completion dates

Six Sigma Project Charter Industry Examples 

Now that we have discussed the methodology and steps of a six sigma project charter let us take a look at a blank six sigma project charter template that you can use as a reference. Several six sigma project charter sample documents are also available below. Each charter provides - 

• A sample business case. 
• Problem statement. 
• Scope statement. 
• The goal statement for a Six Sigma process improvement project is particular to the industry.

1. Healthcare

This sample Six Sigma project charter for the healthcare industry discusses an endeavor to decrease the number of patients who wait too long to leave a hospital's cancer care unit.

2. Manufacturing