| The most important factor in getting the relevant | | | | Inform the Respondent |
| information is asking the right questions. The right | | | | Additionally, all respondents should also be |
| questions help the respondents to understand it | | | | informed about the reason that you are collecting |
| and answer accordingly. | | | | the data, so that they respond accordingly. They |
| Consider a situation where a help desk technician | | | | will then not have any misunderstanding or fear |
| receives a call from a frantic customer saying she | | | | about your intention when it comes to collecting |
| has spilled coffee onto a keyboard. The technician | | | | that data. |
| in this situation should think and dig deeper for | | | | Information about the Problem |
| more information about the keyboard. The | | | | If you are aware that factors such as location, |
| technician then instructs the customer to clean it | | | | shift, equipment, and suppliers are a part of the |
| with water, as the keyboard is easily replaceable. | | | | problem under consideration, ensure that you plan |
| Within an hour, the technician receives a call from | | | | and develop the data collection form accordingly. |
| the customer's manager, demanding to know who | | | | You do not want to miss out on any data and |
| suggested putting water on an expensive brand | | | | repeat your collection efforts, because your |
| new laptop. The technician in this situation should | | | | customers may not react positively the second |
| have asked for more information about the | | | | time around. |
| keyboard, such as the brand, its specifications and | | | | Training |
| so forth. | | | | The data collectors should be well-trained on the |
| When data collection is to be done for the | | | | guidelines to be followed for data collection. The |
| purpose of a Six Sigma project, it is necessary to | | | | training will be dependent upon the complexity of |
| keep a few things in mind: | | | | the data collection effort and the expertise of the |
| Simplicity | | | | individual collectors. |
| The most important thing to bear in mind is to | | | | You can also conduct a trial run of the data |
| keep your questions simple so that customers will | | | | collection plan to examine the teams' |
| understand them correctly and not misinterpret | | | | understanding of the type of data expected. The |
| them. If you are using a form for data collection, | | | | results will help the team to refine the questions |
| design the form so that data is collected in a | | | | further and to pay special attention to missing |
| column format, similar to software spreadsheets. | | | | information. |
| This will help to prevent conversion or exporting | | | | Simple Information |
| problems later on. | | | | When it comes to data collection for Six Sigma, |
| Clarity | | | | you should ensure that you are including additional |
| There should be clarity as to why you are | | | | space to collect information, such as the |
| collecting the data. You should develop good | | | | collector's name and the time and date that the |
| questions that relate to the information you need | | | | data was collected. Though this seems to be |
| for the project. You should also be clear as to | | | | no-brainer, you never know when this information |
| how you are going to use that data. An equally | | | | may be useful when analyzing the data collected. |
| relevant factor to keep in mind is the fact that | | | | Any feedback needed would be easily available. |
| you have to decide how much data is needed and | | | | By keeping these simple, basic things in mind and |
| how much time you want to allocate to it. | | | | planning for Six Sigma data collection, you will |
| Use the appropriate data analysis tools and make | | | | ensure that a similar story, like the IT Technician |
| sure that the data you are collecting is in line with | | | | one above, does not happen. Asking the right |
| the requirements for those tools. You should the | | | | questions is the key to perfect Six Sigma data |
| get accurate information from your respondents. | | | | collection. |