Peer to Peer Magazine

PEER TO PEER: THE QUARTERLY MAGA ZINE OF ILTA 18 BEST PRACTICES There's a lot of competition out there. Many law firms are seeking ways to complete work better, faster and cheaper to meet the challenge of controlling costs while placing an increased emphasis on the value of client service. In addition, it has become increasingly important for lawyers to understand their client's business and processes. Clients want high-quality, lower-cost legal services delivered with predictable results and higher transparency. To address these issues, more law firms are looking closely at Lean Six Sigma. WHAT IS LEAN SIX SIGMA? Lean Six Sigma is a combination of two process management systems originally developed for manufacturing. Lean originated at Toyota in the 1940s as a set of tools to identify and eliminate unnecessary processes, improve quality and reduce production time and cost Six Sigma was developed in 1986 by Motorola as a data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating manufacturing defects In 1995, Jack Welch, then Chairman and CEO of General Electric, made it central to his business strategy at GE. Sigma is the Greek letter in statistics that represents standard deviation, or the variation of measurements for a group spread out from the average (think your standard bell curve). In Six Sigma, it's used to represent the goal of a variation rate of 99.9 percent from "perfection." Six Sigma is about reducing defects and variability to improve quality. Lean Six Sigma (LSS) combines the efficiency philosophy of Lean with the quality metrics of Six Sigma to provide a method of streamlining a process within an organization by increasing the speed and effectiveness of a task. This results in improved quality, enhanced collaboration, reduced costs, increased revenue and more satisfied customers. LSS is a positive approach to improvement based on these core beliefs: • The right process will produce the right results • Continuously solving root problems drives organizational excellence About the Author Theresa Lundquist is the President and CEO of CTI & Lundquist Consulting Group and provides strategic solutions that enable law firms to increase performance through process improvement and operational excellence. Theresa is a veteran adult learning specialist and education management professional who is Legal Lean Sigma and Legal Project Management certified. She is also a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt. Contact her at theresa.lundquist@go-cti.com. • Errors are opportunities for learning • Whenever there's a defect (error), fix the process, then continue To achieve improvement, LSS employs various concepts and processes, beginning with the "voice of the customer." VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER The voice of the customer (VOC) is used to determine stated and unstated needs or requirements of the customer early in an LSS project. Note that law firms have two customers: Clients: External and supported by attorneys Attorneys: Internal and supported by various departmental staff LSS adheres to the belief that customers determine whether your products or services meet their expectations. VOC aids in recognizing customers' needs, wants and pain points, uncovering reasons why they might not be satisfied, which is central to defining the problem. "If you can't describe what you are doing as a process, you don't know what you're doing." — W. Edwards Deming, Father of the Quality Evolution Lean Six Sigma 101

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