Role of a Project Coach in a Six Sigma Project

The Project Coach is the person concerned who is responsible to make sure that the team understand Six Sigma tools and methodologies. Six Sigma is a complex methodology encompassing multiple stages. There will be different people who will be working at different stages of the Six Sigma project. All of them do not need to know the entire Six Sigma approach. The Project Coach can be seen as a Six Sigma expert assigned to the Project team to ensure that their queries related to the methodology get quick and prompt resolutions.

Required at What Stage

The Project Coach is required at intermediate stages of the project. Their work really begins after the Project Champion has chosen the project lead and finance certifer, the project has been approved and the team is about to be chosen for the project.

The work of Project Certifier begins at this stage and guidance is required throughout the project till the end is about to be reached.

Job Description

• The Project Coach is expected to assist the Project lead in the selection of personnel for the project.

• The Project Coach is then expected to prepare and execute a training plan to ensure that the concerned personnel have the required skill.

• The Project Coach is expected to be the first point of contact in case anyone in the team has any doubt related to the Six Sigma methodology and its principles.

• The Project Coach is expected to conduct periodic internal audits to ensure that the execution of the project complies with the Six Sigma norms.

• The Project Coach is also expected to document the learning from the Six Sigma project and archive it to be used by future executives looking to implement similar projects.

• The Project Coach is expected to reward certifications like Green Belt and Black belt to executives who have completed the training.

Job Specification

• The Project Coach needs to be very well versed with the Six Sigma methodology themselves. The Project Coach must preferably be a Six Sigma Black Belt or a Six Sigma Master Black Belt.

• The Project Coach must have good teaching and mentoring abilities. This is because they will be required to conduct trainings.

• The Project Coach must be able to prioritize well. They may face competing queries from different teams. They must choose which queries are more important and therefore need to be resolved first.

• The Project Coach must be capable of working on a tight budget. Many organizations are sceptical of conducting large scale Six Sigma trainings because of the recent hue and cry over wastage of funds.

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