You're a process improvement consultant. Five companies are bleeding money from broken processes. Diagnose each one using Lean, Six Sigma, and AI — then defend your plan.
Each scenario has 3 phases: Diagnose (identify wastes & root causes), Prescribe (select the right tools), and Automate (decide where AI fits). Earn up to 20 points per scenario.
out of 100 points
Lean eliminates waste; Six Sigma eliminates variation. The hospital needed flow (Lean). The pharma lab needed precision (Six Sigma). Knowing which problem you have determines which tool to reach for.
AI amplifies — it doesn't replace — process thinking. Every AI integration you chose works because someone mapped the process first. Predictive models need clean data from controlled processes. AI on a broken process just automates the chaos faster.
The 8 wastes (DOWNTIME) are universal. Whether it's a hospital, a bank, a construction site, or a pharma lab — defects, overproduction, waiting, non-utilized talent, transportation, inventory, motion, and extra processing show up everywhere.
Process improvement is a team sport. Value stream maps, fishbone diagrams, and control charts are conversation tools. They give cross-functional teams a shared language to see waste, find root causes, and agree on fixes.
Start with the customer, end with data. Every good process improvement starts by asking "what does the customer actually need?" and ends with control charts proving you delivered it consistently.