IS SCIENTIFIC REASONING THE KEY TO LEAN SIX SIGMA’S SUCCESS?
IS SCIENTIFIC REASONING THE KEY TO LEAN SIX SIGMA’S SUCCESS?

Summary/Abstract: The Lean Six Sigma (LSS) process continue to be used throughout the public and private sectors to map processes seeking to make them lean and, thereby, more efficient and effective. We make the argument that the LSS process (i.e. Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control (DMAIC)) is inherently scientific. In Ronald N. Giere’s (1979) book entitled Scientific Reasoning, he develops a scientific reasoning methodology and then applies the methodology to describe the process used to discover deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). The article will overlay real-world LSS project conducted by an element of the United States Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) between 2006 and 2008 and its DMAIC process atop Giere’s Scientific Reasoning Methodology. Ultimately, this article uses the scientific reasoning methodology to bound the evidence necessary to form the scientific explanation that the DMAIC process is indeed – scientific and the key to Lean Six Sigma’s success.

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