Six Sigma Pricing: Improving Pricing Operations to Increase Profits

9Define Phase

The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution.—Bertrand Russell (1872–1970)

9.1 Introduction

The Define phase includes identifying a process for improvement and making a sales pitch to the management for project approval. As such, the important output of this phase is a scope, a time line, expected improvement in numbers—sometimes only a wild guess—and other benefits. The deliverables must be clearly defined, as they were, for instance, for Acme's Six Sigma Pricing project. We can think of the three components of Define as "tollgates" needed for completing this phase: the charter, customer requirements, and a high-level process map.¹

The eventual purpose is to obtain approval ...