The Six Sigma journey of many organizations has morphed into “lean Six Sigma” during the past couple of years.

While the fusion of two methodologies has yielded benefits, it has also spawned a number of urban legends on the context and relevance of combining the two methodologies.

What follows are just some of the common misconceptions surrounding this fusion.

Urban legend No. 1: Lean Six Sigma is a trimmed down version of Six Sigma.

Many practitioners may laugh at that statement, but it is not uncommon to find staff in many organizations (including some who are responsible for driving operational excellence) who assume that lean Six Sigma is a simplified version of Six Sigma: perhaps a Six Sigma Lite. 

 …