Enhancement of a Data Management System using Design for Lean Six Sigma

The purpose of this study is to outline a transformation model that can help commercial enterprises to design, develop and launch a transformation programme of change for their data management system applying Design for Lean Six Sigma - Define-Measure-Analyse-Design-Verify methodology. Design for Lean Six Sigma methodology was chosen to develop/implement a five-year roadmap to enhance a data management system to effectively predict and react to customers’ needs and competitors’ actions and survive in a constantly changing financial services industry. Companies seek to enhance their level of data quality to comply with regulatory requirements, reduce uncertainty and improve the quality of decision-making with more accurate and timely data available. The model used conveys how the organisation will implement and sustain a standardised data management system to reduce the Cost of Poor-Quality data by 27.33%, decrease the electronic data retention cycle time to a maximum of 7 years, previously stored long-term, and achieve/sustain a 90% deletion target for emails older than seven years. Data deemed nonvalue added does not contribute to satisfying customer requirements, therefore Design for Six Sigma methodology was used as a vehicle to systematically identify, manage and delete same. This study is one of the first studies on Design for Lean Six Sigma application in a financial data management system.