Project pathway and evidence requirements

Learning objectives

• Describe the guided pathway from project registration to closure.
• List the evidence required at every DMAIC phase gate.
• Distinguish fact, assumption, estimate and decision in project records.

Pathway

The guided project takes one real or simulated garment problem through Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control with traceable decisions instead of a collection of tools. Each phase produces a submission pack, passes a tollgate and updates the living data, risk, stakeholder and benefit records.

Evidence standard

• Every claim links to source data, operational definition, analysis, owner and date.
• Facts, assumptions, estimates and decisions are labelled separately.
• Confidential customer, worker and financial data are protected in every artefact.

Copy-friendly project register template

• Project ID and title
• Business and process context
• Y / CTQ and current gap
• Scope, exclusions and guardrails
• Sponsor, process owner, team and RACI
• Phase status and next gate date
• Evidence links
• Decisions log
• Top risks and stakeholders
• Benefits (hard/soft)
• Approvals and revision date

Garment-factory example

A sewing-line DHU project is registered with the plant manager as sponsor and the line-leader as process owner. Each phase folder holds the raw check-sheets, the operational definitions, the analysis file, the decision log and the sponsor-signed tollgate page.

Method

1. Register the project and freeze v1 of the charter before Measure begins.
2. Update the evidence links at the end of every working session.
3. Present each tollgate against the evidence standard, not against slide count.

Common mistakes

• Skipping a phase because the solution looks obvious.
• Collecting tools instead of decisions.
• Storing evidence only in one person's laptop.