AI is transforming how we work … but it won’t fix broken or inefficient processes. Principal Consultant Nancy Guérin, a Six Sigma Black Belt, explains why the combined Lean Six Sigma methodology is more relevant than ever for organisations wanting to make the most of AI and achieve rapid gains in efficiency.
For more than 25 years, the backbone of my professional career has been process improvement. I trained as a Six Sigma Black Belt in the UK while working for an international chemical company. Since then, I’ve applied Six Sigma principles across sectors, in organisations big and small, public and private.
Lean Six Sigma has been, for many years now, a reliable way to improve how we work: it’s pragmatic, proven, sustainable, and evidence-based. Initially developed by Toyota, it’s a methodology that helps organisations step back, understand their processes, and make their processes more efficient and effective.
Lean Six Sigma has achieved success in both business and government
The methodology is behind some of the biggest success stories in business. Toyota first pioneered Lean principles to eliminate waste and improve efficiency, and companies like GE later saved billions by embedding Six Sigma into their operations.
Lean Six Sigma has delivered impressive results in government too. For example, HM Revenue & Customs in the UK applied Lean principles to streamline tax processing – this reduced turnaround times and improved accuracy, saving millions in operational costs while improving services for citizens.
So why is it suddenly in such hot demand again? Two words: Artificial intelligence.
AI readiness starts with clarity about your processes
Leaders and organisations are rightly excited about the opportunities AI offers to improve processes and ways of working. But here’s the catch: before you can automate a process, you need to understand it. You can’t automate chaos.
We often talk about “process maturity” as a way to gauge readiness for automation. In simple terms, you can’t automate a process that doesn’t work well – or worse, a process that isn’t clearly understood or documented. You need to understand your process inputs and outputs to be able to inject the AI magic in the middle.
I believe the way to go to clarify your processes is not to engage in extensive process mapping, but rather to carefully identify and agree on a list of top process opportunities based on what’s important for you and your organisation.
And then? I often say that process and process clarity is not just about boxes, arrows, and process maps – it’s about engagement. The clarity you need is primarily achieved through talking to leaders and process “doers”. Through doing that, it becomes easy to understand what you’re aiming to achieve out of each process and to document current ways of working. This approach also inevitably sparks the appetite for improvements.
Why Lean Six Sigma matters more than ever
This is where Lean Six Sigma shines. It’s a combined methodology that blends Lean’s principles for eliminating waste and optimising flow with Six Sigma’s methods for reducing variation and defects.
Lean Six Sigma gives us a structured, efficient, and reliable way to quickly understand and improve our processes. It creates a strong foundation for automation and AI, enabling organisations to achieve real efficiency gains rather than just layering technology on top of broken or inefficient ways of working.
Lean Six Sigma is based on the five “DMAIC” stages: Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, and Control. The Control phase in particular enables us not only to keep an eye on how our processes are going, but also to quantify any improvement value. This, in turn, help us build the case for investing in AI.
AI is reopening the discussion about the importance of process fundamentals, reminding us that the basics matter. Process clarity, efficiency, and discipline may not be as glamorous as AI, but without them, AI will not realise its full potential and organisations won’t reap the full benefits.
Getting the process basics right makes the difference between buzzwords and real value
For me, this isn’t theory – it’s experience. I’ve spent decades helping organisations improve their processes, and I’ve seen the difference Lean Six Sigma makes. The methodology has been my go-to approach because it works across industries and on different scales.
Before AI, I also used Lean Six Sigma as a foundation when implementing Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in several New Zealand organisations. By first improving and standardising processes, we ensured that automation achieved real efficiency gains rather than embedding inefficiencies.
Now, as AI accelerates change, organisations need to get their process foundations right. Because that’s what will make the difference between AI being a buzzword and AI delivering real value.
