Employees' preference analysis on lean six sigma program coaching attributes using a conjoint analysis approach

Anna Luisa C Guevarra; Yogi Tri Prasetyo; Ardvin Kester S Ong; Klint Allen Mariñas

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17846

Employees' preference analysis on lean six sigma program coaching attributes using a conjoint analysis approach

Heliyon. 2023 Jul 3;9(7):e17846. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17846. eCollection 2023 Jul.

Authors

Anna Luisa C Guevarra^{1

2}, Yogi Tri Prasetyo^{3

4}, Ardvin Kester S Ong¹, Klint Allen Mariñas^{1

5}

Affiliations

¹ School of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, Mapúa University, 658 Muralla St., Intramuros, Manila 1002, Philippines.
² School of Graduate Studies, Mapúa University, Manila, Philippines. 658 Muralla St., Intramuros, Manila 1002, Philippines.
³ International Bachelor Program in Engineering, Yuan Ze University, 135 Yuan-Tung Road, Chung-Li 32003, Taiwan.
⁴ Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Yuan Ze University, 135 Yuan-Tung Road, Chung-Li 32003, Taiwan.
⁵ Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan 320, Taiwan.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the preference of employees for Lean Six Sigma project coaching attributes. Conjoint analysis with an orthogonal design was utilized and six attributes were considered: coaching style, frequency of coaching sessions, duration of coaching sessions, the turn-around time of feedback, documentation review, and mock defense. In addition, 4 different projects were also evaluated: Quick Win project, Yellow Belt project, Green Belt project, and Black Belt project. The results showed that for Quick Win projects, employees consider conducting a mock defense as the highest preference, followed by having a documentation review, and a democratic coaching style. For Yellow Belt projects, employees considered conducting a mock defense as the highest preference, followed by having a documentation review, and a weekly coaching session. For Green Belt projects, employees consider having a documentation review as the highest preference, followed by a transactional coaching style, and conducting a mock defense. Lastly, for Black Belt projects, employees consider having a documentation review as the highest preference, followed by conducting a mock defense, and a 1-week turn-around time for feedback. The results of this study will help companies to implement and to sustain better employee-oriented LSS programs.

Keywords: Conjoint analysis; Employee preference; Lean; Project coaching; Six sigma.