Six Sigma DMAIC Process & Change Acceleration Process (CAP)

iSigma Group Team
Recently in a LEAN Six Sigma course I was facilitating, a few of the students asked how was I able to marshal commitment around the different questions and activities. It wasn't from my good lucks or charm, but it was from my CAP training. CAP or Change Acceleration Process is the process of moving from the Current State of a Process/Service/Product to an Improved State by catalyzing (speeding up) the Transition States. Organizations are able to accelerate the pace of necessary changes while allowing changes to be gauged based on desired outcomes.

Back in the early 1990's, General Electric (GE) introduced CAP training to its management and quality organizations. The change acceleration processes represented a group of tools that are used to help the change effort be accelerated toward a common goal. This process is otherwise known as CAP and it consists of seven steps and a number of different tools . These seven steps are:

  • Leading Change
  • Creating a Shared Need
  • Shaping a Vision
  • Mobilizing Commitment
  • Making the Change Last
  • Monitoring the Process of the Change Initiative
  • Changing the Overall Systems and Structures.
The seven CAP processes are the core of CAP. Each represents a critical contribution to the facilitation of effective change and the development of acceptance over resistance.

At the time there were about 18 tools that could be used to facilitate change throughout the seven steps of CAP. I'm sure there are far more tools available today then there in the 1990's. Here are a few that you may recognize.

So how does CAP relates to a Six Sigma Process? 

The Six Sigma DMAIC phases and that support needed in the development of an effective solution, are bases of the tools used in the seven steps of a CAP process. It helps build acceptance and commitment to the solutions through the DMAIC phases. The involvement of fellow team members and expected resources to support a solution can build “ownership” for the change.

The following illustration provides examples of when and how CAP may be integrated throughout the DMAIC phases. PLEASE don't limit yourself to these examples only.
When used in conjunction with one another, Six Sigma and the CAP can be very powerful tools. They provide much in the way of useful information that directly affects both immediate and future success of an organization. This has become a widely forgotten tool but can be useful and beneficial when trying to mobilize acceptance over resistance.

Remember the only constant in life is change.