Process Ownership & Handover – Ensuring Improvements Survive the Project
1. The Problem It Solves
Many Six Sigma projects deliver strong results during execution, only to lose momentum once the project formally ends. Performance stabilizes for a while, then gradually degrades. Old habits return, deviations are tolerated, and responsibility becomes unclear.
This does not happen because the solution was wrong. It happens because ownership was never fully transferred. During the project, the improvement team drives analysis, decisions, and follow-up. After closure, it is often unclear who is accountable for sustaining results.
Process Ownership & Handover exists to solve this problem. It ensures that responsibility, authority, and knowledge move from the project structure into daily operations.
2. The Core Idea in Plain Language
Process Ownership means that one clearly defined role is accountable for the ongoing performance of a process.
Handover is the structured transition from project mode to operational control.
The core idea is simple:
Improvement does not end when the project ends. It ends when ownership is clear and embedded.
Without explicit handover, control tools, standards, and response plans slowly lose relevance. With proper ownership, improvements become part of how the organization works—not something extra.
3. How It Works in Real Life
Process Ownership is defined during the Control phase, not after project closure. The future owner is involved early, understands the improvements, and gradually takes responsibility.
A proper handover typically includes:
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Clear definition of the process owner’s role and authority
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Review of CTQs, Control Plans, and Control Charts
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Confirmation of response plans and escalation paths
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Training and coaching where needed
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Agreement on review cadence and performance expectations
The project team does not simply “hand over documents.” It transfers understanding, decision rights, and accountability.
In manufacturing environments, this often means shifting ownership to line management, production engineering, or quality leadership—explicitly and visibly.
4. A Practical Example from a Manufacturing Environment
Consider a medium-sized manufacturer that successfully reduced variation on a critical production process through a Six Sigma project. During the project, the Black Belt and team monitored performance closely.
As part of handover, a process owner is formally assigned. The owner reviews the Control Plan, understands SPC signals, and participates in final project reviews.
Daily monitoring becomes part of routine management. Deviations are addressed consistently, and improvement ideas continue beyond the project scope.
When the project team steps away, performance remains stable—not because controls exist, but because someone owns them.
5. What Makes It Succeed or Fail
Process Ownership fails when it is symbolic rather than real. Naming an owner without authority or time creates false security.
Another failure mode is late handover. If ownership is discussed only at project closure, learning transfer is weak.
Leadership behavior is decisive. Leaders must reinforce ownership expectations and treat sustained performance as a management responsibility, not a project outcome.
Successful handover creates continuity, not dependency.
How Process Ownership & Handover Connect to Other Six Sigma Tools
Process Ownership anchors Control Plans, Control Charts, and Visual Management in daily operations.
It ensures Standardization is maintained and evolved.
It closes the DMAIC loop, transitioning from project execution to operational excellence.
It aligns Six Sigma improvements with Lean Daily Management and leadership routines.
Ownership is what makes control real.
Closing Reflection
Six Sigma projects create improvement. Process ownership sustains it.
Without ownership, even the best analysis and solutions fade. With ownership, improvement becomes part of the organization’s DNA.
For manufacturing organizations operating in complex, high-variation environments, this final step is not administrative—it is decisive.
