1. Research Question (or set of questions) that the research will be designed to answer e.g. “What are the key leadership competencies which make a Six Sigma project successful?”.

This is likely to lead to some further guiding questions; keeping with the previous example, they are:

  • What makes Six Sigma projects unique?
  • What makes a Six Sigma project successful?
  • What are the typical reasons for failure of Six Sigma projects?
  1. Research Aims. What is it you are aiming to achieve? What will the research establish and what is the value of the research?
  2. Research Objectives. The next step is to generate the objectives of the research.  These are the major objectives that have to be accomplished to answer the research question and achieve the stated aim/s. Keeping with the previous example, they are:
  1. Explore Six Sigma improvement project characteristics.
  2. Examine the components of a successful Six Sigma improvement project.
  3. Develop a list of leadership competencies in support of a successful Six Sigma improvement project.

Create a framework to establish the links between