Quality Management & Process Improvement: Lean and Six Sigma

Quality problems, inefficient processes and recurring operational issues can affect cost, performance, customer satisfaction and business results. Addressing them requires more than fixing individual symptoms. Organisations need structured ways to understand problems, identify causes, assess risks and improve how work is performed.

This course introduces the principles of quality management, Lean, Six Sigma and continuous improvement, with a focus on practical tools for analysing problems and improving processes.

What will you learn?

Quality management fundamentals

Understand the foundations of quality management, quality planning and quality assurance, and how these practices support consistent process performance.

Root cause analysis and problem-solving

Explore the 5 Whys and fishbone diagram to investigate why problems occur and distinguish potential causes from visible symptoms.

Quality risk analysis

Learn about Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), including how these methods help identify potential failures and examine their causes and consequences.

Prioritising improvement opportunities

Understand Pareto analysis and how the 80/20 principle can help teams focus attention on the problems that may have the greatest impact.

Continuous improvement methods

Explore the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle, Lean principles, 5S workplace organisation and value stream mapping. Learn how these approaches can support better workflows and more systematic improvement.

Data-driven quality and operational performance

Examine how evidence, quality control methods and a culture of continuous improvement contribute to process excellence.

Who should take this course?

This course is suitable for operations professionals, quality assurance and quality control practitioners, team leaders, managers, project managers, business analysts and anyone interested in improving business processes.

No previous qualification in quality management, Lean or Six Sigma is required.

What will you take away?

By the end of the course, you will understand a range of established quality and process improvement methods, including when they can be useful and what questions they help answer.

You will have a foundation for applying structured problem-solving, analysing potential causes of failure, prioritising improvement opportunities and understanding how continuous improvement can be incorporated into everyday operations.

This is an introductory course covering key concepts and tools. It does not constitute formal Lean Six Sigma certification or replace specialised training for advanced implementation.

Course Author

Alex Amoroso, PhD

Senior UX Researcher | Research, Product & Learning Design

Alex Amoroso is a researcher, educator, and course designer with more than 10 years of professional experience in UX and product research, behavioural research, and complex problem-solving, alongside extensive experience in professional and academic education.

Her work focuses on a simple question: what is actually going on, what evidence do we have, and what should we do with it?

Across research, product, and organisational environments, she has worked on complex problems involving user behaviour, digital products, analytics, customer experience, decision-making, and innovation. Her research has included studies with thousands of users across B2B and B2C environments, combining qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate problems, challenge assumptions, interpret evidence, and support better decisions.

Alongside her professional research work, Alex teaches doctoral-level research design and methodologies, supervises and assesses research projects, and has developed approximately 30 online courses across research, UX, product, data, analytics, customer experience, business, and decision-making. Selected courses are also available through Udemy Business.

Her approach to teaching is practical and structured: clarify the subject, organise the thinking, distinguish evidence from assumption, and turn complex information into knowledge that can be applied.

She holds a PhD in Health Anthropology, with research focused on human behaviour, environmental stress, and quantitative data analysis, and has published research in peer-reviewed journals.

Across her courses, she combines:

• Research-based thinking

• Practical frameworks and methods

• Real-world examples and applications

• Clear explanations of complex subjects

• Exercises, tools, and techniques that support practical learning

Her goal is simple: to help learners understand complex subjects, think more clearly, and apply what they learn in real professional situations.

Welcome to MTF:

The MTF Institute of Management, Technology & Finance is an international institute of practical education headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal. Guided by the motto 'SCIENTIA ET PRACTICA' ('Knowledge and Practice'), the institute focuses on applied skills at the intersection of business, IT, finance, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation. Today, MTF brings together over 1.04 million learners across 220 countries and territories, serves as an official partner of IBM, Intel, and Microsoft, and is a member of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Union of Trade and Services Associations of Lisbon.

The MTF Institute School of Professional & Continuing Education profile represents a specialized course track and has distinct differences from the primary account and official learning platform of the institute. Education within this track is offered in the format of specific learning editions, where completed programs are recognized exclusively through the Udemy platform certificate. This format does not provide original certificates or official documents from MTF Institute itself, nor does it include student ID cards, academic credit, or enrollment in official MTF credential programs. However, despite the academic limitations of this format, all offered courses maintain a strong practical focus and high relevance, equipping learners with up-to-date knowledge and practical tools to address real-world professional challenges.