Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Services Sector
Hemanth Subramanya 0
Lengthy projects
Data oriented tools
Lack of knowledge in a knowledge-based industry
Failure to properly use DMAIC in a software development project
Six-Sigma as a Project Based Approach
Historically Six Sigma has been termed a project-based approach to improvements. Each project, however, could
take between five weeks and six months. In the IT services sector the length of the project is often too long to realize
the benefits. Projects are completed, resources are re-aligned and team members are transferred to other teams or
sent to onsite assignments. These changes affect the cohesiveness of improvement teams. Many Six Sigma projects
are either delayed or canceled due to lack of participation.
A successful Six Sigma program empowers employees with problem solving tools. The benefits of Six Sigma are
realized when employees or teams use Six Sigma tools, methodologies and philosophies as part of their day-to-day
activities. Though not project-based these improvements drive the true bottom-line.
The strength of Six Sigma lies in the data driven approach, hence it has to be supported by a well-implemented
metrics program throughout the organization. With the inclusion of Lean in the Six Sigma framework, practitioners
can use fewer data oriented tools.
Organizations are working on applying Six Sigma tools as part of the software engineering practices. Some of the
tools that have a wider application can be:
Failure mode effect analysis (FMEA) helps organizations reveal the overall system architecture for any kind of failure
and helps reduce potential test defects especially in system and field testing.
QFD used during the requirements gathering and analysis phases help prioritize requirements and high-level
technical solutions by providing engineers leads into areas to be considered in the system.
Design of experiments (DOE) is used in test phases to identify test cases that best match the expectations from the
system. This is a useful approach when there are multiple interactions between the features of a product. DOE can
also assist in optimizing software and hardware resources in a complex infrastructure project.
Although only a few tools are mentioned here, that does not limit the applicability of other Six Sigma tools in an IT
service organization. As industry awareness grows, more tools are used.
Conclusion
Changes in the application of Six Sigma tools and methodology are evident in many different forums. Change will
only become more prevalent as the need for being more competitive becomes a reality. Like any initiative in a
business sector, process improvement managers need to transform Six Sigma to suit their industry needs. Six Sigma
experts must tailor the tools for successful deployment and thereby help organizations improve their bottom lines.
Today companies that have reached the pinnacle are re-inventing themselves and Six Sigma will find its place
throughout IT service organizations.