Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 7
SIX SIGMA FUNDAMENTALS
7.1
INTRODUCTION
Through out the evolution of quality there has always been on manufacturing industry
(the production of hardware parts). In recent years, more application has focused on
process in general; however, the application of a full suite of tools to nonmanufac-
turing industries is rare and still considered risky or challenging. Only companies
that have mature Six Sigma deployment programs see the application of Design for
Six Sigma (DFSS) to information technology (IT) applications and software devel-
opment as an investment rather than as a needless expense. Even those companies
that embark on DFSS seem to struggle with confusion over the DFSS “process” and
the process being designed.
Multiple business processes can benefit from DFSS. Some of these are listed in
Table 7.1.
If properly measured, we would find that few if any of these processes perform
at Six Sigma performance levels. The cost, timeliness, or quality (accuracy and
completeness) are never where they should be and hardly world class from customer
perspectives.
Customers may be internal or external; if it is external, the term “consumer”
(or end user) will be used for clarification purposes. Six Sigma is process oriented,
and a short review of process and transaction may be beneficial at this stage. Some
processes (e.g., dry cleaning) consist of a single process, whereas many services
consist of several processes linked together. At each process, transactions occur. A
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