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measurement systems; leadership development; compensation plan; or change
management process.
Design a mechanism for tracking the progress of the initiative. Establish a robust
“financial” management and reporting system for the initiative.
Once this initial joint meeting has been held, the deployment team could replicate
to other additional tiers of leadership whose buy-in is deemed necessary to
push
the initiative through the different functions of the company. A software Six Sigma
pull
system needs to be created and sustained in the Deployment and Postdeploy-
ment phases. Sustainment indicates the establishment of bottom-up pulling power.
Software Six Sigma, including DFSS, has revolutionized many companies in the
last 20 years. On the software side, companies of various industries can be found
implementing software DFSS as a vehicle to plan growth, improve software products
and design process quality, delivery performance, and reduce cost. In parallel, many
deploying companies also find themselves reaping the benefits of increased employee
satisfaction through the true empowerment Six Sigma provides. Factual study of sev-
eral successful deployments indicates that push and pull strategies need to be adopted
based on needs and differ strategically by objective and phase of deployment. A push
strategy is needed in the Predeployment and Deployment phases to jump-start and
operationalize deployment efforts. A pull system is needed in the Postdeployment
phase once sustainment is accomplished to improve deployment process performance
on a continuous basis. In any case, top and medium management should be on board
with deployment; otherwise, the DFSS initiative will fade away eventually.
9.3.2
Predeployment Considerations
The impact of a DFSS initiative depends on the effectiveness of deployment (i.e.,
how well the Six Sigma design principles and tools are practiced by the DFSS project
teams). Intensity and constancy of purpose beyond the norm are required to improve
deployment constantly. Rapid deployment of DFSS plus commitment, training, and
practice characterize winning deploying companies.
In the Predeployment phase, the deployment leadership should create a compelling
business case for initiating, deploying, and sustaining DFSS as an effort. They need
to raise general awareness about what DFSS is, why the company is pursuing it,
what is expected of various people, and how it will benefit the company. Building
the commitment and alignment among executives and deployment champions to
support and drive deployment aggressively throughout the designated functions of
the company is a continuous activity. Empowerment of leaders and DFSS operatives
to carry out effectively their respective roles and responsibilities is a key to success.
A successful DFSS deployment requires the following prerequisites in addition to
the senior leadership commitment previously discussed.
9.3.2.1 Deployment Structure Established (Yang and El-Haik, 2008).
The first step taken by the senior deployment leader is to establish a deployment
team to develop strategies and oversee deployment. With the help of the deployment
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