Six sigma is a business improvement philosophy that started as a metric or methodology. Six Sigma drive strategic change in an organization. It is important for operation as it can be used to increase top-line growth and reduce bottom line costs.

For project managers, it make sense to learn about process improving through the application of Six Sigma tools and methods. The disciplines of Six Sigma and Project Management are very similar and complementary.

Following are some similarities between Six Sigma and Project Management:

• Use of projects as the avenue for improvement.
• Utilization of established project management techniques to effectively manage a project and project teams.
• Necessity of actively involved and proactive project sponsors or champions to help ensure project success.
• Life cycle and phases.
• Need for a well-trained project facilitator to lead the effort.

In addition to the above Six Sigma add additional dimensions to project management such as:

• Powerful set of process improvement steps and tools.
• Statistical and process thinking, to understand and improve results.
• Understanding of variation, to reduce knee-jerk reactions.
• Quantitative analysis, to base decisions on facts and data.

Six Sigma projects are tightly linked to customer demands and enterprise strategy. The efficacy of Six Sigma projects is greatly improved by combining project management and process improvement practices.

The Six Sigma uses the DMAIC methodology (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control), which can be applied to any process in any industry. The Six Sigma 5 phases match up well with the established project management phases as shown below.

 

 

 

The five phases of Six Sigma are:

1. Define

This step involves extensive planning and scoping to setup the project correctly. The project manager (champion in Six Sigma world) develop the project charter, which include the project sponsor, team members, objective and business case, including the project start and end date. In this stage the key measures are agreed on and high level process map and detailed project plan is formulated.

1. Measure

Process decision must be based on accurate data and not guesses or inaccurate data, in this validation of the measurement system and data are done, including the measurement of the GAP analysis. Further probing might be required to insure the measurement systems are sound and accurate.

1. Analyze

In this stage the data gathered are analyzed using different statistical tools, to look into improvement paths through the key metric. Note that the team didn’t do any change or improvement by this stage, but trying to understand the problem of underlying processes and root causes. This will provide the team a path to follow.

1. Improve

The improve step verifies and validates recommendations and demonstrates, with data and charts, sustained improvement before final process changes are implemented.

 

1. Control

After verifying the improvement, the new process is handed over to the process offer, similar to the closure phase of project management, in the DMAIC approach, the team closes down the project and handover to the owner. The essence of control is to provide long-term gains.

 

 

Incorporating the DMAIC of Six Sigma into projects, can help project managers to become more effective and lead them to breakthrough results.

 

 

Sources:

http://www.microsoft.com/project/en/gb/six-sigma.aspx

Lean Six Sigma – Green Belt (GARMCO book)

http://six-sigma-materials.com