As a way to reduce product defects to a mere 3.4 per million, Motorla, the telecom company in Schaumburg, Illinois, USA, developed the management philosophy Six Sigma in the mid-1980s.
The manufacturer achieved that level of reliability, thanks in part to a rigorous focus om data gathering and statistical analysis.
Nowdays, organizations large and small have found that pairing Six Sigma with project management best practices effectively improves an array of business processes. At its core is a process called DMAIC, which has five key phases:
- Define the problem, project goals and customer requirements.
- Measure key aspects of the current process and collect relevant data.
- Analyze the data to determine the root cause of the problem.
- Improve the current process by selecting and testing the best possible solutions.
- Control the ongoing quality of the process by creating a standardized, monitored process with documented procedures. The goal is to identify and correct potential variations before they lead to a problem or defect.
To designate levels of expertise, Six Sigma borrows from martial arts. Individuals earn belt colors by demonstrating mastery of Six Sigma's methodology.
- Yellow Belts signify basic training in the methodology.
- Green Belts receive enough training to work on Six Sigma project team and lead small-scale improvement projects. They also support larger projects headed by Black Belts.
- Black Belts are highly trained and adept with statiscal tools. Their ability to interpret analytics helps them spot process-improvement opportunities and act as coaches to Green Belts.
- Master Black Belts are experts in Six Sigma quality and help guide the strategic direction for their organization's Six Sigma program. They also mentor and train Black Belts and Green Belts.
Fonte: PMI Network, July 2011, pag. 57.
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