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their attention. This is where Six Sigma is especially useful. It is the statistical variances
that will take a product from one standard deviation into another; the process problems
that cause these variances are the ones most likely to be identified and fixed.
The goal of Six Sigma is to think of every aspect of the business as a process that can be
improved in a way that can be measured statistically. The main tool for doing this is a five-
phase approach called DMAIC (see Table 12-1).

TABLE 12-1. DMAIC: A five-phase approach to Six Sigma
Phase Description
Define opportunities Determine customer and core processes. Determine the customer’s requirements for the
products and services being produced. Map the processes that are being improved. Gain the
customer’s commitment.
Measure performance Develop a plan to collect and measure the defect data. Collect data from many sources in the
organization and determine the defect rates and other metrics. Compile and display the data.
Analyze opportunity Analyze and verify the data collected. Determine the root causes for the defects and identify
opportunities for improvement. Prioritize the improvement opportunities.
Improve performance Design creative solutions to improve the processes. Create a problem statement and a solu-
tion statement for each problem. Test specific improvements with an experimental
approach. Deploy the improvements.
Control performance Monitor the improvement programs to control them. Develop an ongoing monitoring plan to
keep the process on the new course and prevent it from reverting to its previous state.
Assess the effectiveness of the improvement. Develop staffing and training incentives to
make the improvements permanent.

Six Sigma professionals have a training and certification program called the Black Belt
program. The Certified Six Sigma Black Belt is a professional trained to implement Six
Sigma in an organization and train others in the Six Sigma principles, systems, and tools.
They have a thorough understanding of the DMAIC model and fundamental knowledge
of project management.

NOTE
More information on Six Sigma can be found at the iSixSigma web site
(http://www.isixsigma.com) and the Motorola University web site (http://
www.motorola.com/motorolauniversity).

Processes and Methodologies
There are also complete processes that can be adopted by an organization. Unlike models
and certifications, these methodologies define the activities to be performed and the roles
that people in the organization must fill in their daily work. In many cases, they incorpo-
rate many project management practices similar to the ones in this book. But unlike the
diagnose-and-fix approach, a methodology provides a complete process that can be
adopted all at once by an organization.
Adopting an “off-the-shelf” process or methodology is fundamentally different from using a
model or framework for process improvement. Instead of improving the existing software
lifecycle, you adopt an entire process that’s “tried and true.” Unlike the diagnose-and-fix

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