Six Sigma-fying Your IT Department?

Saqib Ali asks: "These days all the major corporations are looking at Six Sigma methodology to improve their processes. I am planning to take a Six Sigma Green/Brown belt class in March. I work for the IT department, I have a statistics background, and I've studied statistics in university as well. I can understand Six Sigma being used in Production/Manufacturing facilities, but it is hard for me to figure how to apply Six Sigma in IT. Are any other readers using Six Sigma methodology for IT? If so what are some of the things that it can be applied to? As part of the training class, I have to come up with an idea for a Six Sigma analysis project. Though the project doesn't have to be IT related, but I would like it to be, so that I can see its application in real life. Any ideas for the project?"

Comments

Ask Slashdot: What the hell is Six Sigma?

[Woodblock]

Posted by Cliff on 07:58 PM January 20th, 2003 from the we-can't-link dept.
Woodblock asks: "These days all the major corporations are looking at Six Sigma methodology to improve their processes. Should I Ask Slashdot whether for a project using Six Sigma methodology without explaining or providing any descriptive links? Sincerly, Six Sigma Lover in Colorado."

Project idea

[PhysicsGenius]

I think you might be able to utilize the Six Sigma backbone to leverage the synergy of your expected net gain while remaining focused on your core competencies. But it might be smarter to start printing out resumes.

Re:Project idea

[Anonymous Coward]

I am intrigued by your ideas. Would it be possible to use these ideas in concert with XML and B2B?

Re:Project idea

[ConceptJunkie]

Thank you, Wally.

p.s. At first glance I thought the title of the article was "Is Six-Sigma frying Your IT Department?" Mental Freudian slip?

If GE can't even make it work...

[bill_mcgonigle]

Last Fall I was searching for a new refrigerator. I had settled on a GE model, and was combing their website looking for specs and ran into dozens of html/web app errors.

Having just read an article about how GE pioneered six-sigma, and thinking about the statistical distribution of the 6th sigma, I recall figuring that there must have been millions of web pages on that site, and I must have just hit all the ones with errors by chance.

Well, it was either that or GE hadn't managed to apply Six-Sigma to their web development, and I knew that couldn't be true because I had just read it was used throughout the organization. ;)

Is Six-Sigma frying Your IT Department

[unitron]

At first glance I thought the title of the article was "Is Six-Sigma frying Your IT Department?"

That's what I thought I saw too, which is why I bothered loading the story, figured it was a new worm or virus or something.

Now that I see what it really is I'm betting a lot of IT departments would have preferred the malware.