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What is Six Sigma?

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What is Six Sigma?

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Six Sigma is a data driven, measurement-based strategy supported by a set of powerful tools designed to systematically reduce process variability.  In manufacturing, for example, it could be used to measure the number of sub-standard products or late shipments.  In a service industry, it could quantify delays in delivery, call centers performance (wait times), errors in billing, or other procedures.  Thus, Six Sigma is about dramatically improving the bottom line with financially measurable results.

The central idea behind Six Sigma is that it is possible to achieve near-perfect products and services by reducing process variability.  Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach to eliminate defects.  The word "sigma" is a statistical term that measures how far a given process deviates from perfection.  To achieve Six Sigma, a process must produce no more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities, or 99.9997 percent error-free.  This means that a company with a Six Sigma strategy is nearly flawless in executing its processes.

An organization's sigma level indicates the performance of a process against some set specification.  So, the sigma level (one, two, three, and so on) represents how well a process is performing.  In the past, customers were happy with a 99.5 percent quality level.  That is not acceptable today, when winning and keeping customers requires near-perfect performance.

Six Sigma is the pinnacle of performance - the virtual elimination of errors and defects from every product, process or transaction in an enterprise.  Six Sigma is a management process and business metric.  In other words, it refers to an overall strategy to improve growth and productivity, as well as being a measurement of quality performance.