Category: Software/IT
Defect Prevention: Reducing Costs and Enhancing Quality
Published:“Prevention is better than cure” applies to defects in the software development life cycle as well as illnesses in medical science. Defects, as defined by software developers, are variances from a desired attribute. These attributes include complete and correct requirements and specifications as drawn from the desires of potential customers. Thus, defects cause […]
Read more ยปGreen Belt Project: Reduce Resolution Time and Rework in Software Development
Published:This article describes the successful implementation of a Six Sigma Green Belt project in information technology (IT) in which a software development team applied Six Sigma to reduce the resolution time of software defects and minimize rework, thereby increasing customer satisfaction. A software development team in a leading environmental services company wanted to reduce the […]
Read more ยปLean Implementation for IT Company
Published:An information technology (IT) services company was engaged by a European telecom service provider to provide end-to-end testing for its five lines of business. End-to-end testing is a methodology used to test whether the flow of a software application is functioning as expected from start to finish โ for example, from receipt of customer order […]
Read more ยปAbstraction Factor Analysis: A Nonlinear Way to Improve Product Development
Published:The Lean Six Sigma (LSS) toolbox can always be extended with new approaches that enable the harvesting of new opportunities for improvement. Philosophically, improvement in terms of velocity, cost, quality, performance, reliability and widespread customer acceptance remain relevant but also complex. One way of extending the use of these methodologies and tools is by developing […]
Read more ยปPredicting Code Inspection Faults
Published:Inspections are one of the most common methods of review performed in software teams. The goal of code inspection is to identify software faults early in the software development lifecycle. Teams are faced with the challenge, however, of determining whether those inspections are effective. One way to quantify this is by predicting the total number […]
Read more ยปComputacenter Returns to Best Places to Work List
Published:Computacenter AG & Co. oHG, an information technology (IT) services firm that first began its Six Sigma deployment 14 years ago, has made its second consecutive appearance on iSixSigmaโs Best Places to Work list. Computacenter was ranked at No. 10 for this yearโs list, the same position it was given in the 2010 list. The […]
Read more ยปLean Line Balancing in the IT Sector
Published:This step-by-step guide shows how Belts in the transactional sector can calculate the time needed to complete a process and utilize their resources efficiently.
Read more ยปUse Scrum to Implement Solutions Quickly and Effectively
Updated:What is Scrum and how can it help you in your Lean Six Sigma efforts? That was the topic of a breakout session presented by Brad Zylstra of Volt Information Services on Tuesday, Feb. 8, at the iSixSigma Live! Summit & Awards in Miami. Zylstra, the Vice President of Strategic Business Services and Support at […]
Read more ยปTop Lean Six Sigma IT Trends to Come in 2011
Published:As the calendar flips to 2011, several technology experts and software providers have made predictions about how Lean Six Sigma and other process improvement methodologies will shape IT departments in the coming year. Collected here are four of their forecasts for the next 12 months.
Read more ยปPlanning Ahead with Project-Specific Software Process Models
Published:Lean Six Sigma projects involving software development are an increasingly popular option for IT departments that are seeking to improve their efficiency. However, a number of research studies demonstrate that the average percentage of software projects that achieve all project objectives is significantly less than might be expected. For instance, a Standish Group survey conducted […]
Read more ยปIntegrating Lean Six Sigma with Agile and Scrum
Published:Scrum is an Agile project management methodology that can be used to control software and product development using iterative, incremental practices. Scrum generates the benefits of Agile development with the advantages of a simple implementation. This methodology can significantly increase productivity and reduce time to benefits while facilitating adaptive, empirical systems development.
Read more ยปTrimming IT Fat with Lean Assessments
Published:By mapping the entire software application development life cycle, IT departments can see dramatic improvements in efficiency.
Read more ยปEnhancing IT Quality Metrics with Six Sigma
Published:One of the initial challenges of enhancing IT quality metrics is to manage the mountain of data produced at a typical organization. Those organizations that have not learned how to mine their existing information to find solutions tend to track their data via spreadsheets and then generate high-level reports for executive management. Often, major gaps […]
Read more ยปHow Lean Can Be Applied to Software Development
Published:Software and IT experts discuss the best ways that methods such as business process managment and Agile can be applied to a Lean software development program.
Read more ยปCareer Advice for IT and Six Sigma Professionals
Published:When facing an imminent layoff, what path should Six Sigma professionals with a technical background take to get into the information technology (IT) arena? This topic was brought up in a recent online conversation on the iSixSigma Discussion Forums. The suggestions included getting familiar with the capability maturity model (CMM), joining an IT organization, becoming […]
Read more ยปFinding a Value-added Fit with Agile Development
Published:The gains that Lean Six Sigma has brought in the areas of manufacturing, operations and physical product design speak for themselves. It is natural to want to replicate that success in software design. To do that most effectively, however, practitioners must meld Lean Six Sigma with Agile, a software development technique that is gaining traction […]
Read more ยปHarnessing the Power of Predictive Analytics
Published:The demand for business intelligence continually increases. Tapping into predictive analytics, a type of data mining that can be used to make reliable predictions of future events based on analysis of historical data, can help.
Read more ยปSix Sigma Software Metrics, Part 3
Published:Parts one and two of this series surveyed the work connected with several goals shared by software organizations and Six Sigma (Goals 1-3 in Table 1). We saw that reaching those goals involved establishing systems to identify defects, classify them according to type and point of origin, predict their occurrence, and assess actual defect find […]
Read more ยปSix Sigma Software Metrics, Part 4
Published:This article is the last of four parts. It presents a discussion of opportunities for defects (OFD), defects per million opportunities (DPMO) and Sigma levels. When comparing implementations across companies, using the common language of DPMO and Sigma levels will assist in understanding benchmarking data. Parts one, two and three followed a progression of goals […]
Read more ยปImproving Offshore Outsourcing Efficiency with DFSS
Published:Two recent conferences on software focused on the topics of Six Sigma for the software industry and general conference for the software vertical market. There was, as one would imagine, a tremendous amount of discussion relating to the offshore outsourcing of software development work to achieve significant cost reductions. This has been an emerging trend […]
Read more ยปSoftware Project Management Meets Six Sigma
Published:Part 1: Bottom-up Project Duration and Variation Prediction. A number of recent posts in the iSixSigma Software Forum have inquired about the application of Six Sigma methods to Software Project Management. In particular, how might we look at software project duration as a key project-planning and execution output (a “Y” in common Six Sigma terms), […]
Read more ยปSix Sigma Software Development Case Study
Published:This article illustrates the Six Sigma DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) process using an organization that develops software packages as an example. The Six Sigma DMAIC approach to process improvement provides a powerful mechanism for improving the software process. Typical benefits will exceed costs within 6 to 12 months from initiation of a Six […]
Read more ยปSix Sigma Software Development Case Study – Part 2
Published:This article illustrates the Six Sigma DMAIC process using an organization that develops software packages as an example. The Six Sigma DMAIC approach to process improvement provides a powerful mechanism for improving the software process. Typical benefits will exceed costs within 6 to 12 months from initiation of a Six Sigma program for software development, […]
Read more ยปLowering the Cost of Ownership for Software Lifecycles
Published:How will we remember the past eighteen months? Many will remember it as a time of economic slump, with lay-offs, low spending and a war in Iraq. The economic situation is not likely to improve during the remainder of 2003, leading organizations to focus on delivering value to their customers while demonstrating hard return-on-investment. Any […]
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