Category: Software/IT
Six Sigma Software Metrics, Part 1
Published:Six Sigma brings sharp focus to customer and business requirements and the defects connected with the failure to satisfy them. While the relevance of that view is clear enough to software professionals, their introduction to Six Sigma is often gets stopped short in questions about how the notions of yield, sigma level, or defects per […]
Read more ยปSix Sigma Software Metrics, Part 2
Published:Part 1 in this series on software defect metrics discussed Goals 1 and 2, which focused on identifying and removing defects in the development process as close to the point of occurrence as possible (Table 1). This installment looks at predicting defect insertion and removal dynamics early in a project and measuring predicted versus actual […]
Read more ยปSoftware Vendor Partnership Cost Reduction with Six Sigma
Published:Business Issue A multibillion-dollar software manufacturer needed to drive down the total $191 million annual cost of supplying its workers with continuously updated workstations. Both the software manufacturer and its primary vendor/supplier were in the midst of an aggressive cost cutting initiative that would lead to a new compensation model. The initial, first year targeted […]
Read more ยปSix Sigma for Software – More Than a New Tool
Published:We need to fundamentally change what’s going on in Software. FAST! Defects, long cycle times, poor estimation, missed targets and project cancellations are stripping away profits and our ability to satisfy and retain customers. It’s occurring in Software Development companies, Embedded Product Software (Firmware), and Business Application Software. And, it’s happening in all industry segments. […]
Read more ยปToward an Integrated Six Sigma Software Knowledge-Base
Published:I’m sure we are all happy to see the new iSixSigma channel dedicated to software. The growing knowledge base at this portal will take shape in the body of articles, discussion forum threads, links, and resources that are contributed. The most important factor in all this is, of course, you, the site participants. While the […]
Read more ยปCombining CMMI, PSP, TSP and Six Sigma for Software
Published:PSP and TSP are software development process definitions (some might call them methodologies) that are compatible with a wide range of software development concepts such as spiral development, object oriented development, and various other sets of techniques, each with certain advantages in modeling and describing requirements and designs for software systems. One way of viewing […]
Read more ยปThe Five Essentials for Software Testing
Published:The following advice should help clarify your thinking about software testing and help you improve the effectiveness and efficiency of your testing. It is helpful to think about software testing in terms of five essential elements: A test strategy that tells you what types of testing and the amount of testing you think will work […]
Read more ยปSix Sigma Meets Software Development
Published:Six Sigma is a mantra that many of the most successful organizations in the world swear by and the trend is getting hotter by the day. So much so that corporations like GE insist that every project be a Six Sigma project. The Six Sigma methodology has indeed made a tangible difference to the bottom […]
Read more ยปSix Sigma in the Information Technology Services Sector
Published:Challenges Faced Today Offer Solutions for Tomorrow Six Sigma has come a long way from statistically oriented tools to today’s โnot so data drivenโ tools like Lean and quality function deployment (QFD). The application of Six Sigma across different sectors has made this change from statistical tools to softer tools possible. The methodologies and framework […]
Read more ยปTailoring Six Sigma to Software Development
Published:As the popularity of Lean Six Sigma techniques expands into software and technology environments, the notion that these methods and tools can provide a quick fix, unrealistic results or a panacea (for all that is wrong) has been proliferated. Some of these notions are further compounded by the reality that many of these environments are […]
Read more ยปPhased Deployment Model Helps Six Sigma Succeed in IT
Published:Lean Six Sigma for information technology (IT) is still maturing and has not hit the critical mass to transform the industry to its next level, as it has in other industries in the past 10 years. This may be due in part to common myths about Lean Six Sigma for IT. These myths include: IT […]
Read more ยปSix Sigma in Data Warehousing Domain – IT Case Study
Published:Most quality professionals recognize that Six Sigma is a breakthrough strategy. They understand that the methodology uses data to measure current process effectiveness and to validate improvement; uses proven statistical and quality tools to identify process gaps and improvement solutions; and uses change management processes for institutionalizing and integrating improvements in an organizations’ operational and […]
Read more ยปImproved IT Project Forecasting Through Six Sigma
Published:The various costs of an information technology (IT) project is forecast at the beginning of the fiscal year and usually re-forecast at the end of each month based on the actual spending pattern. Variation in the IT project forecasting process can result in either underspent or overspent budgets. As is true in most processes, variation […]
Read more ยปActivities vs. Performance: Improvement, Common Sense
Published:Most organizations have a strong bias toward planning, managing and executing a multitude of supposedly value-added activities hoping that these (often isolated) activities will yield significant results. In rare cases, activities are spawned by careful strategic planning, tracked regularly by performance data, reviewed for adjustments and improvements and integrated across functions, divisions and geographies. However, […]
Read more ยปUsage-based Models Improve Odds in Software Testing
Published:While software testing is challenging because the properties to be tested can be hard to define and measure, one test approach โ often called usage-based โ has statistical roots and connections that Lean Six Sigma Black Belts could effectively support and perhaps evolve.
Read more ยปITIL and Six Sigma Make a Winning Combination for IT
Published:The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and Six Sigma have both been successfully employed to improve the quality of information technology (IT) services. Often the two approaches, although distinctly different but with a common focus on customer satisfaction at their core, are used independently of each other. Fortunately many organizations are coming to realize the […]
Read more ยปRemove Obstacles for Six Sigma Within Agile Development
Published:It can be challenging at first to find the connections between Six Sigma and Agile; a number of obstacles stand in the way of reaching an integrated view. But there is some untapped leverage that, if explored, may ease the use of the two methods. It is often more interesting to find the intersections that […]
Read more ยปCMMI or Six Sigma: Does It Matter Which Comes First?
Published:An organization is getting into process improvement. Should it look at the Software Engineering Institute’s capability maturity model integration (CMMI) first? Six Sigma first? Or both at the same time? This dilemma has confronted many organizations during the last several years. The situation reminds me of a session at a symposium in 1984 at which […]
Read more ยปImplementing Six Sigma Methodology in a Small IT Firm
Published:Leaders of small to medium-sized information technology (IT) businesses are aware of Six Sigma and what it has done for other organizations. However, some think that Six Sigma works only in large businesses. Six Sigma can help improve any organization by providing an important competitive edge. The main thing that prevents these IT firms from […]
Read more ยปA Parallel Process View for Information Technology
Published:The value and impact that a solid Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) approach can bring to an IT business is well known. While many organizations understand the relationship between DFSS and their own project management approach, what they often miss is attention to the foundational concepts of Lean and DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) […]
Read more ยปHow Six Sigma Can Help ITIL Service Level Management
Published:Many information technology (IT) organizations are utilizing the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) as a guiding framework for operational excellence. One of the many “best practices” within ITIL is utilization of service level agreements, (SLAs) and operational level agreements (OLAs). When implemented well, these agreements and associated management processes go far in establishing fruitful working […]
Read more ยปUsing Six Sigma Tools in an Agile Software Project
Published:It may be counter-intuitive to consider using Six Sigma tools in an Agile software project. Six Sigma’s genesis was in the manufacturing world where one of its primary goals has been to reduce process variation. On the other hand, Agile software development is built on the premise that complex software projects, unlike manufacturing, cannot be […]
Read more ยปWhat CIOs and CTOs Need to Know About Lean Six Sigma
Published:CIOs and CTOs are faced with a plethora of issues ranging from corporate realignment to growth to shrinking budgets. Many have heard about Lean Six Sigma but given their busy state of mind, it is difficult for them to dedicate the time required to translate Lean Six Sigma successes in top manufacturing company’s to its […]
Read more ยปSoftware and IT Measurement Systems: Effort Accounting
Published:Effort accounting is needed in software and IT for the simple reason that labor is generally the most important controllable element of cost. Labor cost (effort hours times prevailing labor rate) is an essential and fundamental element of efficiency measurement. Six Sigma projects in software and IT (especially DMAICs) are often focused on driving down […]
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