What is Six Sigma?

When I asked that question out loud back in September, I got a handful of replies.

The best of the bunch, by far, was from Gnomie Jeff … who wrote that he could explain Six Sigma in just one sentence:

“Six Sigma is a methodology for improving profitability through reduction of process variability.”

Now, having said that, I can just about guarantee you’ll get as many arguments as responses, disagreeing w/ my one-sentence definition.

What Six Sigma does is drive decisions with data, rather than intuition. It attempts to get to the real underlying faults in processes, keeping one from implementing the tried and true American business problem-solving approach of “ready-fire-aim.”

I rather like that definition. It’s clear, concise, and hype-free.

PS: Jeff’s note was sent “as an individual, not as an employee of a company that might be utilizing Six Sigma.” Thanks, Jeff!

[tags]six sigma[/tags]