What is Six-Sigma™?

Six-Sigma™ is a methodology that consists of a set of tools to address each of the DMAIC steps to manage process variations that cause defects, defined as an unacceptable deviation from the mean, or target, and to systematically work towards reducing the variation and centering the mean, or average, around a target by eliminating those defects.  It was pioneered by Motorola in 1986 and was originally defined as a metric for measuring defects and improving quality and a methodology to reduce defect levels below 3.4 Defects per Million Opportunities (DPMO).  It was initially based on “five” phases: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control (DMAIC).  Now, Six-Sigma™ has grown beyond defect control, beyond Motorola, and beyond DMAIC.  Each of the DMAIC phases contains many steps that must be completed before proceeding to the next phase by making use of available tools for each phase.  We will focus primary on DMAIC and Apollo RCA™ in further postings.