You've heard of Six Sigma and how GE saved billions of dollars according to Jack Welch. Read a short abstract describing Six Sigma... less than 350 words.
Six Sigma is an industry-accepted and proven methodology used for business process improvement. This methodology helps an organization achieve a superior performance and improved profitability, and is very effective for service-based businesses as well as those that are product-related. The Six Sigma program applies several specialized skill sets to streamline operations including process analysis, statistical measurement, and group facilitation.
The structure of Six Sigma is based on a handful of key principles. A focus on metrics, also known as measurements, is one of those key principles. A process or activity can't be improved if it hasn't been measured. In fact, that process can't really be understood or even properly discussed unless someone can explain to the group the latest measurements concerning the activity. .
An effective Six Sigma initiative can help an organization identify processes that truly add value and will move everyone and every activity closer to the customer and the customer's needs. Just like any commitment to improvement or change, the support for a Six Sigma program has to be solid at the top. Though the top leaders don't need to be experts in Six Sigma, they certainly must support those spear-heading process improvement as well as the troops who are making it happen.
Executives and business leaders have come to love the results produced by Six Sigma because this approach also enables them to make decisions that are fact-based and data-driven. Six Sigma helps an organization achieve superior results by removing the inconsistency in any process, and it ensures that the work being done meets requirements that are "critical to quality." The discipline of Six Sigma enables management and the workforce to determine performance and quality standards in advance and then empowers people to achieve them. The only role that information technology plays in the Six Sigma approach is as an enabler to better business performance, which ensures that all IT investment is done wisely. Therefore money will be spent on automation only if it results in business process improvement that is measurable.