Six Sigma Tutorial

This Six Sigma Tutorial will give you a working knowledge of this gold standard of business analysis. Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach to process improvement aimed at the near-elimination of defects from every product, process, and transaction. The purpose of Six Sigma is to gain breakthrough knowledge on how to improve processes to do things BETTER, FASTER, and at LOWER COST. It can be used to improve every facet of business, from production, to human resources, to order entry, to technical support. Six Sigma can be used for any activity that is concerned with cost, timeliness, and quality of results. Unlike previous quality improvement efforts, Six Sigma is designed to provide tangible business results, cost savings that are directly traceable to the bottom line.

Six Sigma is a rigorous approach designed to improve the quality and efficiency of any business process. In fact the goal is to provide a statistical minimum in the number of defects allowed in any functional entity of a business. Data is collected, analyzed using the tools of Six Sigma and perfected with the knowledge gained. When the methodology is performed correctly a statistically perfect system is the result.

Where The Name Six Sigma Came From

The name Six Sigma is taken from the concept of a normal or bell curve. When you take the standard deviation of a bell curve, it is often designated with the Greek letter &sigma. The following table shows what the probability of being outside of 1-Six Sigmas on a bell curve.

Sigma	Defects/Million	Probability
1	700,000	70%
2	330,000	33%
3	70,000	7%
4	8000	.8%
5	300	.03%
6	3	0.0003%

As you can see from this Six Sigma tutorial introduction, Six Sigma stands for the goal of 3 defects per million. That gives a probability of a defect being 0.00003%. Most people would be happy with 5 standard deviations giving a probability of .03% for a defect. It is apparent that Six Sigma is a very high standard to aim for.