Six Sigma Project

PROJECT REPORT
ON
SIX SIGMA
Submitted By
NAME:
REG NO.:
SUBMITTED TO SCDL
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

award of degree of
POST GRADUATE
DIPLOMA IN
BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents Particulars Page No.
Declaration 4
Supervisory Certificate 5
Introduction: 6
1.0 Introduction of Six Sigma 7
1.2 Objectives of the Study 15
1.3 Methodology of Six Sigma 18

Chapter-1
1.3.1 Define, Measure , Analyze, Improve & Control 20
1.3.2 Business Process Management System (BPMS) 22
1.3.3 Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) 24
1.3.4 Define, Measure , Analyze, Design & Verify (DMADV) 25
Organizational Profile 26
2.1 Wipro Technologies (Overview) 27

Chapter-2
2.2 Evolution of Six Sigma at Wipro Tech. 30
2.3 Difficulties Encountered by Wipro 31

Chapter-3 Research Study of Six Sigma 33
PROJECT ON SIX SIGMA Page 2

3.1 Levels of Six Sigma 34
3.2 Strategies of Six Sigma 36
3.3 Global Perspective of Six Sigma 37
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents Particulars Page No.
Chapter-4 Implementation of Six Sigma 39
4.1 Indian IT buys into Six Sigma 40
4.2 Implementation of Six Sigma 43
4.3 Benefits of Six Sigma 46
4.4 Limitations of Six Sigma 51
Chapter-5 Analysis & Interpretations 53
5.1 Analysis 54
5.2 Challenges Faced while adopting Six Sigma 56
5.3 Interpretations 58
Chapter-6 Findings & Conclusions 63
6.1 Critical Success Factors 64
6.2 Suggestions 66
6.4 Conclusion 69
Bibliography 70

Annexure 72

DECLARATION
This is to declare that I “________________________” have carried out this project work
myself in part fulfillment of the POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION (SPECIALIZATION – OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT) Program
of SCDL.
The work is original, has not been copied from anywhere else and has not been submitted to
any other University/Institute for an award of any degree/diploma.
Date: NAME:
Signature: REG NO:

CERTIFICATE OF SUPERVISOR
Certified that the work incorporated in this Project Report on SIX SIGMA submitted by
______________________ is his/her original work and completed under my supervision.
Material obtained from other sources has been duly acknowledged in the Project Report
Date: Signature of Guide

CHAPTER 01
INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION OF SIX SIGMA
Six Sigma is a term used to describe a measure of quality control that is higher than "normal".
Six Sigma at many organizations simply means a measure of quality that strives for near
perfection. Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating
defects (driving towards six standard deviations between the mean and the nearest
specification limit) in any process -- from manufacturing to transactional and from product to
service.
Although sounding like the title of a science fiction novel, Six Sigma represents a new reality
of profit motivation that has permeated conglomerates such as General Electric, IBM, and
Motorola. Six Sigma agenda permit organizations to concentrate on process quality and
product innovation in order to meet current and future customer demands. While employing an
extensive monitoring system for quality and profit achievement, the cornerstone of the Six
Sigma approach rests with the fundamental statistical computation of standard deviations from
average, or sigma, that measure variability within a given population. Each sigma value
estimates the number of errors (variations) produced from selected business output
(population).
Six Sigma represents a comprehensive organizational strategy that entails several months of
rigorous training, years of managerial commitment, and multiple levels of employee
involvement. Beginning chapters summarize the Six Sigma approach for improving customer
satisfaction and profitability levels of both manufacturing and service entities. Various Six
Sigma case studies featuring General Electric.
Six Sigma has been around for over a decade and as such it has been deployed at lots of
companies around the world. More than 75% of the fortune 500 companies have deployed Six
Sigma in one form or another. Some companies have chosen not to call it Six Sigma due to
copyright or other issues. They have a similar approach but may call it by a different name
(such as STRIVE, MEDIC, etc). It is a measure of quality that strives for near perfection. The

Six Sigma process uses data and rigorous statistical analysis to identify "defects" in a process
or product, reduce variability, and achieve as close to zero defects as possible.
Some of the more famous companies who are using Six Sigma are:
- General Electric
- Motorola
- Microsoft
- Philips
- Xerox
- Dell
- WIPRO

THE CONCEPT OF SIX SIGMA
Six Sigma is a data-driven quality measure that strives for a near perfection of any process. It
is important to understand Six Sigma as a tool, as too many incomplete definitions have made
it look like a complicated fad.
Six Sigma focuses on improving quality (i.e. reduce waste) by helping organizations produce
products and services better, faster and cheaper. Six Sigma focuses mainly on defect
prevention, cycle time reduction, and cost savings. Unlike mindless cost cutting programs,
which reduce value and quality, Six Sigma identifies and eliminates costs, which provide no
value to customers and the production process. To understand the concept of Six-Sigma one
must understand the concept of normal curve.
Normal Distribution Curve

The normal distribution curve is a symmetrical Bell shaped graph representing the distribution
of a data set. The bell-shaped curve results when a normal distribution is represented
graphically by plotting the distribution f (x) against x. The curve is symmetrical about the
mean value.
Normal curve features:

• Normal distributions are symmetric around their mean.
• The distribution has two parameters, mean (µ, mu) and standard deviation (σ, sigma)
• The mean, median, and mode of a normal distribution are equal.
• 68% of the area (data points) lies within one standard deviation (+/-1 sigma) of the mean.
• 95% of the area (data points) lies within two standard deviation (+/-2 sigma) of the mean.
• 99.7% of the area (data points) lies within three standard deviation (+/-3 sigma) of the mean.

Values of Area under Normal Curve
Sigma Percentage data Parts per levels within curve million
Motorola engineers argued that a process could shift 1.5 sigma in regular course, as shown in
the figure below.Thus, to accommodate 1.5-sigma shift, they proposed that the tolerance has to
be +/- 6 sigma. In six-sigma methodology 99.9996599% (or more) of process data lies within
+/- six sigma from the mean, thus having only 3.4 defects per million opportunities (DPMO).
Now, 99.9996599% value is actually for 4.5 sigma level in Normal curve, but keeping in view
the 1.5 sigma process shift, the process sigma level is actually six.
One to six sigma conversion table
'Long Term Yield' (basically the percentage of Defects Per Million 'Process
successful outputs or operations) % Opportunities (DPMO) Sigma'
99.99966 3.4 6
99.98 233 5
99.4 6,210 4
93.3 66,807 3
69.1 308,538 2

In Six-Sigma process, 99.9996599% data will be within +/- 6 sigma levels, which is a -total of
12 sigma under the curve. To have a six-sigma process, 12 standard deviations should be able
to fit in the permissible spread (customer specification limits). Let’s look at few terms:
LSL = lower specification limit
USL = Upper specification limit
Permissible Spread under the curve = USL - LSL

In Six-Sigma, we can conclude:
12*standard deviation (sigma value) = Permissible spread under the curve
Here’s a practical example:
The customer wants cloth of thickness 1mm +/- 0.001 mm, so the customer wants between
0.999 mm to 1.001 mm thickness.
LSL = 0.999 mm, USL = 1.001 mm
Permissible spread = USL – LSL = 0.002
Since, 12*standard deviation (sigma value) = Permissible spread under the curve so standard
deviation (sigma value) = (0.002)/12 = 0.000167 for a six sigma process.
It is a highly disciplined approach used to reduce the process variations to the extent that the
level of defects are drastically reduced to less than 3.4 per million process, product or service

opportunities (DPMO). The approach relies heavily on advanced statistical tools. While these
tools have been known earlier, these were primarily limited to the statisticians and quality
professionals. Sigma is Greek letter that is used to describe variability. In statistical quality
control, this means "standard deviation". Most of us may be familiar with the normal
distribution and its properties. We are aware of the properties of normal distribution:
99.73% of the area lies within mean m ± 3 sigma
When we proudly mention that our process capability Cp is 1.33, our process spread is ± 4
sigma. This would mean and estimated defect rate of 0.0063% or 63 defective parts per
million (PPM). Moreover, when we deploy processes in production, the mean of the process
can shift to the extent of approximately 1.5 sigma. In such case the defect rate will increase to
a much higher value. This would be about 6200 PPM! If the process capability is improved to
a Cp of 2.0 the PPM level will come down to 0.002. With a shift of 1.5 sigma, the Cpk will
drop down to 1.5 and the number of parts defective will be about 3.4 PPM. A Cp of 2.0
corresponds to the process spread of ± 6 sigma. This is shown in the figures below.

Let us consider an example of an assembly with 30 parts and 5 steps. This means that there are
30x5 or 150 opportunities for a defect to occur. If we find that there are 100 defects in every
100 assemblies. This means one defect per assembly or 1 million defects in one million
assemblies. This can be converted to 1000000 x (1/150) or 6666 defects per million
opportunities (DPMO). This approximately corresponds to a sigma level of 3.97.
Refer to the following table for relation between sigma quality level and PPM. The PPM
values are calculated considering a shift of 1.5.
SIGMA LEVEL PPM

2 308,537
3 66,807
4 6,201
5 233
6 3.4
 Another concept that is used as a metric in six sigma is Rolled Throughput Yield (RTY).
Let us assume that a part goes through ten operations. At each stage 99% parts are good
and 1% are reject. It is not very difficult to calculate that we get good 90.43 % parts at the
end of the tenth stage. This means if we start with a batch of 1000 parts, we get 904 good
parts and scrap or rework 96 parts. The RTY of the process is 90.43%.
 Balance Score Card

The Balanced score card perspectives help an organization to integrate and operationalize the
organizations strategy.

While we are talking about the statistical basis of the PPM levels, six sigma is not only about
statistical methods. The backbone of a successful six sigma approach is strong commitment of
top management. This is like any other successful programs. Moreover, all improvements
planned through six sigma projects must have a direct benefit that can be measured in terms of
improvement in the bottom-line.

OBJECTIVES
OF THE STUDY

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
“Quality is free. It is not a gift, but it is free. What costs money are in-quality things - all the
actions that involve not doing jobs right the first time.” – Philip Crosby
Six Sigma focuses on improving quality (i.e. reduce waste) by helping organizations produce
products and services better, faster and cheaper. Six Sigma focuses mainly on defect
prevention, cycle time reduction, and cost savings. Unlike mindless cost cutting programs,
which reduce value and quality, Six Sigma identifies and eliminates costs.
Many companies pay a lot in correction, i.e. 80% of the cost in a Software Engineering (SE)
project is commonly related to after-delivery corrections. And we also found:
 Unsatisfied customers tell in average 10 persons about their bad experiences. 12%
tells up to 20 other persons.
 Satisfied customers tell in average 5 persons about their positive experiences.
 It costs 5 times as much to gain new customers than keeping existing ones.
 Up to 90% of the unsatisfied customers will not make business with you again, and
they will not tell you.
 95% of the unsatisfied customers will remain loyal if their complaints are handled
fast and well.
All above motivate us to improve quality. Improved quality can affect the success in many
different ways:
1  More satisfied and loyal customers

2  Lower employee turnover and sick leave rates
3  A stronger market position
4  Shorter lead times
5  Opportunities for capital release

6  Reduced costs due to waster and rework
7  Higher productivity
Figure demonstrates the importance of quality expressed by Deming in 1986. In this figure,
Deming connects improved quality with company prosperity.
Improve Cost decreases

Quality because of less
rework, fewer Productivity
mistakes, fewer improves
delays, snags,
better use of
machine-time and
materials.
Capture the Provides

market with Stay in business jobs and
better quality more jobs
Fig. The Importance Of Deming for Quality

METHODOLOGIES OF
SIX SIGMA

METHODOLOGIES OF SIX SIGMA
The projects having large impact of customer satisfaction and significant impact on bottom-
line are selected. Top management of the organization has very important role during selection
of projects and leaders. The projects are clearly defined in terms of expected key deliverables.
These are typically in terms of DPMO levels or sigma quality levels, RTY, Quality Cost etc. In
the overall approach, the actual problem is converted in to a statistical problem. Mapping the
process does this, defining key process input variables (KPIVs or 'x's) and key process output
variables (KPOVs or 'y 's). The power of statistical tools is used to determine a statistical
solution. This is then converted in to a practical solution.
Six-Sigma has following methodologies:

1. DMAIC: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control
2. DMADV: Define, Measure, Analyze, Design and Verify
3. DFSS: Design for six sigma by IDOV- Identify, design, optimize and validate
4. BPMS: Business process management systems, nine-step process

1. DMAIC: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control:
In this method Six sigma projects go through four phases:

The number of 'x' s go on getting eliminated using various statistical and other tools. This is as
if the variation is getting reduced as it passes through a funnel of the six-sigma methodology.
This is sometimes called the breakthrough strategy.
The cause and effects relationship between the KPOVs ('y's) and KPIVs ('x's) gets clearer as
the project goes through the four phases. Control plans are documented before the closure of
the project so that gains are sustained. The project leaders must demonstrate that the key
deliverables of the project are achieved and demonstrated.

D Define the goals of the improvement activity. At the top level the goals will
be the strategic objectives of the organization, such as a higher ROI or market
share. At the operations level, a goal might be to increase the throughput of a
production department. At the project level goals might be to reduce the
defect level and increase throughput. Apply data mining methods to identify
potential improvement opportunities.
M Measure the existing system. Establish valid and reliable metrics to help
monitor progress towards the goal(s) defined at the previous step. Begin by
determining the current baseline. Use exploratory and descriptive data
analysis to help you understand the data.
A Analyze the system to identify ways to eliminate the gap between the current
performance of the system or process and the desired goal. Apply statistical
tools to guide the analysis.
I Improve the system. Be creative in finding new ways to do things better,
cheaper, or faster. Use project management and other planning and
management tools to implement the new approach. Use statistical methods to
validate the improvement.
C Control the new system. Institutionalize the improved system by modifying
compensation and incentive systems, policies, and procedures, MRP, budgets,
operating instructions and other management systems. You may wish to
utilize systems such as ISO 9000 to assure that documentation is correct.
An important consideration throughout all the Six Sigma steps is to distinguish which process
sub steps significantly contribute to the end result. The defect rate of the process, service or
final product is likely more sensitive to some factors than others. The analysis phase of Six
Sigma can help identify the extent of improvement needed in each sub step in order to achieve
the target in the final product. It is important to remain mindful that six-sigma performance (in
terms of the ppm metric) is not required for every aspect of every process, product and
service. It is the goal only where it quantitatively drives (i.e., is a significant "control knob"
for) the end result of customer satisfaction and profitability.

2. DFSS (Design Foe Six Sigma) by Identify Design Optimize and Validate (DOV):
Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) is a systematic integration of tools, methods, and processes for
new product and service development. New product / service development is a business
process focused on improving profitability. Properly applied, DFSS is a powerful management
technique that generates the right product at the right time at the right cost.
Importance of DFSS:
Innovation is the lifeblood of most organizations. For the majority of organizations, long-term
success is tied directly to the new product development process. Tomorrow’s revenue and
growth are tightly bound to how successful you are at launching new products and services.
And yet, the development effort faces many challenges in practice.
By providing tools and teamwork to get the job done in an efficient and effective manner,
DFSS can serve as a mechanism to revolutionize the way you develop new products. Through
rigorous application of the DFSS process and tools, you can achieve high product quality,
market acceptance, and competitive advantage through innovation
Element of training in DFSS:

In three days of comprehensive training. The focus will be on driving innovation in your
organization using DFSS methodology and understanding how to overcome challenges to
successful implementation.
Objectives:
• Introduce the DFSS methodology and explore the secrets of success of some of the world’s
most innovative companies.
• Introduce effective team design methods.
• Introduce portfolio management concepts and tools.
• Provide product development process audit tools.
• Examine approaches for successful implementation of DFSS

Participant Benefits:
 A customer and competitor-oriented perspective of innovation.
 An enhanced ability to recognize barriers to new product success early and adjust
quickly.
 A working knowledge of all phases of the new product development cycle, integrating
both business and technical elements.
 An appreciation of how to design and lead cross-functional DFSS project teams.
 An understanding of how and when to use structured tools and methodologies for new
product / service development (e.g., design analysis, voice of the customer, quality
function deployment, Pugh analysis, failure and error mode effects analysis).

3. Business Process Management system (BPMS):
Business process management System (BPMS) is the process to have end-to-end visibility and
control over all parts of a long-lived, multi-step information request or transaction that spans
multiple applications and people in one or more companies. Business process management
means harnessing and enhancing the value of business processes however large or small,
wherever they reside within the extended enterprise, and whomever they involve.
Naturally, companies have always created some type of process management system to
varying degrees. These earlier solutions might have been custom-built combinations of
workflow, document management, or systems automation with large amounts of custom
coding needed to round out the capabilities. Typically, no one tool has been capable of
providing a satisfactory solution and has left enterprises with large functional gaps and added
complexity. With the technology available today, however, new software solutions are
available that make strong foundations for business process management a reality.
A BPM solution is for modeling, integrating, monitoring, and optimizing process flows of all
sizes, crossing any application, company boundary, or human interaction. To understand the
uses of BPM, we must begin with the building blocks of processes. These are the assets that
fulfill a process. These assets are employees, customers, partners, applications and database all
working toward a specific business goal. Each of these assets has an intrinsic value and part to
play in the unifying process. Employees add their intellectual capital to make decisions.
Customers drive demand and requests for products and information. Partners share
information that impacts design, delivery, and support of products. Applications provide
functionality to calculate, store, and retrieve data. Databases hold the history of a company, its
products, and customer information. Each asset in a business process adds a piece of value.
BPM entails integrating each asset to expose its functionality or value and coordinate the
efforts of all assets to achieve a specific goal in a given sequence within a set amount of time.

4. DMADV (Define Measure Analyze Design and Verify):
It is a method similar to that of DMAIC. These can be explained as follows:

DMAIC and DMADV are both:
 Six Sigma methodologies used to drive defects to less than 3.4 per million opportunities.
 Data intensive solution approaches. Intuition has no place in Six Sigma -- only cold, hard
facts.
 Implemented by Green Belts, Black Belts and Master Black Belts.
 Ways to help meet the business/financial bottom-line numbers.
 Implemented with the support of a champion and process owner.
DMADV Define  Define the project goals and customer (internal and external)
Measure deliverables
Analyze  Measure and determine customer needs and specifications
Design  Analyze the process options to meet the customer needs
Verify  Design (detailed) the process to meet the customer needs
 Verify the design performance and ability to meet customer
needs
The difference between DMAAIC and DMADV:

Though both these methods of six sigma have certain similarities, there are a few differences
that are to be considered. These are as follows:
Usage: The DMADV methodology, instead of the DMAIC methodology, should be used
when:
 A product or process is not in existence at your company and one needs to be
developed.
 The existing product or process exists and has been optimized (using either DMAIC or
not) and still doesn't meet the level of customer specification or six sigma level.

CHAPTER 02
ORGANIZATION PROFILE

WIPRO TECHNOLOGIES
Wipro Limited is a global information technology (IT) services company headquartered in

Bangalore, India. According to the 2011 revenue, Wipro is the third largest IT services
company in India and employs more than 219,429 people worldwide as of March 2011.
Wipro is ranked 31 globally in 2011 in the list of IT service providers. It is 9th most valuable
brand in India according to an annual survey conducted by Brand Finance and The Economic
Times in 2010. Wipro provides outsourced research and development, infrastructure
outsourcing, business process outsourcing (BPO) and business consulting services. The
company operates in three segments: IT Services, IT Products, Consumer Care and Lighting.
The company was established in 1980 as subsidiary of Wipro (Western Indian Palm Refined
Oil) Limited listed on New York Stock Exchange. Wipro was initially set up as a vegetable oil
manufacturer in 1945 in Amalner, Maharashtra, producing sunflower Vanaspati Oil and soaps.
At that time, the company was called Western India Vegetable Products Limited (later
abbreviated down to Wipro).[5][6] The company logo still contains a sunflower to reflect their
original business. During 1970s and 1980s it shifted its focus and begin to look into business
opportunities in IT and computing industry which was at nascent stages in India at that time.
Wipro was the first company which marketed the first indigenous homemade PC from India in
1985.
In 1966 Azim Premji, still the majority shareholder as the chairman of the company at the age
of 21 and with the passage of time transformed it into one of the largest IT outsourcing
services provider of the world.
By 2000, Wipro Technologies emerged as the largest publicly listed software exporter in India
and the first software services provider to be assessed at SEI Level 5 in the world.

Wipro won the Golden Peacock Innovative Service Award for effective service delivery using
state of art technology in 2001.
Wipro was awarded SVG1, the highest rating in Stakeholder Value Creation and Governance
Practices by ICRA, a premier credit rating agency in India and an associate of Moody’s
Investor Services of USA.
Wipro was awarded the India Manufacturing Excellence Award for its factory in Pondicherry
in the large enterprises category by Frost & Sullivan.
Wipro was awarded the prestigious ASTD BEST Awards for 2005 by the American Society of
Training and Development.
Wipro's Global Command Centre won the Marico Foundation and Business World's
Innovation for India Award in 2006. The conglomerate was rated as the No.1 Network
Integrator and No.1 Network Security Services Provider by Voice & Data Magazine.
Reengineering business processes and developing new ones is the need of the hour to ensure
business reorientation. Wipro has helped make the transition to stability and standardization,
smooth and comfortable to all its clients. They optimize processes and manage complex
transformations that lead to customer satisfaction, cost reduction and quality products and
services.
Wipro has the necessary skill sets and domain expertise to institutionalize and implement
frameworks that are best in breed and are accepted standards for enterprise wide and
functional process improvements.
Wipro Limited was established in 1945 and commenced its operations in 1946 as a vegetable
oil company. In the early 1980s, Wipro diversified into the Information Technology sector
with Liberalization hitting India in the 1980s. This has been a fascinating transformation from
a vegetable oil company into a global IT services giant.
Today, Wipro Technologies has become a global service provider delivering technology driven
business solutions that meet the strategic objectives of clients. Wipro has 55+ ‘Centers of
Excellence’ that create solutions related to specific needs of Industries. Wipro can boast of
delivering unmatched business value to customers through a combination of process
excellence quality frameworks and service delivery innovation.
A strong emphasis upon building a professional work environment, leaders from within, and
having a global outlook for business and growth have led to innovation of people processes on
a continued basis. Over the years, Wipro has significantly strengthened its competency based
people processes and demonstrated innovative practices in talent acquisition, deployment, and
development, based on strategic needs.
A leading provider of communication networks in the US required improvement in the product

performance of a telecom application using Six Sigma methodologies. Thus, with the growing
importance on aligning business operations with customer needs and driving continuous
improvement, Wipro began moving towards focusing on Quality, thereby, creating a learning
environment that led to implementation of Six Sigma.
Integrating Six Sigma concepts was also intended to bring rigor in effective upstream
processes of the software development life cycle. Implementation of Six Sigma methodologies
brought in quantitative understanding, cost savings, and performance improvement towards
product quality.
Some of the key challenges involved were:

 Reduce the data transfer time
 Reduce the risk
 Avoid interruption due to LAN/WAN downtime.
 Parallel availability of the switch for the other administrative tasks during the same
period.

EVOLUTION OF SIX SIGMA AT WIPRO TECHNOLOGIES
Wipro is the first Indian company to adopt Six Sigma. Today, Wipro has one of the most
mature Six Sigma programs in the industry ensuring that 91% of the projects are completed on
schedule, much above the industry average of 55%. As the pioneers of Six Sigma in India,
Wipro has already put around thirteen years into process improvement through Six Sigma.
Along the way, it has scaled Six Sigma ladder, while helping to roll out over 1000 projects.
The Six Sigma program spreads right across verticals and impacts multiple areas such as
project management, market development and resource utilization.
Six Sigma at Wipro simply means a measure of quality that strives for near perfection. It is an
umbrella initiative covering all business units and divisions so that it could transform itself in
a world class organization.
At Wipro, it means:
(i) Have products and services meet global benchmarks

(ii) Ensure robust processes within the organization
(iii) Consistently meet and exceed customer expectations
(iv) Make Quality a culture within.

DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY WIPRO
Difficulties encountered by Wipro and learning from them

Build the Culture:
Implementation of Six Sigma required support from the higher level managers. It meant
restructuring of the organization to provide the infrastructure, training and the confidence in
the process. Wipro had to build this culture and that took time in implementation.
Project selection:
The first year of deployment was extremely difficult for Six Sigma success. They decided to
select the project on the basis of high probability of their success and targeted to complete
them in a short period to assess the success. These projects were treated as pilot projects with a
focus to learn. For the selection of the right project the field data was collected, process map
was developed and the importance of the project was judged from the eyes of customers.
Training:
After the set up, the first step of implementation was to build a team of professionals and train
them for various stages of Six Sigma. The training was spread in five phases: Defining,
measuring, analyzing, improving and controlling the process and lastly increasing customer
satisfaction. These phases consisted of statistics, bench marking and design of experiments. To
find the right kind of people and train them was a difficult job. This motivated Wipro to start
their own consultancy to train the people.
Resources:
It was difficult to identify resources that were required for short-term basis and long-term
basis as it varied from project to project. Wipro did it on the basis of seriousness and
importance of the project.

Project Reviews:
As timely reviews play a very crucial role to judge the success of a project. Wipro had to
develop a team of experts for this purpose. The task assigned was to see the timeliness, find
out gap, week areas and to check the outcome as per the plan.

CHAPTER 03
RESEARCH STUDY OF SIX SIGMA

LEVELS OF SIX SIGMA
Master Black Belt / Champion:

This is the highest level of technical and organizational proficiency. Master Black Belts
provide technical leadership of the Six Sigma program. Thus, they must know everything the
Black Belts know, as well as understand the mathematical theory on which the statistical
methods are based. Master Black Belts must be able to assist Black Belts in applying the
methods correctly in unusual situations. Whenever possible, only Master Black Belts should
conduct statistical training. Otherwise the familiar “propagation of error” phenomenon will
occur, i.e., Black Belts pass on errors to green belts, who pass on greater errors to team
members. If it becomes necessary for Black Belts and Green Belts to provide training, they
should do only so under the guidance of Master Black Belts. For example, Black Belts may
be asked to provide assistance to the Master during class discussions and exercises. Because
of the nature of the Master’s duties, communications and teaching skills are as important as
technical competence.
Black Belt:
Candidates for Black Belt status are technically oriented individuals held in high regard by
their peers. They should be actively involved in the process of organizational change and
development. Candidates may come from a wide range of disciplines and need not be formally
trained statisticians or engineers. However, because they are expected to master a wide
variety of technical tools in a relatively short period of time, Black Belt candidates will
probably possess a background in college-level mathematics, the basic tool of quantitative
analysis. Coursework in statistical methods should be considered a strong plus or even a
prerequisite. As part of their training, Black Belts receive 160 hours of classroom instruction,
plus one-on-one project coaching from Master Black Belts or consultants.
Successful candidates will be comfortable with computers. At a minimum, they should

understand one or more operating systems, spreadsheets, database managers, presentation
programs, and word processors. As part of their training they will be required to become

proficient in the use of one or more advanced statistical analysis software packages. Six Sigma
Black Belts work to extract actionable knowledge from an organization’s information
warehouse.
Green Belt:
Green Belts are Six Sigma project leaders capable of forming and facilitating Six Sigma teams
and managing Six Sigma projects from concept to completion. Green Belt training consists of
five days of classroom training and is conducted in conjunction with Six Sigma projects.
Training covers project management, quality management tools, quality control tools, problem
solving, and descriptive data analysis. Six Sigma champions should attend Green Belt
training. Usually, Six Sigma Black Belts help Green Belts define their projects prior to the
training, attend training with their Green Belts, and assist them with their projects after the
training.

STRATEGIES FOR SIX SIGMA
There are three different strategies adopted by different organizations:
1. The six-sigma organization:

In this strategy, the whole organization is trained on six sigma philosophy and methods. The
training is of varying depth for various levels. Six sigma serves as motivational device and
also as a metric. Goals are defined in terms of sigma. While the organization can have a
common language of six sigma, large resources are required for training. All improvement
ideas are likely to be credited to six sigma regardless of the approach actually used.
2. The Six Sigma Engineering Organization:

Here, the attempt is to develop skills in the Engineering functions. The project objectives are
usually based on new products, product changes or problem solving. One of the advantages is
the relatively higher level of educational and technical background of the individuals that
enables them to learn at a faster pace. On the other hand, individuals from other functions do
not appreciate the efforts in absence of the awareness of the techniques.
3. Strategic selection of six sigma projects:

The senior management sometimes feels that the current quality processes are generally
working well to achieve the overall strategic plan. Hence six sigma tools and concepts are
used to enhance the existing quality processes and supplement the skills of the key people
thereby making breakthrough improvements. Six sigma projects are identified considering the:
 Strategic direction of the company
 Impact on the bottom-line
 Impact on customer satisfaction

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE OF WHAT MAKES SIX SIGMA WORK
Six Sigma only appears to be a little different than TQM in terms of Quality tools, techniques,
and principles, but from a global perspective it's a whole new animal for the following reasons
(in order of importance):
1. A New Type of Top Level Support:

Universal cost oriented metrics and the new level of competition that Six Sigma provides
easily acquires top-level support. Even CEOs are seriously supporting large improvement
projects run by highly trained business super stars.
2. Problem Solving and Team Leading Super Stars:

Executive Champion, Deployment Champions, Project Champions, Master Black Belts,
Black Belts, and Green Belts.
3. Training Like Never Before:

Much more training for all involved. The training is heavily statistical, project
management, and problem solving oriented. Black Belt is well justified by the savings per
project.
4. New Metrics:
Use of metrics unlike anything ever used before. These metrics not only tie in customer
Critical to Quality needs with what is measured by the company, but they also allow
processes within the company to be compared with each other using a single scale called
DPMO (Defects Per Million Opportunities).
5. Much Better Use of Teams:

Very efficient use of highly trained, cross-functional, and empowered teams to locate and
make improvements. Black Belts are also trained team efficiency experts.

6. A New Level of Process Comparison:
The use of opportunity divisible defect metrics (DPMO) allows comparisons from division
to division, department to department, process-to-process, etc. within the company.
7. A New Corporate Attitude / Culture:

Implementation of Six Sigma creates a new environment that naturally promotes the
creation of continuous improvement efforts.

CHAPTER 04
IMPLEMENTATION OF SIX SIGMA

INDIAN IT BUYS INTO SIX SIGMA
India’s IT industry is respected globally for its focus on quality. While SEI-CMM and other
ISO standards are quite common, Six Sigma is now becoming popular amongst Indian IT and
ITeS companies. Some have already started reaping the benefits of adopting Six Sigma.
In a business where there is little to differentiate between competitors, quality is that key
ingredient that can aid in the differentiation process. Obviously, quality standards and
certifications have become a buzzword amongst Indian IT and ITeS companies. The goal of
Six Sigma is continuous process improvement. Indian companies are adopting it to gain an
edge over the others in the pack. Six Sigma’s adoption has resulted in the improvement of
business processes for many companies. While Six Sigma adoption is still in a nascent stage
and challenges remain, it is expected to take off amongst Indian IT and ITeS companies in the
years to come.
Six Sigma is popular with Indian IT and ITeS players for many reasons, not the least of which
is the fact that it is very clearly result-oriented. Of course, the fact that one of Indian
software’s biggest customers, General Electric (GE), is a big proponent of Six Sigma doesn’t
hurt either.
More result-oriented
Many Indian IT and ITeS players believe that Six Sigma is more result-oriented than other
quality and improvement standards and therefore it helps them streamline their processes,
bringing about all-round organisational improvement. As Six Sigma practices aim at
quantifying each and every process in numbers, it is easier to measure improvement.
Sambuddha Deb, chief quality officer, Wipro Technologies says, "In most other standards it is
very difficult to measure quality as everyone has a different definition of quality. However, Six
Sigma practices underline defects in a process, thereby making it easy to improve upon it by
eliminating the defect from its root." After adopting Six Sigma, many organisations have
found that their delivery processes have become sustainable and continuous. For call centres
in particular, and IT companies in general, the prospect of improving HR processes using Six
Sigma is a big draw. Shwetank Sharad, head of quality at ICICI OneSource says, "There are
well defined roles in a Six Sigma practice, like a Master Black Belt, Black Belt and a Green
Belt. It aims at zero error in a process, thereby resulting in overall improvement in a set-up."
Increased customer satisfaction

Several Indian IT and ITeS companies have adopted Six Sigma in order to gain customer
acceptability and improve client satisfaction. It has helped them create and deliver value and
demonstrate direct savings to their customers. Some IT companies like TCS and iGATE
Global Solutions went in for Six Sigma as a result of their long-term relationship with General
Electric (GE) one of the pioneers in spreading and adopting the concept of Six Sigma
(Motorola was the other pioneer in Six Sigma).
N G Subramanayam, vice president of Bangalore Operations for TCS says, "Initially we took
the help of GE and Motorola in adopting Six Sigma. GE trained our core team, which then
spread the concept across TCS. After having adopted the Six Sigma practice in 1999 we have
worked on nearly 300 projects using this practice."
Continuous process of improvement

Indian IT and ITeS companies have adopted Six Sigma across their organisations and have
tried to incorporate most of the processes running in their set-ups. As Six Sigma aims at
continuous improvement it has resulted in changing the complete mindset of employees as per
its procedures. The change in the overall mindset of the organization has resulted in greater
efficiency and productivity as well as a reduction in cost and cycle time.
Adoption mainly amongst large IT & ITeS players

The adoption of Six Sigma has been largely confined to large IT and ITeS players in the
country as they have a large number of repeatable processes that can be improved over a given
time period. They also have a large number of projects that follow a similar process. Large IT
and ITeS companies also have multiple quality standards running across the organization and
it is easier for them to integrate Six Sigma practices along with other standards. Krishnan
Puthucode, director and CEO, SEI Authorized Lead Assessor, Software Quality says, "In some

SMEs there are hardly 10 projects running and they aren’t many repeat processes in them. In
such cases it becomes very difficult to adopt Six Sigma practices. Hence SMEs are struggling
to adopt Six Sigma."
Integrating Six Sigma practices with other standards

Indian IT and ITeS companies adopting Six Sigma already have a quality standard like a
CMM Level 5 certification or an ISO certification. It is easier to integrate Six Sigma practices
when there are also practices like CMM or ISO running in a set-up. Some organizations like
Wipro, TCS and iGATE Global Solutions in the IT field and EXL Services and 24/7 Customer
in ITeS already had other quality programmers running successfully before they went in for
Six Sigma. When the Six Sigma adoption idea was mooted the management readily accepted
it, thereby paving the way for overall adoption across the organization."
Statistically measuring every process

Since Six Sigma is heavily dependent on numbers to underline the number of defects it
becomes difficult to measure each and every process mathematically and statistically.
Puthucode of SQC says, "It is easier to measure each and every process in a production
environment but when it comes to software there is this problem of lack of repeatability. A lot
of dedication is required, especially while measuring people processes, as it means a complete
change in the attitude of the employees." However some companies like Wipro Technologies
have created a data driven system and have made it mandatory to collect data for each of the
processes running on Six Sigma.
The difference in IT organizations is that it may be applicable for ‘product design’ oriented
projects while ITeS may use process improvement projects." The lack of good consultants in
the space who can assess and monitor the adoption of the Six Sigma.

IMPLEMENTATION OF SIX SIGMA AT WIPRO TECHNOLOGIES
Wipro has adopted the project approach for Six Sigma, where projects are identified on the
basis of the problem areas under each of the critical Business Processes that adversely
impacts the business significantly. Wipro offers practices to optimize and standardize various
processes in line with frameworks. Wipro offers gap analysis with reference to the
frameworks, defines IT processes covering policy, processes and performance metrics. Wipro
value is in the implementation support and plan for development of detailed specifications,
deployment of policies, tools and procedures, organization requires a clear understanding of
roles and responsibilities, as well as the proper tools and techniques to accomplish it.
Today, Wipro applies best in class tools, methodologies in a systematic way. This provides
measurable milestones that can be presented to those involved and stake holders. A robust
process thus becomes suited for process automation. It can serve as bedrock to move to higher
level of building capabilities.
Wipro has evolved following Six Sigma methodologies:
(I) For developing new processes:

(i) DSSS+ Methodology –
Wipro employs DSSS methodology for software development. The methodology uses
rigorous in-process metrics and cause analysis throughout the software development
lifecycle for defect free deliveries and lower customer cost of application development.
(ii) DSSP Methodology – used for designing new processes and products
(iii) DCAM Methodology – used for designing for customer satisfaction and
Manufacturability
(II) For Improving Existing Processes

(i) TQSS Methodology –used for defect reduction in Transactional processes.
(ii) DMAIC Methodology -used for process improvement in Non-transactional process

(III) For Reengineering
CFPM Methodology - used for cross functional Process mapping.
The list of players at Wipro is as below:
 Executive Management
 Six Sigma Champions and Deployment Leaders
 Financial Executives
 Black Belts
 Green Belts
 Yellow Belts
SIX SIGMA
Developing Improving
New Existing
Processes Processes Re Engineering

Six Sigma projects at Wipro are:
(i) Driven by business heads, also called Champions for the projects.
(ii) Led by Green Belts (GB)
Assisted by Black Belts (BB)
The Management of the project at Wipro follows the following tools for implementation
of Six Sigma:
 Ideation
 Definition
 Selection
 Tracking
 Reporting

WHY SIX SIGMA WORKS?
A Six Sigma program integrates the elements of management culture and quality techniques
that are critical to driving performance improvement and business excellence.
Six Sigma projects are results-oriented.
 Their leaders are held accountable for return on investment

 Projects are selected and driven by data
 Senior managers sponsor improvement projects
 A critical mass of people is trained in quality improvement techniques
 Achievement is recognized
 Success is celebrated to create momentum and encourage a chain reaction through the
organization
 Revealing Those Hidden Costs.

WHY SIX SIGMA WORKS IN AN ORGANIZATION?
Turning around an organization requires a clear understanding of roles and responsibilities, as

well as the proper tools and techniques to accomplish it. Six Sigma is a proven way to
examine, refine, improve processes and eliminate defects. They are committed to teaching and
utilizing it to make your products and service the standard by which the rest of the industry is
measured.
Some tips that show Why Six Sigma Works in as Organization:

 To produce higher quality goods and services
 To work smarter, not harder
 To exceed customer expectations
 To earn your competitive edge
 To enhance your growth
 To promote job security
 To map all of your processes and to make them defect free
 To learn the language of CHANGE and STATISTICS.

BENEFITS OF SIX SIGMA
The Cost of Quality

SIGMA LEVEL DEFECTS PER MILLION COST OF QUALITY
OPPORTUNITIES
2 308,537 (non competitive companies) Not applicable
3 66,807 25-40% of sales

4 6,210 (industry average) 15-25% of sales
5 233 5-15% of sales

6 3.4 (world class) < 1% of sales
Each sigma shift provides a 10% net income improvement.
Financial Benefits of Six Sigma Projects:

Creates additional/new revenue.
Creates cost savings through tax avoidance.
Enables cost avoidance.
Faster return on investments.
Increases cash flow.
Increases revenue of existing sources.
Increases stock price/shareholder value.
Six Sigma and Financial Gains:

YEAR SAVINGS(IN MILLION)
2006-07 00
2007-08 48
2008-09 192
2009-10 315
2010-11 1180
Organizational Benefits of Six Sigma

Operational Benefits of Six Sigma Projects
Decreases employee work loads for undesirable work.

Eliminates non-value added activities.
Improves employee morale / team spirit.
Improves internal communication between departments and groups.
Improves use of workspace.
Increases employee and process productivity.
Reduces external inputs to processes.
Reduces person-hours.
Reduces process steps.
Simplifies processes and workflow steps.

Information Technology Benefits of Six Sigma Projects
Decreases maintenance/support costs.
Enables service level agreement (SLA) obligations.
Improves application/system performance.
Improves application/system utilization rate.
Increases efficiency of support activities.
Listing out all these benefits clearly shows the potential impact that the six sigma process can
have on any organization. The question is that how does one achieve six sigma. I will throw
some light on that part of it in the application section of this project from my understanding on
how to achieve six sigma. Just to conclude on why I chose this topic for my project on quality
control I would like to say that six sigma can achieve in the following success factors:
 Cost reduction
 Productivity improvement
 Market share growth
 Customer retention
 Cycle time retention
 Defect reduction
 Culture change
 Product/service development
 Generates sustained success
 Sets a performance goal for everyone
 Enhances value to customers
 Accelerates the rate of improvement
 Promotes learning and “cross-pollination”
 Executes strategic change

LIMITATIONS /BOTTLENECKS OF SIX SIGMA
1. Delays in project execution: There are often significant delays in Six Sigma projects and
intermediate deliveries. One of the most frequent reasons is decision-making errors that
lead to rework and time-consuming data collection activities. Other reasons are listed
below in relation to Six Sigma project phases.
2. Faults in Project Phases

a) Define/Identify Phases
 Poor project selection and/or problem formulation.
 Non-exhaustive list of potential directions for change and/or for innovation.
 Underestimated secondary problems which may arise during and/or as a
result of primary problem solving.
 Poor definition of alternative causes and effects and screening of significant
inputs.
 Failures caused by narrowing the scope of the projects in the wrong
direction.
b) Measure Phase
 Time-consuming data-collection and measurements.
 Lack and/or high variability of measurement systems.
 Failure in finding root cause.
c) Improve/Design Phase
 Lack of really productive and/or innovative ideas for improvements
(upgrade to 4 sigma level and higher) or lack of competitive design or
redesign.
 Time and labor consuming DOE.
d) Verify/Control Phases
 Non-systematic and non-exhaustive failure prediction

 These reasons lead not only to delays, but also increase the Cost of Poor
Quality (COPQ) due to rework. Repeated idea collection, endless meetings and
discussions, screening the alternatives, measurements and analysis also
significantly deteriorate overall acceptance and support of further deployments.
 The need for additional efficient analytical techniques and tools, which not only
accelerate the above decision-making activities but also make decision-making
and problem-solving activities error-prone, increase their productivity and
reduce cycle time, and increase Roll Throughput Yield of innovative and
competitive solutions through the whole Six Sigma process, is apparent and
urgent.
e) Small and medium size companies or business units, who actively enter the Six Sigma
community, have additional limitations when deploying Six Sigma methodology:
 Personnel are limited and often working overtime.
 It is often difficult (if not impossible) to find suitable candidates for Black and
Green Belt positions to lead Six Sigma projects on either a full-time or part-time
basis.
 Resources, both financial and human, for Six Sigma projects are extremely limited.
Black and/or Green Belts are often left to conduct their projects on an overtime
basis.
 Innovative products and services are critical to business survival and should be
introduced or updated as quickly as possible.
 Big capital investments are often avoided or postponed, even when their return on
investment is very high and financial justification convincing.

CHAPTER 05
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

ANALYSIS
All the data that entered the analysis phase was tested against the CHART test (Complete-
Honest-Accurate-Relevant-Timely). Appropriate Six-Sigma tools were deployed to monitor
and analyse performance of processes. For example: The statistical control chart was used to
monitor the quality level of communication. The control chart was used to monitor the
recruitment process. The run chart was used to monitor the feedback process.
Process owners, with assistance of Six-Sigma Black Belt conducted the analysis. Targets were
set based on customer requirements and process capabilities. The analysis aimed to identify
the vital parameters that affect process results. They were identified by using the experience of
process participants, correlation analysis and customer feedback. Other Six-Sigma tools were
also deployed. For instance, Pareto analysis was used to analyse reasons for employees
leaving the company.
Improvement
Action followed the analysis. The HR database was updated regularly to monitor the
improvements after implementation. The focus began to shift from monitoring measures of
performance (MOPS) to controlling inputs that control the MOPS. .
Control
A quarterly HR review was developed and issued by the HR. It contained all the process
analysis results and implementation. It also contained a detailed Six-Sigma Score Chart.
Achievements
The cost of the HR function reduced by 34%
 The turnover reduced by 15%.
 HR systems transformed into a cost-effective, fast, proactive department that averted
probable problems.

 The morale of the department rose since they evolved from being mere back room
boys to strategic planners.
 The reduction of throughput time, defects and rework contributed to the tangible cost
saving. The intangible cost such as poor quality management was also averted.
 Six-Sigma helped evolve a participative management and teamwork.
 Six-Sigma now became a way of thinking.
Six-Sigma thus proved to be an effective approach for Quantum to improve its HR processes.

CHALLENGES FACED WHILE ADOPTING SIX SIGMA
Customizing Six Sigma to an organization’s requirements is a big challenge. The whole

mental attitude of the organization has to change in order to adopt Six Sigma and realize its
benefits. Vikas Bhalla, vice president, Quality & Process Excellence, EXL Services says,
"Quick adoption of Six Sigma depends on how mature an organization is and where it is
headed. During the initial stage of adoption strategic directions are not very clear as to how to
go about adopting the practice but once they are clear Six Sigma can be customized and
adopted throughout the organization across departments. Fresher’s in an organization are more
open to the Six Sigma practice." Besides this it is important to train people to adapt to change
and new practices. Considerable resources have to be pumped into training employees on Six
Sigma. K L Murughan, deputy general manager iGATE Global Solutions says, "Applying Six
Sigma in the software development process is very challenging, as it is important to identify
and quantify each and every project in terms of the number of defects."
For TCS it was the enormous size of the company and partly because it was taken up as a
global initiative that it was a challenge to adopt the practice initially. N G Subramanayam of
TCS says, "After adoption of the Six Sigma practice it is easier for us to deal with companies
like GE but dealing with other companies that are not very comfortable with the Six Sigma
concept it is very challenging for us."
Identifying areas for improvement: It is equally challenging for companies to identify projects
and areas that need immediate improvement. Deb of Wipro Technologies says, "We have set
up a mechanism to identify projects upon which we can improve immediately. However, as
business priorities change every year we ensure that the same holds true for the parameters for
selecting the right project that can reap the maximum benefit if Six Sigma is applied to it." It
is also challenging to identify projects and pain areas in those areas where Six Sigma has
never been adopted before, like some areas in the sales and marketing operations.
The Challenge will be to transform Six Sigma from a tool for improving product quality to an
overall business improvement methodology. The company’s aim will be at having 100% of its
management trained in Six Sigma.

To summarize, the quality system will continue to be based on incremental optimization, with
rigorous implementation and sustenance of the same. The goal will be to make quality as the
No.1 objective for all employees.

INTERPRETATION
1. From an upper management perspective, what has been the principal motivating factor
in embracing Six Sigma?
a. Bottom line results

b. Market share growth
c. Defect reductions
d. Customer focus
Interpretation: In above case principal of motivating factors remains more than 60% in hand of
bottom line results. Bottom line results means that sales, demand of products, need of
customers etc.

2. In most cases, an improvement team receives the least control and direction during
which of the following stages?
a. Forming
b. Storming
c. Performing
d. Norming
Interpretation: Improvement in any field can be done only by performing and giving good
results or output.

3. The purpose of "rolled throughput yield" in the six sigma define step would include all
of the following, EXCEPT:
a. Spotting significant differences in yield
b. Providing a baseline metric
c. Using the calculation for customer analysis
d. Analyzing a process flow for improvement ideas
Interpretation: The purpose of “rolled throughput yield” in Six Sigma is “using the calculation
for customer analysis”
4. A null hypothesis requires several assumptions, a basic one of which is:

a. That the variables are significant
b. The variables are independent
c. That the sample size is adequate
d. That the confidence interval is ± 2 standard deviations
Interpretation: A null hypothesis requires several assumption because the variables are
independent such as customer need, technology etc.

5. Flowcharting of activities and systems is most helpful in detecting:
a. Inappropriate use of resources
b. Deficiencies in the organizational structure
c. FMEA risk areas
d. Improper use of statistical methods
Interpretation: flow charting of activities and system is most helpful in detecting

“inappropriate use of resources”.

6. Which three of the following four techniques could easily be used to display the same
data?
I. Stem and leaf plots
II. Box plots
III. Scatter diagrams
IV. Histograms
a. I, II, and III only
b. I, II, and IV only
c. I, III, and IV only
d. II, III, and IV only
Interpretation: All above four options helps to display data but the most appropriate and
effective technique is boxplots.
7. I have done Six-Sigma project in my college:

a. Yes
b. No
Interpretation: Yes I have done my six sigma project in my college.

CHAPTER 06
FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS

CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS
Senior Leadership:
 Mobilize for change
 Provide Strategic vision and purpose
 Be actively involved at every stage
Ownership:
 Incentives for change
 Ensure process user participate in redesign and accept
 need for change (forcing factor)
 Publicly reward enthusiastic participation

Business Focus:
 Customers and Products
 Set clear Objectives
 Measure value in outcomes rather than inputs
Action:
 Change How People Think and Work
 Recognize and overcome the barriers to change
 Employ effective human resource strategies

SUGGESTIONS
TOP 10 TIPS FOR MANAGING SIX SIGMA

1. Leadership/top management commitment is essential. Secure the Top management
commitment by first training them. This training should consist of an introduction to
Six Sigma, tools and techniques used, and the roles and responsibilities of the
management as Champions. The Leadership team has to be totally convinced of the
benefits of Six Sigma. In addition, executive management should form a Steering
Committee which will now ensure that:
a. Organizational goals are aligned with Six Sigma projects
b. Resources are planned for and roadblocks removed
c. A person to lead this effort in the organization is selected. S/he will be trained
as a Black Belt and will report to the Steering Committee. They must select
their best performing person for this job.
2. All leaders should be trained as Six Sigma Champions. This is normally a 2-day
training session that ensures that the Champions learn to ask the right questions of Six
Sigma practitioners. This group includes the Steering Committee, process owners, and
functional managers (like Production Manager, Maintenance Manager, etc.).
3. Include Six Sigma planning within the business-operating plan. Ensure the when
the Operating Plan for the next year(s) is being made, Six Sigma Project savings
become an input for that plan.
4. Select the right consultant to train your Belts. There are a lot of mediocre programs
floating around being offered even by reputed training institutions. One point to
remember is that you will be best trained by a Six Sigma practitioner (Black Belt or
Master Black Belt) rather than an academic who will teach you only theory. A typical
Black Belt training program is spread over 4-5 months, and a Black Belt will need to
complete two projects before s/he is certified (which will typically take longer than 6

months). A Green Belt training program is spread over 4 months and requires one
project for certification. At Owens Corning I have designed the White Belt (3 day)
training program to help employees on the shop floor lead their own projects (though
smaller in size and duration).
5. Ensure that the Return On Training Investment is at least 20 times. This can be
done by good project definition and correct practitioner allocation.
6. Gets the movement going at the shop floor level. Rather than having a few Black
Belts or Green Belts doing projects all the time, train shop floor operators and
supervisors in the use of tools and techniques (White Belt program). This way the
ownership is theirs and they are doing the improvements on their own. Reward well
the project leaders and their team members when they receive certification. Make it
such that other people aspire to get this certification. The certified candidates should be
adequately compensated during their annual performance review.
7. Create a certification process. Ensure that the certification process is rigorous and
true. This will ensure that only after successful completion of projects and
demonstrating proper use of tools/techniques, the practitioner candidate will get
certified. The Functional Area Manager, Finance Leader and Six Sigma reviewer
should sign on the certificate declaring that the benefits have actually started accruing.
8. Develop a mentoring process. Ensure that proper guidance/handholding is being done

by experienced practitioners for the new candidates after their training. This will
ensure that the course corrections are made regularly and the projects get completed on
time.

9. Ensure financial validation of projects. Make sure that the Finance Leader is signing
off on the project's actual savings. The finance department should do the reporting of
the metrics and savings in the control phase of the projects. The project metrics should
continue to be tracked after the project is declared completed. This tracking
responsibility should be on the project leader or process owner if handed off by the
project leader.
10. Never allow Six Sigma to be classified as a Quality Manager's job. A Quality
Manager's role is distinct and s/he will not be in position to manage the Six Sigma
process as for the entire business.

CONCLUSION
Six sigma is a business initiative that helps the organization meet its changing business need.
It is widely used to provide a structured approach to improve process but many organizations
have found that the return of an organization's effort will be much more favorable to the
"bottom line" if the six sigma methodology was focused on the design and not the product
alone. Although six sigma brings a new direction to quality and productivity improvements.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BIBILIOGRAPHY
Wipro-Annual Report, 2002-2006
Express Computer, Sept.2002
Websites:
 www.isixsigma.com
 www.wipro.com

ANNEXURES

ANNEXURES
Six Sigma for Design – Survey Questionnaire
A. Can we quote from the responses you have provided?

Yes No
B. How many years have you been associated with the Design field?
o < 2 years
o >2 years but <=4years
o >10 years
C. Please mark the highest formal education you have:

o Associate Degree
o Bachelors Degree
o Masters Degree
o PhD Degree
o Other, please specify____________
D. Please select which area of industry you are currently engaged with:
□ Electronics
□ Aerospace
□ Software & Services
□ Health Care Equipment
□ Consulting
□ Automotive

□ Other, please specify ____________
E. What are your Business Unit’s Annual Sales?
o < $25 million (M)
o $25 M to < $100 M
o $100 M to < $500 M
o $500 M to < $1 billion (B)
o $1B or more
Introduction and your status
1. I am Designer or Non-Designer (Marketer, Engineer or others) in my organization.

a. Designer
b. Non Designer
2. I have a work experience for:

a. 1-3 years
b. 3-6 years
c. Over 6
3. I have learned Six-Sigma education in my organisation:

a. Yes
b. No
4. I have done Six-Sigma project in my organisation:

a. Yes
b. No

Six-Sigma’s Impact & Six-Sigma and Creativity
1. Could you think that Six-Sigma has significantly improved your organization's
profitability?
a. High (100%-60%)
b. Middle (60%-10%)
c. Low (Below 10%)
d. Neither
2. Could you think that Six-Sigma has significantly improved processes of your work at
organization?
a. High (100%-60%)
b. Middle (60%-10%)
c. Low (Below 10%)
d. Neither
3. Could you think that Six-Sigma process has improved design process at your organization?
a. Agree
b. Disagree
c. Neither
4. Do you think that Six-Sigma could be interrupted your creative work at your organization?
a. Agree
b. Disagree
c. Neither

Design process, Six-Sigma and Customer Relationship Management & Using Six-Sigma
Tools
1. If you are using or done your project with Six-Sigma, could you think that it is necessary to
get for customer satisfaction through your work?
a. Agree
b. Disagree
c. Neither
2. Could you think that Six-Sigma has significantly improved customer satisfaction at your
organization?
a. High (100%-60%)
b. Middle (60%-10%)
c. Low (Below 10%)
d. Neither
3. Could you think Six-Sigma uses too many tools?

a. Agree
b. Disagree
c. Neither
4. Could you think that the complexity of the Six Sigma methodologies varies with the
complexity of the project?
a. Agree
b. Disagree
c. Neither

Six Sigma Project

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Six Sigma Project

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Six Sigma Project

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

PROJECT REPORT

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

Contents Particulars Page No.

1.0 Introduction of Six Sigma 7

1.2 Objectives of the Study 15

1.3 Methodology of Six Sigma 18

1.3.2 Business Process Management System (BPMS) 22

1.3.3 Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) 24

1.3.4 Define, Measure , Analyze, Design & Verify (DMADV) 25

2.1 Wipro Technologies (Overview) 27

2.3 Difficulties Encountered by Wipro 31

PROJECT ON SIX SIGMA Page 2

3.2 Strategies of Six Sigma 36

3.3 Global Perspective of Six Sigma 37

Contents Particulars Page No.

Chapter-4 Implementation of Six Sigma 39

4.1 Indian IT buys into Six Sigma 40

4.2 Implementation of Six Sigma 43

4.3 Benefits of Six Sigma 46

4.4 Limitations of Six Sigma 51

Chapter-5 Analysis & Interpretations 53

5.2 Challenges Faced while adopting Six Sigma 56

Chapter-6 Findings & Conclusions 63

6.1 Critical Success Factors 64

PROJECT ON SIX SIGMA Page 3

PROJECT ON SIX SIGMA Page 4

Signature: REG NO:

PROJECT ON SIX SIGMA Page 5

Date: Signature of Guide

PROJECT ON SIX SIGMA Page 6

PROJECT ON SIX SIGMA Page 7

PROJECT ON SIX SIGMA Page 8

PROJECT ON SIX SIGMA Page 9

Normal Distribution Curve

Normal curve features:

PROJECT ON SIX SIGMA Page 10

PROJECT ON SIX SIGMA Page 11

Permissible Spread under the curve = USL - LSL

PROJECT ON SIX SIGMA Page 12

PROJECT ON SIX SIGMA Page 13

SIGMA LEVEL PPM

 Balance Score Card

PROJECT ON SIX SIGMA Page 14

PROJECT ON SIX SIGMA Page 15

PROJECT ON SIX SIGMA Page 16

1  More satisfied and loyal customers

PROJECT ON SIX SIGMA Page 17

Improve Cost decreases

Capture the Provides

Fig. The Importance Of Deming for Quality

PROJECT ON SIX SIGMA Page 18

PROJECT ON SIX SIGMA Page 19

Six-Sigma has following methodologies:

PROJECT ON SIX SIGMA Page 20

In this method Six sigma projects go through four phases:

PROJECT ON SIX SIGMA Page 21

PROJECT ON SIX SIGMA Page 22

Element of training in DFSS:

PROJECT ON SIX SIGMA Page 23