Six Sigma and Project Management Interface

Role of PM in Six Sigma Implementation

In many instances a six sigma approach does bring in some discipline with respect to defining the project in terms of clear objectives. A project does not neccessarily have to be defined in the DMAIC format to be considered a six sigma project. My belief is that a project could have some support from the customer in defining what a project six sigma expectations are. The more diluted the six sigma concept gets with respect to just "processes" the more it loses it value. Alternatively, it is time to restructure the six sigma pyramid as part of the lean wave.
The difficulty in carrying out successful projects with both the six sigma and project management principles tied in is the lack of pre-defined templates that would alleviate a project manager's initial anguish in making the project planning too complicated. One of the suggestion would be for project managers to at least get a basic certification in six sigma greenbelt.

A fruitful discussion on the betterment of successful project execution would be an understanding of the co-existence of six sigma and project management philosophy within the same project. A six sigma template DMAIC could easily be superimposed on the general IPECC PMBOK guideline within a MS Project or any other project management software. The business analysis leading to six sigma implementation are also PMBOK process dependent.