This is the second part of Linh Ho’s series on how you can apply
Six Sigma techniques in the real world. Six Sigma may be the single
most important quality method to be developed in the world of
manufacturing. Now it’s time to apply it to IT. You can read Part 1 here.While Six Sigma is a proven quality method in the business world
championed by some of the renowned Global and Fortune 500 company
leaders, what can it do for IT service management (ITSM)?
In the first article of this series (Part 1), we covered the
basics of Six Sigma and its core DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze,
Improve and Control) model. We also touched on how Six Sigma helps IT
baseline service quality levels, quantify improvement for return on
investment, and sustain improvement through measurement and reporting.
So, how do we apply it to the ITSM world? Which techniques are useful for ITSM?
In this article, we look at the techniques underpinning the
DMAIC and consider which are most relevant for ITSM. More importantly,
how Six Sigma brings business focus to ITSM.
How is Six Sigma applied in the real world?
Organizations that have applied Six Sigma fall into two
camps—those that use select techniques from Six Sigma to measure,
analyze and improve service quality, and those that run full Six Sigma
projects (as part of a corporate improvement initiative) using the
DMAIC model, including certified Master Black Belts, Black Belts and so
on. Both are able to utilize Six Sigma to measure and improve the
quality of service where it is most important to the business. Tools
such as Minitab, Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint have been used for
analysis and reporting. However, in IT service management, technology
vendors already automate the techniques—making it easier for
practitioners to apply Six Sigma and immediately gain its benefits.
Automating data collection, measurement and reporting makes it much
more effective to adopt Six Sigma—whether the company is Six Sigma-committed or not.
Six Sigma techniques for IT service management
A sample list of Six Sigma techniques is below with a short
description. To help put it into the DMAIC perspective, most of these
are covered in the DMAIC grid (see the table below). These techniques
are not ranked in order of importance.
Cause and effect (fishbone or Ishikawa) diagram
The fishbone diagram provides an understanding of the causes and
effects of the problem. It is often used to brainstorm and find all the
factors that influence an outcome. Potential problem areas are being
mapped onto this diagram, and the results can be used as input for the
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA).
Control charts
Control charts ensure that a process or service performance is
within an acceptable range, bounded by an upper and lower limit. Should
performance criteria be abnormal (for example, if a trend line deviates
from the mean—known as the centerline—or if it crosses over specified
limits), the user can take immediate corrective action. In IT, many
practitioners use this technique for ongoing measurement and reporting
of critical application response times, business relevant metrics
(customer satisfaction metrics), incident volume and/or other
business-focused service-level agreements.
Correlation diagrams
Correlation diagrams indicate the relationships and dependencies
between variables—for example, slow response time of a business
application during peak business hours. Correlation charts help IT
analyze the data points and their dependencies.
Failure Modes and Effects Analysis
FMEA mitigates risks by identifying potential failures and effects
of the failures on a process, and prioritizing the problems using a
risk rating system. The rating system consists of three components,
using a score of 1 to 10 for severity, probability and detectability of
failure, to find the total Risk Priority Number (RPN) for the potential
problem. The RPN is found by multiplying the three numbers together.
This technique can easily be applied for risk management and compliance
projects, to help identify and mitigate the risks of non-compliance.
Specifically, the RPN helps understand the current IT operational risks
and alleviate those that underpin critical business services.
Pareto charts
The Pareto chart prioritizes improvement initiatives where the
return is the greatest to the business. This is based on the “80/20
rule,” first coined by Pareto, the Italian economist: understanding
that 20 percent of the causes create 80 percent of the problems. In IT
terms, this helps identify the top root causes (e.g., components of the
IT infrastructure) that are creating the majority of the problems
impacting a critical business service.
Process map
Process mapping helps understand the people, processes, technology
and their relationships; it displays how the IT service supports the
process and what infrastructure is used by the IT service. The process
map can also be used to map the Critical to Quality (CTQ) business
processes and their underlying IT services and components. This
information can then be used to create service models for Business
Service Management and Service Level Management initiatives.
The diagram below shows an example of the service model
highlighting some of the key business services, based on process map
information.
Process sigma value
The sigma value is a quality metric that corresponds to the process
or service performance. This value represents a key measure of IT
service quality delivered to the business.
Voice of the Customer
ITIL and Six Sigma strongly advocate capturing the end
users’/customers’ perception of quality. It is often found that the
“perception” of the end users/customers does not always reflect the
true quality of service being delivered. It is helpful to capture
ideas, opinions and feedback, and also identify CTQ requirements. Voice
of the Customer can be executed through surveys over the phone, in
person, via e-mails, or in face-to-face meetings and workshops.
| Define | Measure | Analyze | Improve | Control |
|
Objectives:
Identify problem.
Define measurable objectives and end results. | Objective:
Benchmark current process performance.
| Objective:
Identify root cause of problem.
|
Objective:
Recommend and implement solutions.
|
Objectives:
Sustain improvement.
Predict process behavior.
|
| Tasks:
Brainstorm and understand impact of problem.
Define process to investigate.
Ensure common understanding across the project.
| Tasks:
Collect data
Identify critical to quality measures (CTQs).
Baseline these measures and identify process areas that fall outside CTQ upper and lower thresholds.
|
Tasks:
Take data and analyze the process map for improvement opportunities.
Determine root cause of problem.
|
Tasks:
Brainstorm solutions to the problem.
Produce action plan with owners allocated.
Develop new process and pilot it. |
Tasks:
Measure impact of improvement.
Continuously monitor process performance.
Take action when thresholds are breached and bring back into control.
|
|
Techniques:
Voice of the Customer (VOC): surveys, interviews.
Affinity Diagram:
brainstorming/categorizing ideas.
|
Techniques:
Pareto Charts: identify key bottlenecks and prioritize improvement initiatives.
Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ): impact on bottom line.
Process sigma value: quality of service status.
| Techniques:
Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA): identify risk and mitigate risk through prioritization system.
Control charts: control and predict process performance behavior.
Pareto charts.
Correlation diagram
Kepner Tregoe or Ishikawa "fishbone" diagrams: cause and effects analysis. |
Techniques:
Hypothesis Testing: test/brainstorm potential solutions.
Cost/benefit analysis of proposed solution.
| Techniques:
VOC.
Control charts.
Process sigma value.
COPQ.
|
Six Sigma focuses improvements on CTQ processes or services that
impact customers and the business bottom line. This is a common need
and challenge for IT to overcome. IT service management practitioners
need to be more integrated with the business and listen to what is
important to the business. This in turn will help IT prioritize
initiatives, improve IT’s value delivered to the business and increase
operational effectiveness.
We’ve covered what Six Sigma is, how it can be applied in the
IT service management world and which techniques are useful for IT. In
our final article, we will look at how Six Sigma complements ITIL v3
and its new Continual Service Improvement (CSI) phase. Does the new
CSI’s Seven Step Process compete with Six Sigma? Does ITIL v3 have it
all for continual service improvement?
Linh C. Ho, product marketing manager for Compuware’s IT
service management solutions, has been involved with the IT industry
for 10 years. Ho is a co-author of itSMF’s "Six Sigma for IT
Management" book and pocket guide, and she has written articles and
spoken at conferences on integrating these two approaches. She was also
on the review board for several itSMF books, including ITILv3
Foundations and Frameworks for IT Management.
She was also an assistant professor for Statistics for
Management and Applications of Statistical Methods in Business at the
University of Ottawa.
Further reading:
Linh C. Ho has published a Six Sigma Q&A (click here).
itSMF has published a book called “Six Sigma for IT Management” relating to this topic (click here).
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