Having been through Lean / Six Sigma, I do agree with David's point as well as the conclusions drawn by the article he cites. In general, Six Sigma is really overwrought and demands a lot of time. It is definitely not designed for "messy" environments where deviations are encouraged in the name of innovation. Six Sigma seems best for sustaining what you already know.
But that's not to say it doesn't have some value. If it were applied to the wrong culture--say, a design studio--then I don't think the results would be very good. I think it would stifle innovation. But a design team could use some of Six Sigma's philosophies to ensure its products' users are, themselves, able to work without error or interruption. Cautionary note though. Just steer clear of Six Sigma's demeaning "green belt," "black belt" and "sensei" levels of aptitude. Those are just inane. On Thu, May 22, 2008 at 2:28 PM, David Adam Edelstein <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Here's an interesting article from last year about the practice of Six > Sigma at 3M. Summary: It didn't work well for them. > > http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_24/b4038406.htm > > Excerpt: > > ...four and a half years after arriving, McNerney abruptly left for a > bigger opportunity, the top job at Boeing (BA ). Now his successors face a > challenging question: whether the relentless emphasis on efficiency had made > 3M a less creative company. That's a vitally important issue for a company > whose very identity is built on innovation. After all, 3M is the birthplace > of masking tape, Thinsulate, and the Post-it note. It is the invention > machine whose methods were consecrated in the influential 1994 best-seller > Built to Last by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras. But those old hits have > become distant memories. It has been a long time since the debut of 3M's > last game-changing technology: the multilayered optical films that coat > liquid-crystal display screens. At the company that has always prided itself > on drawing at least one-third of sales from products released in the past > five years, today that fraction has slipped to only one-quarter. > > Those results are not coincidental. Efficiency programs such as Six Sigma > are designed to identify problems in work processes-and then use rigorous > measurement to reduce variation and eliminate defects. When these types of > initiatives become ingrained in a company's culture, as they did at 3M, > creativity can easily get squelched. After all, a breakthrough innovation is > something that challenges existing procedures and norms. "Invention is by > its very nature a disorderly process," says current CEO George Buckley, who > has dialed back many of McNerney's initiatives. "You can't put a Six Sigma > process into that area and say, well, I'm getting behind on invention, so > I'm going to schedule myself for three good ideas on Wednesday and two on > Friday. That's not how creativity works." > > ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
