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If you are starting out as a consultant, knowing what 6 sigma is all about can help you become an even better consultant.  While many consultants specialize just in 6 sigma techniques, you can use that principles in almost every consulting project you do, and even use it to improve your practice.

6 sigma was developed by Motorola in the mid 1980’s.  It is a business management strategy that can be applied to many sectors.

6 sigma aims to identify and reduce defects and errors in manufacturing and business processes.

It is heavily depended on statistics, but you don’t need to know statistics to use some of its principles.

The 3 Main Assertions of 6 Sigma

• There must be continuous effort to reduce variation in the process
• Almost all processes can be measured, improved, and controlled
• Continuous quality control requires commitment from everyone

4 Things That Set 6 Sigma Apart

• A focus on measurable and quantifiable financial returns
• Emphasis on upper level management support
• An infrastructure consisting of “Champions” “Master black bets” and “Black belts”
• A commitment to making decisions based on hard data, not assumptions

There are two key methods used in 6 Sigma, they are DMAIC and DMADV

DMAIC (Used to improve existing business process)

• Define goals and processes
• Measure key aspects and collect data
• Analyze data
• Improve process based on the data
• Control any deviations before they affect the results

DMADV (Used to create new products or processes)

• Define goals
• Measure key aspects and collect data
• Analyze the data
• Design details
• Verify the design

6 Sigma’s 5 Key Roles

• Executive Leadership
• Champions
• Master black belts
• Black belts
• Green belts

If you are interested in learning more about 6 sigma there have been dozens and dozens of books written about this subject.

Also you can attend classes and seminars to become a qualified 6 sigma user.

Having this on your resume and help you get more business because it is a great buzz word in the industry.