SERVICES - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Can the introduction of Six Sigma into our organization be reconciled with the organizational standard process work we've done in the past in working toward CMMI compliance?

Yes. Six Sigma is completely supportive of your previous CMMI work. Exactly how you integrate the two models will differ slightly (but only slightly) depending upon the timing of their implementation. For those with a longer CMMI history (most likely dating back to the SW-CMM), the introduction of Six Sigma will broaden the organizational standard process in use to include a broader array of business and strategic improvement projects. The tailoring guidelines used by projects to adapt the organizatioonal standard process will need some adjustment to this broader scope, perhaps adding a new step to decide if the broader Six Sigma models are relevent to a project or simply the older and narrower traditional software or systems engineering lifecycle.

For those of you with a shorter CMMI history, you'll likely find that the introduction of Six Sigma is a big help in clarifying some of the quantitative vs. statistical distinctions that crop up so often in interpreting some of the CMMI measurement requirements, particularly among the higher maturity practice areas. If basic CMMI-derived measures are in place within the CMMI program, Six Sigma will take advantage of those measures to identify and control change and improvement initiatives. Without your CMMI foundation, your Six Sigma initiative would have to start building quantitative capabilities into your organization from the ground up. The synergy between these CMMI and Six Sigma disciplines will provide you with effective economies of scale as you broaden your process programs beyond CMMI to include Six Sigma.