Business Process Management (BPM)

¶ … Sigma A BPM methodology is business process management, which consists of "a documented set of standardized processes" and usually involves process improvement (BPM Resource Center, 2012). Six Sigma qualifies as a business process management technique by meeting the critical criteria for such a definition. The Six Sigma methodology is described as a "disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects in any process" (iSixSigma, 2015). Six sigma gets its name from six standard deviations -- the sign for which is sigma -- between the mean and the nearest specification limit.

At six sigmas, you are basically at the cusp of total perfection, so the Six Sigma program sets that as the mindset on which to operate when considering process control. Six Sigma is highly codified, which is by necessity is one is to achieve perfection. There are two sub-methodologies contained within Six Sigma -- DMAIC and DMADV. DMAIC is define, measure, analyze, improve, control; DMADV is define, measure, analyze, design and verify. These are the critical steps in the methodology.

For each process, then, the management team must examine the process, break it down into its constituent parts that can be measured, and then work on finding ways to improve those processes (iSixSigma.com, 2015). Six Sigma was created was developed by Motorola in the 1980s. Its success there led General Electric to introduce the concept in the mid-1990s, at which point it became more popular among large corporations seeking to optimize their processes.

Six Sigma is more than a set of techniques, however, as it also has elements of organizational culture, and uses culture to reinforce the Six Sigma mindset. Six Sigma thus will have champions in any organization -- leaders and engineers most likely -- who will spread the doctrine of Six Sigma in order to get the entire organization on board with the philosophy of seeking to eliminate errors and optimize processes.

As people become expert in such techniques, martial arts metaphors are used, in particular the Black Belt, which is designed to show that someone has achieved mastery of Six Sigma techniques. This can take years, and likely requires a lot of discipline, not unlikely achieving a black belt in karate.

Since the mid-1990s, the popularity of Six Sigma has spread, in part because it has high intellectual appeal among both engineers and CEOs, who can readily understand how it works and see the financial and operational benefits, and in part because of its established successes -- Motorola enjoyed tremendous success with it, and General Electric has long been a leader in business practices. Six Sigma today has been adapted for a number of different industries.

The underlying philosophy of Six Sigma remains the same throughout different industries, but there are instances where the explanation of the concepts is going to be quite different -- service industries in particular -- and where implementation will different substantially because of critical differences in different industries. One of the biggest challenges of implementing Six Sigma is that it requires total buy-in from most if not all members of the organization.

There is an entire culture surrounding Six Sigma which assists with this buy-in, and of course success increases buy-in as well. However, in large organizations it can be difficult to achieve total buy-in, as Six Sigma appeals more to certain personality types than others. The reality, however, is that there.