In an organization seeking consistency in its processes; Six Sigma plays a very important role in the promotion and establishment of such processes. REMEMBER Six Sigma works towards the improvement of existing processes NOT creating NEW Processes.
But some understanding can be gained from the following:
The Six Sigma toolkit comprises many techniques that are already applicable to some software and are directly being used by the software industry. For instance, "Voice of the Client" and "Quality Function Deployment" are useful for developing customer requirements. There are numerous charting/calculation techniques that can be used to scrutinize cost, schedule, and quality data as the project proceeds.
As far as technological development is concerned, quantitative methods are used for risk analysis and concept/design selection. The efficacy of "Six Sigma” therefore comes from deliberately and consciously deploying the tools in such a way that the customer is fully satisfied. Now I still believe that Six Sigma is better utilized on big projects in big organizations and some of the ideas and tools can be used in smaller development houses. I think in small business environments resources (people power, costs, time) will be an overriding constraint to implementing Six Sigma. But I see many ideas that can be stolen from the Six Sigma process and implemented in an “Agile” fashion.
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