Using Six Sigma to Achieve CMMI Levels 4 and 5 Rick Hefner, Ph.D. Extended abstract submitted to 2003 CMMI Technology Conference & User Group Abstract   Six Sigma is a process improvement methodology based on statistical analysis of data. The methods and tools used in Six Sigma are synergistic with the practices of CMMI Level 4 and 5. This presentation discusses the theoretical basis for CMMI high maturity, and describes how Six Sigma tools and methods for Statistical Process Control are used to quantitatively manage quality and process performance. Examples are provided from the Northrop Grumman Mission Systems improvement program, which achieved Levels 4 and 5 twice as fast as the industry average. At Maturity Level 4, the organization establishing a quantitative understanding of the performance of the organization’s set of standard processes. This understanding is needed to establish meaningful quality and process performance objectives, and to provide the process performance data, baselines, and models to quantitatively manage the organization’s projects. The expected process performance can be used in establishing the project’s quality and process performance objectives and can be used as a baseline against which actual project performance can be compared. This information is used to quantitatively manage the project. Six Sigma provides the tools for characterizing understanding process capability and variation, at both the organizational and process levels. At Maturity Level 5, the organization selects and deploys incremental and innovative improvements that measurably improve the organization's processes and technologies. The characterization of quality and process performance established at Level 4, provides the basis for identifying areas of potential improvement. Causal analysis techniques are used to identify candidate improvements, and the statistical tools of Six Sigma are used to evaluate these determine which improvements have the greatest chance of yielding the desired benefits. The presentation will show that a systematic method for selecting and applying Statistical Process Control to key subprocesses can yield rapid results with guaranteed business benefit. CMMI Technology Conference & User Group 17-20 November 2003 Rick Hefner, Northrop Grumman rick.hefner@ngc.com

Copyright 2003 Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corp Copyright 2003 Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corp. All Rights Reserved. What is Six Sigma? Six Sigma is a management philosophy based on meeting business objectives by striving for perfection A disciplined, data-driven methodology for decision making and process improvement Six Sigma consists of several integrated methods: Process Management Voice of the Customer Change Management Tools for Measuring Variation and Change Business Metrics The focus is on understanding and reducing variation

DMAIC Steps DEFINE Set project goals and objectives Copyright 2003 Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corp. All Rights Reserved. DMAIC Steps Define Measure Analyze Improve Control DEFINE Set project goals and objectives MEASURE Narrow range of potential causes and establish baseline capability level ANALYZE Evaluate data/information for trends, patterns, causal relationships and “root causes” IMPROVE Develop, implement and evaluate solutions targeted at identified root causes CONTROL Make sure problem stays fixed and new methods can be further improved over time

Process Capability Measurement and Assessment Report Copyright 2003 Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corp. All Rights Reserved. Our Six Sigma Approach Quantitative Process Capability Measurement and Assessment Report Quantitatively Driven Six Sigma improvements are quantified Integrated with Quality Program Integrated Training, Awareness, & Policies Integrated CMMI & Six Sigma projects Integrated tracking and reporting via DB, PRA, etc. Linked with Business Planning and Oversight Business planning Project selection Enabled by Infrastructure Training Tools Awareness Database Engaged with External Customers Visibility Participation Tied to Employee Performance Goals, awards Job and career paths SPM Startit! – a NGMS product

Six Sigma Implementation Copyright 2003 Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corp. All Rights Reserved. Six Sigma Implementation Starting implementing Six Sigma in 2001 Trained over 3000 Green Belts (80 hours), and over 200 Black Belts (160 hours) Completed several hundred projects covering all functional areas Customer involvement and award fee citations About half of the projects are improving an engineering process

Capability Maturity Model Integrated Copyright 2003 Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corp. All Rights Reserved. Causal Analysis and Resolution Organizational Innovation and Deployment 5 Optimizing 4 Quantitatively Managed 3 Defined 2 Managed Continuous process improvement Quantitative management Process standardization Basic project Quantitative Project Management Organizational Process Performance Organizational Process Focus Organizational Process Definition Organizational Training Integrated Project Management Risk Management Decision Analysis and Resolution Requirements Development Technical Solution Product Integration Verification Validation Requirements Management Project Planning Project Monitoring and Control Supplier Agreement Management Measurement and Analysis Process and Product Quality Assurance Configuration Management 1 Performed Process Areas Level Focus Capability Maturity Model Integrated Level 5 Focus is on preventing defects and innovation (addressing common causes of variation) Level 4 Focus is on understanding and managing special causes of variation, at both the project and organizational levels

Copyright 2003 Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corp Copyright 2003 Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corp. All Rights Reserved. Maturity Level 4 Understanding and managing special causes of variation Organization Establishes organizational goals Establishes standard process Characterizes process performance and quality of the standard process Project Establishes project goals Tailors standard organizational process to create project’s defined process Selects critical subprocesses to quantitatively manage RUN CHART

Useful in evaluating future reviews Copyright 2003 Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corp. All Rights Reserved. Quantitative Management Example (not real data) Peer Reviews – Understanding the Process How many errors does the team typically find in reviewing an interface specification? Useful in evaluating future reviews Was the review effective? Was the process different? Is the product different?

Increase the effectiveness (increase the mean) Copyright 2003 Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corp. All Rights Reserved. Quantitative Management Example (not real data) Peer Reviews – Improving the Process Reduce the variation Train people on the process Create procedures/checklists Strengthen process audits Increase the effectiveness (increase the mean) Train people Create checklists Reduce waste and re-work Replicate best practices from other projects

Copyright 2003 Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corp Copyright 2003 Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corp. All Rights Reserved. New Questions at Level 4 Which subprocesses are predictable at the project level? At the organizational level? Should different projects control different subprocesses? What statistical data should the organization collect? What differences in project subprocesses are permissible? How do they impact the historical data? Given two projects with two different subprocesses, how do I judge which is better? What does better mean? In what situations would it be better? Can I trade cost versus quality? How do I explain this trade to my customer?

Maturity Level 5 Organization Copyright 2003 Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corp. All Rights Reserved. Maturity Level 5 Preventing defects and innovation (addressing common causes of variation) Organization Identifies incremental and innovative improvements Pilots improvements Deploys and measures (quantitatively) the results Project Identifies causes of defects and other problems Takes actions to prevent them from occurring in the future RUN CHART

Copyright 2003 Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corp Copyright 2003 Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corp. All Rights Reserved. New Questions at Level 5 What are reasonable organizational process and quality goals? How radically should I change organizational processes to meet these goals? How fast? What process changes should I make? How do I define a defect? Which defects are unrelated to process? How do I eliminate those from the analysis?

Copyright 2003 Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corp Copyright 2003 Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corp. All Rights Reserved. Results Organizational-wide adoption and training of Six Sigma has resulted in a workforce that understands variation Common language Common toolset Common focus on reducing variation Results have been seen in our rapid achievement of CMMI Levels 4 and 5 4 of our organizations have now achieved Level 5