Applying six-sigma concepts to software engineering CS616 Software Engineering Ph.D. Lecture Jianning Liu April

Topics  What is six sigma  Does Six Sigma make sense in software engineering  How can we make Six Sigma work for software engineering  Conclusions

What is six sigma  Six Sigma is a business management strategy, initially implemented by Motorola, that today enjoys widespread application in many sectors of industry.business management strategyMotorola From wikipediaFrom wikipedia

What is six sigma

Sigma LevelDPMOEfficiency One690,00031% Two308, % Three66, % Four6, % Five % Six %

Does Six Sigma make sense in software engineering  Benefits Six Sigma can bring  Legal responsibility  Mission-critical systems  Complex systems  The software industry

Benefits Six Sigma can bring  Legal responsibility What if a recall happens ?  Mission-critical systems Software disasters  Complex systems The cumulative effects  The software industry Software has a reputation of being “late and buggy”

How can we make Six Sigma work for software engineering  DMADV Framework Define Measure Analyze Design Verify  Sigma level determination

DMADV Framework DMAIC Framework Sigma level determination Software opportunity Software defect Sigma calculation Success Example

DMADV Framework

Sigma level determination  To define and quantify Defect  Measure on cause  Measure on effect Unit Opportunity  Num of keystrokes  Num of LOC  Num of FP  Num of runs

Split views on applying Six Sigma to software engineering  Many software characteristics cannot be measured on a continuous scale  To speak of process capabilities in the software process makes little sense  Does software need to be defect free?

Sigma tells you “How”: Example Applicable Six Sigma Tools (Example)  Pareto Chart What is it? How it is relevant?

Sigma tells you “How”: Example Applicable Six Sigma Tools (Example)  Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA) Identify failure Estimate the risks Prioritize actions FMEA helps in achieving the specific goals of Risk Management What is it? How it is relevant?

Conclusions  Six Sigma Black Belts save companies approximately $230,000 per project  Have considerable impact on the traditional software quality assurance and control practice.  Offers hope to those who are just about to resign to the “late and buggy” work of the software world

Interesting Websites  6 Sigma Training  Learn Six-Sigma  Six Sigma Quality Resources for Achieving Six Sigma Results

References  Six Sigma in software quality Research paper G.Y. Hong, T.N. Goh,  Harvesting CMMI®Benefits –The Six Sigma Sickle Presentation Nidhi Srivastava, Sathya Murthy 

Thank you!  Questions