Misapplication of Six Sigma is one of the biggest causes of failure of Six Sigma programs. Too many companies decide that “everything we do is Six Sigma”. It is like using a screwdriver as a hammer. It is great when properly applied but can drag your resources when not.

In short:

• Use Six Sigma when you want to improve or develop a product or process.
• Stay away from Six Sigma when what you are trying to achieve does not pass these simple filters.

Specifically, if you want to improve an existing product or process, use the DMAIC methodology. If you want to develop a new product or process, use Design for Six Sigma.

The illustration shows when to use Six Sigma and what methodology to use.

Following the recipe is one of the keys to a successful deployment of Six Sigma. Yet according to many the recipe is “pretty heavy stuff” and deviating from it – especially in the early roll-out – is a recipe for disaster.

Heavy in this case is not necessarily bad. Think about heavy artillery: it has its place in the solutions an army can use. But one does not deploy heavy artillery when a sniper or a small group of Navy Seals can get the job done. The same goes for Six Sigma. When a company faces complex problems, go for Six Sigma.

There are however many tools in the Six Sigma arsenal that can be used to solve daily problems where the full methodology would be a burden. Manufacturing companies for instance have been using statistical process control (control charts) for decades. When a chart signals an out of control condition, the operator may know how to adjust the process to eliminate that condition. No need for a Six Sigma project here. If regardless of the control chart, the output of the process does not meet specifications, there is an opportunity to run a Six Sigma project.

Six Sigma is a fantastic methodology but no silver bullet. Apply it to improve and develop products and processes and you will reap huge benefits. Ignore this advice and watch these benefits disappear.