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Fast Track IT Training




Quality Assurance with Six Sigma

The goal of this series of seminars is to understand the larger picture of quality that has evolved into a total quality culture. There are several contributing measures of quality as outlined below that you can use to assess your QA effectiveness beyond developing or buying the best IT applications you can afford. A quality culture has to be established in all areas of an organization to open people's eyes to where or how opportunities for improvement can be identified. IT should be one of the tools for enabling quality initiatives with a profound impact on your organization.

The challenge of Six Sigma is to achieve zero defects in order to minimize the cost of software development. It is but the latest of a series of quality improvement initiatives, some of which will be explored in this set of seminars. What these techniques have in common is the indoctrination of staff to focus on total quality, and to look for opportunities for improvement in all aspects of the work that is performed in different departments. This series explains internal process improvements as well as improved customer focus objectives.

In these seminars we do not delve into any specific quality culture elements such as training "black belt" practitioners that find ways to streamline your organization. In the context of I.T. this does not work well, but what works is to see I.T. as a means to achieving quality by enabling the efficient and effective operation of business departments and to provide a positive customer experience with every web enabled portal into your business services. This is a logical extension of QA Governance (explained on the previous page) but we focus on quality as a separate topic with reference to different quality views, most currently the Six Sigma approach. For the most part these quality views stem from a production paradigm and many statistical measurements are based on the repeated use of the same processes, which is not generally directly applicable to I.T. development. Our intent is to look beyond this paradigm to see what can be learned from these different quality views and how this can be applied to the development of application systems.

	We provide all the notes, workbooks, samples, spreadsheets, and/or templates that are required.

	The cost of training is variable depending on the seminar format and the number of sessions per day. Click on the dollar link for more information on how the cost can be determined.

QAS-01 - Introduction to Six Sigma

Take quality beyond the IT arena and understand how IT quality fits in with a larger quality domain. Although it appears to be a new movement, Six Sigma reflects a long history of quality initiatives focused on manufacturing, and now these concepts have become generalized for use in different contexts such as IT software development and service delivery to benefit the organization. This session is focused on the ideal of streamlining the organizational processes and how specific solutions can be identified in terms of software solutions.

We provide part 1 of our guidebook on Six Sigma that contains the introduction to the methodology. It is focused on the evolution of quality awareness that eventually evolved into the Six Sigma approach that we use today in the most quality conscious organizations that are completely customer focused.

QAS-02 - Application of Six Sigma

This seminar reviews all the steps necessary to apply the process to a project of any kind. In an ideal application Six Sigma finds a new opportunity for improvement that will lead to the identification of true business requirements, and the IT development provides the enabling tools to allow a business process to be streamlined in some way. Although this is widely misunderstood, the goal is to employ IT in initiatives that will lead to cost savings, not specifically to reduce costs in IT and thereby to deprive business operations from being streamlined.

We provide part 2 of our guidebook on Six Sigma that contains the application of the methodology. It is focused on an approach to increase the awareness of quality throughout the organization with reference to the "black belt" champions that spread the methodology by helping their peers with the application of useful quality improvement techniques.

QAS-03 - Techniques used with Six Sigma

This seminar is a review of a number of statistical control techniques and other process improvement techniques that are among the tools used to drive six sigma compliant projects. The idea is that these tools will be used in the definition of opportunities for improvement before any moves are made to establish IT projects that are aimed at providing specific support capabilities. For IT we can employ these techniques to find process improvements, and we can use the same techniques to find better automation opportunities.

We provide part 3 of our guidebook on Six Sigma that contains the tools and techniques used with the methodology. We focus on those techniques that we think are most appropriate for IT and for general business processes for which IT solutions can be defined as enabling technology for better customer service.

QAS-04 - CMM Capability Maturity Model

We use the CMM levels to measure the maturity of companies from a methodology perspective. This does not measure quality per se, although it is generally believed that methodology is a necessary prerequisite to quality. In principle the CMM are a series of guidelines that a company can use to evaluate its own progress, but in response to ISO 9000 there have been efforts to establish an equivalent type of certification instead of a self-declared accomplishment to have achieved a specific CMM level.

We provide a guidebook to explain the CMM levels and to provide a checklist of what must be achieved at each level. You can use this to self-evaluate your organization by a known standard while you are focused on continuous quality improvement initiatives.

QAS-05 - Introduction to ISO 900x Certification

This series of certifications is reviewed to understand the goals of standards by which companies can be rated. Like CMM it is focused on QA Governance or adherence to strict methodology and procedures rather than on the reliability of the actual products or services. This certification is extremely formal and it requires that a company be audited for compliance with standards and adherence to methodology.

We provide a guidebook to explain the preparation steps you can take for ISO 900x Certification, which requires that your organization is formally audited to assess your level of compliance. Your preparation steps can shorten the audit that is required to obtain certification.

QAS-06 - Introduction to Total Quality Management

Most of the quality standards in use today are the result of a Total Quality Management (TQM) focus evolved as a result of the work of W. Edwards Deming, a genius in his field who was key in revitalizing the Japanese industrial capability post World War 2. In this first set of materials we explore the evolution of quality as a formal process to improve productivity. This resulted in a complete overhaul of management techniques in North America.

We provide a summary of writings by or about practitioners in the evolution of TQM, including W. Edwards Deming, as well as commentary to explain what this means in connection to our quality goals.

QAS-07 - Application of Total Quality Management

This session explores the use of TQM techniques to find opportunities for quality improvement. We explore the use of these techniques to develop the business requirements for enabling IT solutions that can make a business more efficient and effective. We explore many of the management techniques that have been successful in getting more worker involvement in the process of continuous improvement, and essential ingredient of TQM as well as in the acceptance of a new IT application for process improvements. These techniques create an environment where employees feel empowered to improve the workplace.

We provide a guidebook with directions on the use of the most applicable TQM techniques that can be used to identify opportunities for automation, and to put values to potential benefits of enabling IT systems for process improvements.

QAS-08 - Implementation of Total Quality Management

A formal process for supporting TQM initiatives can be a part of the QA Governance methodology or it can be sponsored by the PMO. In this session we look at capturing the TQM efforts in order to optimize the use of IT funding for those initiatives that depend on technological change. TQM is less formal than Six Sigma, and it may be a useful intermediate stage to a future Six Sigma culture for total quality rather than to attempt the introduction of a new culture at once, to first focus on the improvement of processes.

We provide Excel based tracking tools for TQM initiatives that may spawn IT projects individually or in combination with other initiatives. The focus is on a process of identifying and tracking the business requirements for operational improvements that can be enabled with the appropriate IT support initiatives.

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Take quality beyond the IT arena and understand how IT quality fits in with a larger quality domain. Although it appears to be a new movement, Six Sigma reflects a long history of quality initiatives focused on manufacturing, and now these concepts have become generalized for use in different contexts such as IT software development and service delivery to benefit the organization. This session is focused on the ideal of streamlining the organizational processes and how specific solutions can be identified in terms of software solutions.		We provide part 1 of our guidebook on Six Sigma that contains the introduction to the methodology. It is focused on the evolution of quality awareness that eventually evolved into the Six Sigma approach that we use today in the most quality conscious organizations that are completely customer focused.

This seminar reviews all the steps necessary to apply the process to a project of any kind. In an ideal application Six Sigma finds a new opportunity for improvement that will lead to the identification of true business requirements, and the IT development provides the enabling tools to allow a business process to be streamlined in some way. Although this is widely misunderstood, the goal is to employ IT in initiatives that will lead to cost savings, not specifically to reduce costs in IT and thereby to deprive business operations from being streamlined.		We provide part 2 of our guidebook on Six Sigma that contains the application of the methodology. It is focused on an approach to increase the awareness of quality throughout the organization with reference to the "black belt" champions that spread the methodology by helping their peers with the application of useful quality improvement techniques.

This seminar is a review of a number of statistical control techniques and other process improvement techniques that are among the tools used to drive six sigma compliant projects. The idea is that these tools will be used in the definition of opportunities for improvement before any moves are made to establish IT projects that are aimed at providing specific support capabilities. For IT we can employ these techniques to find process improvements, and we can use the same techniques to find better automation opportunities.		We provide part 3 of our guidebook on Six Sigma that contains the tools and techniques used with the methodology. We focus on those techniques that we think are most appropriate for IT and for general business processes for which IT solutions can be defined as enabling technology for better customer service.

We use the CMM levels to measure the maturity of companies from a methodology perspective. This does not measure quality per se, although it is generally believed that methodology is a necessary prerequisite to quality. In principle the CMM are a series of guidelines that a company can use to evaluate its own progress, but in response to ISO 9000 there have been efforts to establish an equivalent type of certification instead of a self-declared accomplishment to have achieved a specific CMM level.		We provide a guidebook to explain the CMM levels and to provide a checklist of what must be achieved at each level. You can use this to self-evaluate your organization by a known standard while you are focused on continuous quality improvement initiatives.

This series of certifications is reviewed to understand the goals of standards by which companies can be rated. Like CMM it is focused on QA Governance or adherence to strict methodology and procedures rather than on the reliability of the actual products or services. This certification is extremely formal and it requires that a company be audited for compliance with standards and adherence to methodology.		We provide a guidebook to explain the preparation steps you can take for ISO 900x Certification, which requires that your organization is formally audited to assess your level of compliance. Your preparation steps can shorten the audit that is required to obtain certification.

Most of the quality standards in use today are the result of a Total Quality Management (TQM) focus evolved as a result of the work of W. Edwards Deming, a genius in his field who was key in revitalizing the Japanese industrial capability post World War 2. In this first set of materials we explore the evolution of quality as a formal process to improve productivity. This resulted in a complete overhaul of management techniques in North America.		We provide a summary of writings by or about practitioners in the evolution of TQM, including W. Edwards Deming, as well as commentary to explain what this means in connection to our quality goals.

This session explores the use of TQM techniques to find opportunities for quality improvement. We explore the use of these techniques to develop the business requirements for enabling IT solutions that can make a business more efficient and effective. We explore many of the management techniques that have been successful in getting more worker involvement in the process of continuous improvement, and essential ingredient of TQM as well as in the acceptance of a new IT application for process improvements. These techniques create an environment where employees feel empowered to improve the workplace.		We provide a guidebook with directions on the use of the most applicable TQM techniques that can be used to identify opportunities for automation, and to put values to potential benefits of enabling IT systems for process improvements.

A formal process for supporting TQM initiatives can be a part of the QA Governance methodology or it can be sponsored by the PMO. In this session we look at capturing the TQM efforts in order to optimize the use of IT funding for those initiatives that depend on technological change. TQM is less formal than Six Sigma, and it may be a useful intermediate stage to a future Six Sigma culture for total quality rather than to attempt the introduction of a new culture at once, to first focus on the improvement of processes.		We provide Excel based tracking tools for TQM initiatives that may spawn IT projects individually or in combination with other initiatives. The focus is on a process of identifying and tracking the business requirements for operational improvements that can be enabled with the appropriate IT support initiatives.