The One-Two Performance Punch

Six Sigma and business performance management systems are a dynamic combination. But few companies integrate them successfully.

Business performance management software is a fearless whistle-blower. It can quickly and accurately identify your organization's most critical performance weaknesses and uncover opportunities for improvement in areas where you never thought to look. But it's not an all-purpose tool. For example, it can't show you how to fix performance shortfalls. For that, you need Six Sigma.

Six Sigma is a quality initiative and problem-solving methodology that was designed by Motorola back in the 1980s to reduce the error rate in its plant operations. It's a rigorous discipline that enables companies to scrutinize their processes, pinpoint sources of error and apply remedies. And that makes Six Sigma the ideal tool to fix the problems that business performance management (BPM) software identifies.

Six Sigma initiatives greatly enhance companies' BPM efforts. And the converse is also true. Without the support that a BPM system provides, Six Sigma projects often founder because team leaders lack the critical data they need to focus their efforts. The Six Sigma team may end up bouncing all over the organization looking for performance weaknesses or focusing its attention on areas where improvements will yield only marginal returns.

Yet, surprisingly, few BPM-enabled companies also have a Six Sigma program in place, and even those that do sometimes fail to integrate these tools. "There's a lack of understanding about how important it is for these two initiatives to work in concert with each other," says Stan Elbaum, senior vice president of research at the Aberdeen Group in Boston. "Six Sigma only works when it's focused on areas where it's really needed." Identifying those areas "is BPM's job, which makes the two very harmonious," he adds. "In fact, if you try to do BPM without Six Sigma, you'll probably fail."