Improvement Insights Blog
Project Management vs Lean Six Sigma
Last week we exhibited the QI Macros Quality Management Software for Excel at the the PMI Global Congress in Orlando, FL. I was surprised to discover how many PMs were worried that Lean Six Sigma would some how replace them. While quality management is an important part of the project management body of knowledge, it’s not the only thing PMs do.
So here’s my simple observation about the differences between project management and Lean Six Sigma:
| Project Management | Lean Six Sigma |
| Getting Things Done | Keeping Things Going Making Things Better |
| Achieving Objectives | Solving Problems |
Project Management and Lean Six Sigma are related, but don’t overlap that much. The only important thing to do is ensure that once a project is implemented, that process management and measurement (i.e., control charts and control plans) are implemented to make sure the project continues to function as planned.
The other rumblings I overheard were about how Lean Six Sigma doesn’t apply to Agile software development which is just IT’s way of trying to avoid improvement. Every software project encounters delays and defects which can be corrected with Lean Six Sigma.
What is Agile anyway, but the application of Lean principles (smaller batches of code delivered more often and more quickly) to software development. As someone who has been involved in software development and maintenance for the last 40 years, to pretend the Agile is something “special” to which Lean Six Sigma can’t be applied is silly.
Download my special report on the Dirty Thirty Process for Six Sigma Software to find out how to use Six Sigma for software.
