One Perspective on the Future of Six-Sigma by Roger Hoerl. Originally published in the International Journal of Six Sigma and Competitive Advantage 2004 - Vol. 1, No.1 pp. 112 - 119.
Six-Sigma has maintained momentum for over ten years now, longer than many pundits expected. However, the key question remains: how long will Six-Sigma remain front-page news? The answer is that it will remain front-page news as long as it delivers front-page results. A second, and related question is: how might the initiative morph and evolve in order to remain relevant going forward? This paper suggests that several emerging trends will continue, such as migration to financial services and healthcare, standardisation of Design for Six-Sigma (DFSS), and further globalisation. Longer term, a key challenge appears to be integration into normal operations, rather than managing Six-Sigma as a separate initiative.
Roger Hoerl, leader of the Applied Statistics Lab at GE Global Research, is one of the leading lights in the Six Sigma movement - in my opinion. He has also co-authored several excellent books:
You can also view more articles by Roger Hoerl via the Curious Cat Management Improvement Library.
