Case study of a large complex business that embraced using Six Sigma to measure their services and drive improvements by reducing the failures.

1. Applying Six Sigma and Lean processes to Information
Technology Service Delivery
Hightower Consulting
Stephen Hightower
(407) 810-2746
Stephen@Hightower-Consulting.com
July 13, 2012

2. Does your IT organization suffer from credibility problems due to cost
overruns, not meeting schedules and not meeting customer expectations?
Walk into any world class manufacturing facility and you’ll see a variety of
metrics, repeatable processes, an emphasis on quality and a focus on
continuous improvement. Everything related to inventory, production,
backlog, shipments and quality are present in every measurement.
There are certifications for adherence to industry standards (ISO, Six
Sigma, etc.) that are recognized around the world as standards for quality
and excellence.
Information Technology (IT) service delivery can benefit from the same
processes and management techniques to delivery high quality, world-
class solutions in an IT environment.
As W. Edwards Deming, the father of the Total Quality Management
movement, would tell you, the key to quality is consistency, which is

3. determined by repeatable processes. The impact of Dr. Deming’s
teachings on American manufacturing and service organizations has been
profound. He led a sweeping quality revolution that is improving the
competitive position of the United States.
But how many IT organizations utilize these same disciplines? The
answer is not many, but the good news is that more and more people
whose product is IT service are recognizing the value of metrics-based
Quality management methodologies in achieving real quality and customer
satisfaction. The migration to the cloud and the ubiquity of mobile devices
is driving IT organizations to re-engineer, innovate and most of all,
measure their services in new and meaningful ways.
The goal, as in most industries, is a much better product at a reduced
price – in this case improving distributed computing service
reliability/speed while reducing the total cost of ownership. The path to
meeting this objective requires team involvement and a commitment to

4. stay the course. Depending upon where you are in your maturity level of
service, this can take place in four basic stages.
The first stage is Ground Zero, which is characterized by the following:
• Informal Processes are the rule
• Cycle times cannot be predicted with any accuracy for repeat
requests
• Everyday a different priority emerges and closure remains
elusive
• Expedite everything because you can’t trust the process
• Customer satisfaction is a problem and getting worse
• Lack of planning and mismanagement of customer
expectations
Obviously, this is not your optimal state, but many people find
themselves in this environment and don’t know how to break the
cycle.

5. The next stage, Baseline, consists of taking small steps to achieve a
basic understanding of the environment. As the saying goes, “How do
you eat an elephant? One bite at a time”. This is extremely important
to remember during this process, since this is not an overnight
transition and takes a dedicated, focused effort to achieve. This stage
is characterized by:
• Understanding and quantifying your work-flow (input, production,
backlog, restore to service)
• Evaluating the maturity level of the organization for people, process
and technology
• Identifying top problems and applying root cause corrective action
• Establishing basic metrics related to availability and performance to a
baseline
• Standardizing service delivery processes
• Practicing basic configuration management
• Stabilizing customer satisfaction in some areas

6. Moving into the third stage, Managing By the Numbers, marks the
beginning of sound operating processes and ensuring that customer
satisfaction starts to improve. This stage is characterized by:
• Predictable cycle times for standard services
• Documented, repeatable processes
• Critical processes are understood and process control engineering
principles are implemented
• Trending of problems and failure analysis
• Automation is being put into the process for analysis
• Customer satisfaction starts to improve in certain areas
The fourth stage is Proactive and Predictive Support for the
customer. This is where world-class manufacturing organizations
reside. In an IT environment, the following characteristics are found:
• Forecasts are accurate
• Cycle time reduction programs are in place while quality of service
improves
• Market share is increased through more services being provided by
the IT organization

7. • Integrated Change Control in place across the organization
• Total Quality Management and Continuous Improvement are a part of
the culture.
• Customer satisfaction has a good baseline and is improving
Listed below are a few of the many benefits that came from
implementing a Six Sigma service delivery model in a large, complex
IT organization:
• Improving the quality of the Service Desk so that First Call Resolution
(FCR) for problems was improved from a 32% FCR to a sustained
78% FCR. This translated to saving over $1,000,000 on an annual
basis due to improved productivity for the business and cost
reductions to the IT organization.
• As a result of applying Six Sigma and Lean techniques dramatic
increases were seen in customer satisfaction. The composite

8. improvement for restore to service in the desktop area improved by 30
percent and customer satisfaction increased by 42 percent.
• The critical service delivery processes were identified, and due to the
program’s early success influenced leaders to move to a 4.2 Sigma
level. The transformational program slashed failure rates from
30,000+ a year to 3,000 a year, and saved $2 million during the first
year of implementation.
The Chief Information Officer for the business that benefited from the
Six Sigma implementation for IT service delivery said, “ We reduced
the total cost of ownership dramatically while improving our service.
Our customer satisfaction has improved by applying these principles
to our environment. Operational metrics provide an early warning
indicator when service declines and we take pro-active steps to
address the issues before they result in a crisis”.

9. Stephen Hightower is an experienced industry executive and has
applied these concepts in a variety of industries utilizing lean, six
sigma and business process re-engineering to drive continuous
improvement into all aspects of IT service delivery. Stephen has
held many roles including CIO, CTO as well as managing large
Manufacturing, Quality, and Strategic Planning organizations
throughout his career and has seen the power of putting a
disciplined approach to managing IT services so that the “Trains
always run on time”.
Stephen is the Managing Director for Hightower Consulting as
well as the Chief Strategy and Technology Officer for
CollaborateMD, a software medical billing company.