The purpose of Six Sigma is essentially to reach an achievement of a certain low level of “Defects Per Million Opportunities” (DPMO), which, under their terms, is fewer than four per million customers with a legitimate issue with the service or the products that they have received from a given business.

For a long time, it was believed that a achieving the degree of Six Sigma is simply impossible, and therefore settled for a more “realistic” three or four sigma.  However, as more heads of companies and other leaders in the marketplace have proven Six Sigma to be achievable through a number of different processes, these former disbelievers are now becoming a great deal more interested in raising the bar in their own companies.

When it all comes down to it, Six Sigma is based on running an entire business’s process strategy on a single methodology:

·         Defining

·         Measuring

·         Analyzing

·         Improving

·         Controlling

In order to use this methodology in the Six Sigma way, rigorous training procedures are required, creating experts within the company that is implementing Six Sigma strategies.  These training procedures can last from one or two days, to several weeks, depending on the position of the person and the influence they will have in the transition and implementation process.