Software is s set of programs that are written to do a variety of specific tasks. We all encounter and use software every day, though we don't usually think about it. And software sometimes has errors or bugs that need to be identified, then fixed. Of course, the preferred situation would allow the bugs to be fixed before the software ever went to market, and that's where Six Sigma comes in. Companies using the Six Sigma methodology can minimize or even eliminate software bugs right in the beginning.
For instance, a software bug in a program like a restaurant waiter's terminal could manifest itself in different ways. It could assign the food to the wrong group of guests, or cause the kitchen to get an incorrect order, or even miscalculate the bill total or the taxes under certain circumstances. One could imagine the dire results of such software bugs.
Generally speaking, there are two types of software bugs - programming bugs and data bugs. Programming bugs are more difficult to discover because they are usually of the logical error type. The program will need to be modified and the code recompiled before it can be used again. Data bugs are more easy discovered and isolated, as they mainly occur because of errors in tables.
The nature of Six Sigma is its control mechanism at every stage of product development. Various controls can be employed for mistake proofing. For instance, if there were normal minimums for rates or costs or charges, then any value below that minimum would be an error. Six Sigma systematically helps to eliminate bugs in this way.
Six Sigma discipline is data driven, and generally software projects are begun after collecting data pertaining to the problem area. Using the Six Sigma technique for collecting information, the organization can be ensured that the data is as correct as it can possibly be. Then when developing the program, the areas containing the data collected can be eliminated as problems and used for mistake proofing the program. By the time the program reaches the testing stage, these areas can be isolated and modifications can be made. Six Sigma methodology can help minimize losses from bugs to a large extent. - 15254
For instance, a software bug in a program like a restaurant waiter's terminal could manifest itself in different ways. It could assign the food to the wrong group of guests, or cause the kitchen to get an incorrect order, or even miscalculate the bill total or the taxes under certain circumstances. One could imagine the dire results of such software bugs.
Generally speaking, there are two types of software bugs - programming bugs and data bugs. Programming bugs are more difficult to discover because they are usually of the logical error type. The program will need to be modified and the code recompiled before it can be used again. Data bugs are more easy discovered and isolated, as they mainly occur because of errors in tables.
The nature of Six Sigma is its control mechanism at every stage of product development. Various controls can be employed for mistake proofing. For instance, if there were normal minimums for rates or costs or charges, then any value below that minimum would be an error. Six Sigma systematically helps to eliminate bugs in this way.
Six Sigma discipline is data driven, and generally software projects are begun after collecting data pertaining to the problem area. Using the Six Sigma technique for collecting information, the organization can be ensured that the data is as correct as it can possibly be. Then when developing the program, the areas containing the data collected can be eliminated as problems and used for mistake proofing the program. By the time the program reaches the testing stage, these areas can be isolated and modifications can be made. Six Sigma methodology can help minimize losses from bugs to a large extent. - 15254
About the Author:
Craig Calvin is a noted author on Six Sigma. If you are interested in taking the Six Sigma certification course, be sure to visit the top Six Sigma provider at www.sixsigmaonline.org for a complete overview of what's involved.
