Arash Shahin - Department of Management, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

In the last ten years, Six Sigma has been considered as a revolutionary approach to product and process quality improvement through the effective use of statistical methods. Although many organisations have reported significant benefits as a result of Six Sigma project implementation, though not all are yet success stories. This paper has reviewed the literature related to the Critical Success Factor s (CSFs) for the effective implementation of Six Sigma projects in organisations. These factors have been derived from recent available international published resources. All these factors have been found essential and therefore should be taken into account for optimizing the financial return from Six Sigma projects and for achieving the full potential of Six Sigma applications in all organisations. It has been found that factors such as leadership and top management commitment, linking Six Sigma to business strategy, supporting organizational infrastructures, and training and understanding Six Sigma concepts are the most important factors, any organization should consider as first priorities in its Six Sigma project. Additionally, it has been found that the lack of a comprehensive set of CSFs makes it difficult not only for Six Sigma managers, but also for researchers to evaluate associated projects based on the factors. Therefore, a framework has been proposed, including a comprehensive set of Six Sigma CSFs.

Six Sigma, Project, Critical Success Factors, Comprehensive