I think this quote captures well the frequent issues we are seeing when mechanically applying agile or Six Sigma. Just using the tools without “the soul” regularly misses the point.

Still applying selective agile or Six Sigma practices or tools often does add value to the project or program. It just doesn’t carry all the way.

I’m not surprised if Six Sigma worked well at Nokia. Nokia was an industry-leader in manufacturing and operations. In the same way, Scrum has worked well at many industry-leading firms.
The problem is that once certain practices are codified into a set of tools or certifications, their context is lost, and doesn’t necessarily exist when the tools are next applied. I am sure there are endless companies where Six Sigma consultants have come in and wreaked havoc (directly or by proxy), or made changes that hopelessly drifted towards uselessness. This has happened over and over with Agile and Scrum. I’m sure every industry has a parallel.

I guess the old adage hold true: learn to use the tools, apply where appropriate, and leave them be where not. That worked pretty well for me in my previous company. No need to justify the fancy belts and stuff.

No, I mean outside of software dev: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Sigma#Criticism
It is very much the same as the Certified Scrum Master silliness.
It’s so severe because it’s been around much longer and in much larger industries.

How is the damage from the Six-Sigma camp so severe? I assume you mean within software development?

-Bjorgvin.