Tools Enable Office Solutions

In an effort to encourage customers to make more use of Microsoft business desktop software, particularly Project, Microsoft is releasing free add-on tools for project managers involved in Six Sigma business process design, accounting, human resources, marketing, and government operations. The company is also releasing a set of templates and resource guides for FrontPage, Project, and Visio users who work in specific vertical markets. The add-on tools are part of a major thrust at Microsoft to increase loyalty to Office-related products by helping customers use the software more effectively.

(For more information about this strategy, see “Information Worker Focus of New Client Plans” on page 26 of the Oct. 2002 Update.)

Accelerator for Six Sigma

The Accelerator for Six Sigma is a free download that provides added functionality for Office to help teams design and manage business processes that follow the Six Sigma framework. Six Sigma is a business process methodology aimed at ensuring high-quality business planning and operations. The name comes from a statistical measure of standard deviation and implies a defect rate of less than four parts per million. (Microsoft has begun to employ Six Sigma methods internally.)