Managing Smart Cities Through Six Sigma

Sustainable Cities and Society 72 (2021) 103022
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Sustainable Cities and Society

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/scs
Managing smart cities through six sigma DMADICV method: A

review-based conceptual framework
Siddra Qayyum a, Fahim Ullah a, *, Fadi Al-Turjman b, Mohammad Mojtahedi a
a
School of Built Environment, University of New South Wales, Kensington, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
b
Research Centre for AI and IoT, Near East University, Nicosia, Mersin 10, Turkey
A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T
Keywords: Smart cities are complex endeavors that present several management challenges. The current study proposes a
Six Sigma conceptual framework based on Six Sigma for managing smart cities. DMADICV is a novel method proposed in
Smart cities the current study for Six Sigma. The proposed DMADICV framework consists of six key constructs: Define,
City management
Measure, Analyze, Design, Improve, and Control & Verify. These constructs are used as layers in smart cities, and
DMADICV
DMAIC
relevant literature is reviewed to highlight the key factors and groups related to each layer. A conceptual
DFSS framework is provided for smart city management and an assessment mechanism presented for measuring and
DMADV testing the performance of smart city integrated processes. This is achieved by measuring and controlling the cost
of quality non-conformance, right documentation in the first time, and timely implementation of control mea-
sures, the activity processing index, and quality controls. Improvement construct has a percentage of 35.67 %
share in the DMADICV framework followed by define (16.76 %), design (15.52 %), control & verify (14.33 %),
measure (10.08 %), and analyze (8.15 %). The top ten factors for managing smart cities through the Six Sigma
method include process quality improvement, organizational development, process analysis, quality manage-
ment, cost control, DMAIC, change management, project management plan, waste reduction, process quality
measurement, and value creation, respectively. The DMADICV framework and its dynamic relations are shown
through a system model and its key groups represented in layers of the smart cities whereby the city governance
and management teams can provide services to their smart citizens effectively and efficiently. The proposed
DMADICV method and associated smart city management framework are a humble addition to the body of
knowledge that can be adopted and utilized in other knowledge fields.
1. Introduction and background Yigitcanlar, 2018). The integration involves assimilating technologies
across various management departments to improve smart city citizens’
Smart cities, also known as intelligent cities or knowledge cities, are lifestyles and the overall culture and society (Frank & Fernández-Mon-
technology-dependent initiatives to have more integrated, sustainable, tesinos, 2020; Singh et al., 2020). However, this is easier said than done;
informed, and manageable cities (Johnson, Robinson, & Philpot, 2020; smart cities are faced with severe integration and managerial challenges
Abbreviations: AI, srtificial intelligence; AMM, applied mechanics and material; API, activity processing index; CNCi, costs of non-conformance of the organization
I; CQC, cost of quality non-conformance; CTQ, critical to quality; DCOV, define, characterize, optimize and verify; DFSS, design for Six Sigma; DMADICV, define,
measure, analyze, design, improve, and control & verify; DMADV, define, measure, analyze, design, verify; DMAIC, define, measure, analyze, improve, control;
DPMO, defects per million opportunities; FMEA, failure mode effects analysis; IJLSS, International Journal of Lean Six Sigma; IoT, internet of things; ISO, Inter-
national Organization for Standardization; IT, information technology; MATi, monthly average of the tests required by the organization I; NDERi, number of
document error reports generated by the organization I; NFTi, number of activities finished in time; NRTi, number of activities required to be finished in the specific
time; NTTi, number of tests performed in time by the participating organization I; PCA, process capability analysis; PDF, portable document format; QCI, quality
controls index; QFD, quality function deployment; RDFT, right documentation in first time; SEAM, socio-economic approach to management; TICM, timely
implementation of control measures; TNR, total net revenue; TNTi, total number of tests conducted by the organization I; TQM, total quality management; TSi,
turnover of the organization I.
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: s.qayyum@unsw.edu.au (S. Qayyum), f.ullah@unsw.edu.au (F. Ullah), Fadi.alturjman@neu.edu.tr (F. Al-Turjman), m.mojtahedi@unsw.edu.au
(M. Mojtahedi).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2021.103022
Received 23 November 2020; Received in revised form 23 March 2021; Accepted 12 May 2021
Available online 17 May 2021
2210-6707/© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
S. Qayyum et al. Sustainable Cities and Society 72 (2021) 103022
(Zhang et al., 2020). These include security and privacy in smart city project deliveries (Ansah & Sorooshian, 2017; Forbes & Ahmed, 2010),
applications (Zhang et al., 2017), sophisticated network requirements integrating building information modeling, green and lean processes for
(Shoaib & Shamsi, 2019), Big9 technologies integration for smart real construction (Hussain, He, Ahmad, & Iqbal, 2019; Mellado & Lou,
estate management (Ullah, Sepasgozar, & Wang, 2018), stakeholder 2020), and sustainable environment development (Kadry, 2013). Six
collaboration (Ullah, Samad Sepasgozar, & Ali, 2019), digital market- Sigma is implemented through two methods: Define, Measure, Analyze,
ing, risk management related to city governance and overall city inte- Improve, Control (DMAIC) and Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Verify
gration (Low, Ullah, Shirowzhan, Sepasgozar, & Lee, 2020; Ullah, (DMADV) (Koziołek & Derlukiewicz, 2012; Ullah et al., 2017; Zhu, Mao,
Qayyum, Thaheem, Al-Turjman, & Sepasgozar, 2021). One such key & Li, 2013). DMADV is also known as Design for Six Sigma or DFSS.
integration issue is process optimization related to various organizations In the DMAIC method, the following steps are involved (Kwon & Lee,
and departments working for holistic management of smart cities 2010; Zhu et al., 2013):
(Hammad, Akbarnezhad, Haddad, & Vazquez, 2019). Different tech-
niques have been explored to integrate the pertinent processes and • In step 1, the problem is defined, and the customer details, the
optimize them to have a more sophisticated management system for project requirements, and the customer’s ultimate goals and expec-
smart city governance. tations are gathered.
These techniques include smart energy meters integrations (Maier, • In step 2, the current process performance is measured by estab-
2016), public value creation and optimization (Cosgrave, Tryfonas, & lishing a data collection plan to determine defects and assemble
Crick, 2014), sustainable zoning, land-use allocation and facility loca- associated metrics.
tion optimization (Hammad et al., 2019), the convergence of blockchain • In step 3, the process to establish the root causes of variations and
and artificial intelligence in IoT network (Sharma, Park, & Cho, 2020; defects to identify issues in products or processes is analyzed with the
Singh et al., 2020), energy-efficient distributed network architecture for current strategy that stands in the way of the end goal.
edge computing (Sharma, Rathore, Jeong, & Park, 2018) and the • In step 4, the process is improved by eliminating the root causes of
FOCAN based fog-supported smart city network architecture for the defects through inventive solutions.
management of applications in the Internet of Everything environments • In the final step, the new process is controlled to avoid falling into old
(Naranjo, Pooranian, Shojafar, Conti, & Buyya, 2019; Zahmatkesh & habits and guaranteeing that it stays on track.
Al-Turjman, 2020). Similarly, other studies have discussed environ-
mental performance optimization of urban freight transport systems In the DMADV or DFSS method, the following steps are followed
(Muñoz-Villamizar, Santos, Montoya-Torres, & Velázquez-Martínez, (Koziołek & Derlukiewicz, 2012; Liverani et al., 2019):
2020), city management platforms (Westraadt & Calitz, 2020),
addressing semantic heterogeneity in Building Management Systems • In step 1, realistic goals are defined that suit the customers’ re-
(Iddianozie & Palmes, 2020), energy-efficient trust management (Khan, quirements or business policy.
2018), building energy simulation for intelligent energy management • In step 2, the customers’ critical to quality requirements are
(Vázquez-Canteli, Ulyanin, Kämpf, & Nagy, 2019), leveraging block- measured and identified, and translated into clear project goals.
chains for city management and overall process efficiency optimization • In step 3, multiple options and alternatives are analyzed for the
and integration for promoting sustainable and smarter cities (Ullah & customer and the projected total life cycle of the project related to
Al-Turjman, 2021; Van Fan, Varbanov, Klemeš, & Nemet, 2018). These each alternative.
studies are useful in their relevant fields, but a holistic city level man- • In step 4, the process is designed at a high level before moving onto a
agement strategy is not yet discussed in the literature to manage the more detailed version that will become the prototype to identify
smart city through its pertinent process optimizations and integration. errors and modify the plans or strategies in the future.
This gap is targeted in the current study. A candidate approach for such • In the last step, the final iteration of the product or process is verified,
high-level process optimization is Six Sigma. and it is approved by all customers and clients (internal or external).
1.1. Six Sigma method Both the DMAIC and DMADV methodologies are seemingly similar;
however, they have different use cases. DMAIC is designed for opti-
Six Sigma, a process management technique, was introduced by Bill mizing existing processes or products that do not meet customers’ needs
Smith in 1986 for Motorola (Siddiqui, Ullah, Thaheem, & Gabriel, or fail to perform as expected. In contrast, DMADV is used when a
2016). It is focused on improving the quality management methodology business needs to develop a new product or process or when a product
that can help businesses improve their current processes, products, or has been optimized but still falls short of the expectations (Sokovic,
services. This is achieved through discovering and eliminating defects Pavletic, & Pipan, 2010).
(Ullah, Thaheem, Siddiqui, & Khurshid, 2017). The Six Sigma process
aims to streamline quality control in the business management processes 1.2. Comparison of Six Sigma with other quality management techniques
to minimize the variance and defects in its products or services. Math-
ematically, Six Sigma aims at reducing the defects to as low as 3.4 Six Sigma has been compared with other quality management
defective parts, errors, or defects per million, thus achieving 99.99966 % techniques such as lean and total quality management (TQM). Accord-
accuracy in the core business processes or products (Parekh, Solanki, & ing to Anthony and Fergusson (2011), Lean and Six Sigma are focused on
Prajapati, 2020; Siddiqui et al., 2016; Ullah et al., 2017). Six Sigma process quality improvement. Lean is an enactment and categorization
method has been adopted in various sectors, including construction of experience and judgment that is not a feature of Six Sigma. The lean
(Ullah et al., 2017), healthcare (Antony, Palsuk, Gupta, Mishra, & Bar- method emphasizes speed and waste management, whereas Six Sigma
ach, 2018), manufacturing, education, financial, and human resource emphasizes variation, defects, and process evaluation. However, Dahl-
(Singh & Rathi, 2019). gaard and Dahlgaard-Park (2006) argue that lean production philosophy
In the case of smart cities, the applications of Six Sigma includes and the Six Sigma steps are essentially the same, and both have devel-
smart equipment manufacturing (Adams, Sabet, Spencer, & Yazdani, oped from the same root - the Japanese TQM practices. The authors
2013), fabrication companies integration (Agina-Obu, 2015), building argue that with lean production and Six Sigma quality management,
maintenance systems (Al Dairi, 2017; Iddianozie & Palmes, 2020; Mel- there seems to be too much focus on training people in tools and tech-
lado & Lou, 2020), public value creation (Cosgrave et al., 2014), con- niques. Further, human factors are somewhat ignored or less focused. In
struction process optimization (Antunes & Gonzalez, 2015), water comparing Six Sigma and TQM, Klefsjo, Bergquist, and Edgeman (2006)
consumption management (Durarca, Radu, & Durabca, 2015), lean argue that both could learn from each other.
2
Further, the TQM community has a reluctance to train and guide the societies.
novices on what routes to take when implementing TQM. This is a In addition to these, this is the first study that systematically reviews
doubtful strategy since the best routes differ from organization to or- the Six Sigma-related literature on smart cities published to date. No
ganization, and hence the associated personalization must be provided other studies have targeted this area to date. Further, it provides the
for a straightforward implementation. Six Sigma, on the other hand, is testing and quality measurement criteria for compliance with the smart
much clear to be implemented. Similarly, Antony (2009) demystifies the city management process unique to this study. The current study will be
myth that Six Sigma is a bottle of old wine in a new bottle or another hot of interest to city management and governance teams, smart citizens,
topic or flavor of the month. The author believes that this will be smart city organizations, quality management personnel, planning and
extremely useful to many practitioners and researchers in different development engineers, facilities and real estate managers, and quality
fields; thus, its adoption in various fields is encouraged. However, the assurance and control organizations and teams.
critics of Six Sigma are concerned about its implementation and stability The rest of the paper is organized as follows. Section 2 presents the
in smaller organizations. They argue that Six Sigma is popular with large method and materials used in the current study. Further, the keywords
organizations, but it is not realistic for businesses with less than 500 and search strings are presented, and the tools used to retrieve and
employees or other smaller organizations (Aboelmaged, 2011). The analyze the relevant literature are discussed in this section. Section 3
methodology can undoubtedly apply to small businesses with tailored presents the DMADICV method adopted in the current study based on
aspects; however, it may not be relevant. Six Sigma training and certi- the Six Sigma methodology for smart cities, and the associated optimi-
fications are other criticized aspects. A higher level of research may be zation strategies and concepts are discussed. Section 4 presents the
needed to ensure any third party offering Six Sigma services is highly systematic literature review results where the key factors of Six Sigma
qualified to do so (Goh, 2010). are presented, grouped, and discussed. The conceptual layer-based
Nevertheless, Six Sigma has many proven success stories in various system model for adopting the DMADICV based Six Sigma method in
organizations to warrant its implementation in different sectors (Antony smart cities is presented in this section. Section 5 concludes the paper,
et al., 2018; Linde & Philippov, 2020; Liverani et al., 2019; Okonkwo & offers key takeaways and provides ideas about this study’s futuristic
Mbachu, 2015; Parekh et al., 2020; Singh & Rathi, 2019). However, expansion.
when it comes to implementation in smart cities for holistic city-level
management, Six Sigma has not been explored. The current study tar- 2. Method and material
gets this gap reviews relevant literature to find, retrieve, and discuss Six
Sigma applications in various sectors of smart cities. It presents a holistic Fig. 1 provides a detailed method flowchart of the current study,
city-level conceptual adoption framework based on the Six Sigma where a three-stepped approach is presented. In step 1, a detailed and
DMADICV method and integrates the associated constructs to imple- systematic literature retrieval procedure is adopted from recent studies
ment Six Sigma in smart cities. to retrieve relevant literature (Azeem, Ullah, Thaheem, & Qayyum,
2020; Munawar, Qayyum, Ullah, & Sepasgozar, 2020; Ullah & Sepas-
1.3. The originality of the study gozar, 2020; Ullah, Sepasgozer, Tahmasebinia, Sepasgozar, & Davis,
2020). A comprehensive set of keywords and search strings is developed
According to Ullah et al. (2021), smart cities are complex endeavors to retrieve the literature from Google Scholar, Web of Science, and
presenting various managerial challenges to their governance and Scopus search engines. A total of 34 highly relevant articles are retrieved
management teams. This is due to its multi-faceted and multi-level in this step. In step 2, a Six Sigma DMADICV approach based on the
ecosystems involving complex systems and various stakeholder groups integration of DMAIC and DMADV is presented.
and their conflicting interests. Due to such complexities and associated Further, the testing and measurement criteria for compliance with
risks, smart city endeavors often fail to maintain the expected quality the smart city management process are also presented in this step. In
and process optimization. Thus, a holistic city-level management step 3, the retrieved literature is reviewed and analyzed to discuss the
framework is required that is targeted in the current study. The current number of articles published each year on the current study’s topic and
study is an original and novel attempt at proposing a holistic city related themes. The citation counts, types of articles, the sources,
management framework for promoting sustainable smart cities through countries of origin, and focus of these articles are also discussed. Based
the Six Sigma approach. Six Sigma is used to control the management on these relevant articles, the Six Sigma DMADICV method is integrated
and integration-related process involved in overall smart city gover- into smart city layers through a comprehensive systems model to pro-
nance. Six Sigma is a process management technique that aims at zero pose a holistic adoption framework. The conclusions and implications,
defects or errors in integrating the management processes. The pertinent and future directions are presented in the last stage of the study, as
application in the form of a Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Improve, shown in Fig. 1.
and Control & Verify (DMADICV) model integrated into the city A conceptual framework for Six Sigma DMADICV is presented for
governance layer will ensure error-free, optimized, and highly efficient smart cities where the key factors retrieved from the relevant studies are
holistic process management in the smart cities. categorized into the DMADICV categories and their subcategories.
The DMADICV model is a novel contribution of the current study that Further, the key factors and processes are linked with smart city layers
has not been reported to date. It is an extension of the Six Sigma methods through a systems model and discussed accordingly. Systems models are
built upon its existing DMAIC and DMADV. It further integrates the two based on the concepts of systems dynamics used to link the models’
methods into a single method for more efficient implementation of Six dynamic variables or factors (Saharan, Bawa, & Kumar, 2020; Ullah,
Sigma, thus adding to the core knowledge of Six Sigma. This framework Thaheem, Sepasgozar, & Forcada, 2018). The models are used to display
integrates the Six Sigma constructs into smart city layers for holistic city the system’s stock and flow variables that lead to the adoption or
management. Such a framework has not been reported to date for smart rejection of the proposed systems. Further, there are feedback loops in
city management. Adopting this framework will lead to lesser waste the models that reinforce or restrict the flow of information or variables
generation, increased sustainability, and better control of the smart in the models (Ullah, Thaheem et al., 2018). Systems models use systems
cities to aid its governance through the Six Sigma-powered zero error thinking concepts where the models are systematically visualized or
approach. Such a study has not been performed to date, and the current sketched to show the flow of information between different variables.
research has the honor of being the first one to target this novel area. A These models have been used in various fields and sub-domains of smart
state of the art literature review is conducted where all relevant articles cities. For example, these have been used to model and present the key
addressing smart cities’ components to date are reviewed and key factors influencing purchase or rent decisions in smart real estate in-
takeaways discussed for promoting sustainable smart cities and vestments (Ullah & Sepasgozar, 2020), identifying the components and
3
Fig. 1. Research methodology adopted in the current study.
interrelationships of smart cities in Indonesia (Firmansyah, Supangkat,

Table 1
Arman, & Giabbanelli, 2019), technology adoption in smart cities and
Search Engines, Strings, Keywords, and Results.
real estate and its stakeholders’ interactions (Ullah et al., 2019), dy-
namic pricing techniques for the intelligent transportation system in Search Strings/ Conditions Results
Engine
smart cities (Saharan et al., 2020), IT and wireless sensors adoption for
real estate management (Chithaluru, Al-Turjman, Kumar, & Stephan, Scopus ALL ("Six Sigma smart city" OR "Six Sigma smart cities" OR 22
"Six Sigma Real Estate" OR "Six Sigma property
2020; Ullah & Sepasgozar, 2019), adopting and implementing IoT in
management" OR "Six Sigma Construction" OR "Six Sigma
smart cities (Chithaluru et al., 2020; Janssen, Luthra, Mangla, Rana, & Urban Planning" OR "Six Sigma Architecture" OR "Six
Dwivedi, 2019), and determine the concession period of public-private Sigma Building") AND (LIMIT-TO (LANGUAGE,
partnership based infrastructure projects (Ullah, Thaheem et al., 2018). "English"))
In terms of the Six Sigma visualization using a systems model, it has Web of ALL FIELDS: ("Six Sigma smart city") OR ALL FIELDS: ("Six 02
Science Sigma smart cities") OR ALL FIELDS: ("Six Sigma Real
been used to visualize the influence of Six Sigma on project success in
Estate") OR ALL FIELDS: ("Six Sigma property
the construction industry (Ullah et al., 2017). However, Six Sigma has management") OR ALL FIELDS: ("Six Sigma Construction")
not been used in smart city management, which provides a noticeable OR ALL FIELDS: ("Six Sigma Urban Planning") OR ALL
research gap targeted in the current study. Accordingly, the systems FIELDS: ("Six Sigma Architecture") OR ORGANIZATION-
ENHANCED: ("Six Sigma Building")
model in the current study is used to visualize the relationships between
Refined by: LANGUAGES: (ENGLISH)
various layers, factors’ groups, and sub-factors of the DMADICV model Timespan: All years. Indexes: SCI-EXPANDED, SSCI,
and link it to smart cities management. Finally, at the end of this step, A&HCI, CPCI-S, CPCI-SSH, BKCI-S, BKCI-SSH, ESCI, CCR-
the study is concluded, and implications are presented. EXPANDED, IC.
"Six Sigma smart city" OR "Six Sigma smart cities" OR "Six
Sigma Real Estate" OR "Six Sigma property management"
2.1. Systematic literature retrieval OR "Six Sigma Construction" OR "Six Sigma Urban 119
Google Planning" OR "Six Sigma Architecture" OR "Six Sigma
Table 1 presents the search strings and keywords used to search and Scholar Building."
retrieve the relevant literature on Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Irrelevant 73
Non-English Language 12
Science search engines. Initially, the keywords and strings consisting of
Final 34
"Six Sigma smart city" and "Six Sigma smart cities" are run that yielded no Duplicates 22
results. This confirmed the absence of literature on smart cities and Six Final Shortlist 34
Sigma-based management. Accordingly, the search strings are extended
to all disciplines of the built environment, including construction, ar-
chitecture, urban planning, real estate, and property management, to all articles with any of the search terms instead of all-inclusive key-
words. A total of 12 articles had non-English language, and 22 duplicates
retrieve relevant literature focused on smart cities’ components related
to the smart built environment. Thus, the revised search strings con- were discovered. These included all the articles listed in Scopus and Web
of Science. These were removed to finalize 34 highly relevant and
sisted of "Six Sigma smart city", " Six Sigma smart cities", "Six Sigma Real
Estate", "Six Sigma property management", "Six Sigma Construction", "Six focused articles for further analyses in the current study.
For retrieving the relevant literature, the Publish or Perish (v.7)
Sigma Urban Planning", "Six Sigma Architecture", and "Six Sigma Building".
The search strings and keywords are joined by Boolean operators “AND” software was used. It is a sophisticated tool developed by Harzing (2010)
for the academic literature search and retrieval process. The software
or “OR”.
Further, no restriction is put on the time limit to retrieve all relevant provides a sophisticated method of using the same keywords and strings
for six key academic search engines or repositories. These include
articles published to date. Also, non-English language articles are
excluded from the final shortlist. Overall, 22 articles are retrieved from Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, Crossref, PubMed, and Micro-
soft Academic. Publish or perish tool retrieves and analyses academic
Scopus, only two from Web of Science and 119 from Google Scholar,
making a total of 143 articles. All the retrieved articles were read to citations. It empowers academics to present their case for research
impact to its best advantage (Andrews, 2020). This tool has been used in
remove any article with irrelevant focus. Thus, articles focused on other
disciplines, definition-based articles, generic articles with no focus, various fields for bibliometric analyses of academic literature. The ap-
plications include reviewing the articles on the definition, scope, and
duplicates, and non-English language were removed. A total of 73 ar-
ticles are highlighted as irrelevant, all of which were retrieved from implications of smart libraries (Zimmerman & Chang, 2018) and
calculating the h-index and other bibliometric and scientometric
Google Scholar, pointing to the flaws in its search engine that captures
4
indicators from Google Scholar (Jacsó, 2009). It has been compared with study are analyzed. The initial analyses include year-wise distribution,
other bibliometric and scientometric tools such as BibExcel, CiteSpace, citations, sources of the articles, country of origin, and article types.
CiteNetExplore, and VosViewer to highlight its superior performance Afterward, all the articles are downloaded in portable document format
(Bankar & Lihitkar, 2019). (PDF) from their original sources to be studied in detail and carry out
In smart cities studies, the software has been used for data mining pertinent analyses. Thus, key factors, their groups, and distribution into
literature retrieval in support of human aspects of cybersecurity (Duffy the DMADICV is carried out.
& Duffy, 2020), exploring the smart city mindset in small municipalities
of Norway (Karahasan & Hagane, 2018), and AI in smart cities (Ben Rjab 3. The conceptual framework
& Mellouli, 2019). This has never been used to retrieve Six Sigma
literature in the smart city domain targeted in the current study. The The framework conceptualized in the current study is presented in
articles retrieved through Publish or Perish can be further visualized Fig. 3. The pertinent sections and explanations of the components are
through VosViewer and similar tools for drawing linked diagrams. provided subsequently.
Fig. 2 provides an overview of how the software was utilized in the
current study for the Google Scholar repository. In step 1, the Google 3.1. DMADICV approach
Scholar tab is clicked in the software that opens exclusive search bars for
Google Scholar-based literature retrieval. In step 2, the previously The Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Improve, and Control &
mentioned keywords and strings are entered into the software’s Verify (DMADICV) approach adopted in the current study is based on
keyword section joined by AND or OR. Afterward, the search button is the two existing Six Sigma Methodologies. These existing methods
clicked that displays all the relevant articles. In step 3, the option of copy include DMAIC and DMADV or DFSS. The essential difference between
or save results is selected where different sub-options, including the two methods is that DMADV is design-focused, where DMAIC is
exporting the results in other bibliographic or Excel formats, are dis- process-focused. Accordingly, both the methods are integrated into the
played. In the current study, the option of results for Excel with headers current study, where the focus is on improvements in both design and
is selected. This copies all the results with their header. In step 4, the procedural integrations of the smart cities. The steps involved in the
Excel application is run, and all the results are pasted accordingly. These DMADICV method in terms of smart cities is explained below:
can be analyzed further using excel or bibliography assessment tools
such as VosViewer. Accordingly, all the articles retrieved in the current
Fig. 2. Literature search and retrieval process using Publish or Perish (v.7) software.
5
Fig. 3. The DMADICV model for smart city management.
• Define: In this step, all problems in the smart city are defined. The different organizations and city components are integrated to manage
citizens’ requirements are gathered. Further, the smart city man- the cities holistically. There is no benchmark for any process that would
agement goals are defined, and the smart citizens’ expectations are ideally affect all aspects of each process performance in the smart city. A
assessed to set realistic goals that suit citizens’ needs and policies of single indicator cannot measure or successfully analyze the smart city
the city businesses. process, which is complicated and dynamic. Accordingly, in the current
• Measure: In this step, the performances of smart city management study, five key performance assessment criteria are discussed and pro-
teams and business organizations are measured. A data collection posed following Januska and Faifr (2017). These include measuring and
plan to obtain city data is established, and non-conformances to the controlling the cost of quality non-conformance, right documentation
city management plans are determined. Further, citizens’ quality the first time, timely implementation of control measures, the activity
requirements are measured that are translated into holistic city processing index, and quality controls. These are discussed
management goals. subsequently.
• Analyze: In this step, the root causes of variations and compliance
issues are analyzed. Further, non-conformances of the city organi- 3.2.1. Cost of quality non-conformance (CQC)
zations to the overall process are analyzed with the end goal in mind. Cost of quality non-conformance (CQC) can be used to express the
Besides, alternative plans for smart citizens are also analyzed in case quality of smart city management competency or process integration. It
the original plan fails. provides information on the smart city quality management system and
• Design: In this step, first, the implementation process is designed at a the pertinent implementation efficiency. This criterion allocates the
high level with lesser details. This is followed by detailed designs and costs to various underperforming organizations and measures only the
plans with all relevant details and documentation. Further, expenses that have arisen in a particular process headed by specific
organization-specific implementation prototypes are provided to organizations or smart city components. Eq. 1 can be used to calculate
affiliated organizations within the smart city. City component de- the CQC for smart city organizations.
signs are addressed in this step.
∑
• Improve: In this step, the root causes of the non-conformance to city
i
CNCi
CQC = x 100 (1)
plans are eliminated. This is supported by providing innovative so- n
TSi
lutions and incentives for organizations to follow city management
plans. Acceptable quality standards are devised, provide to all rele- Where CQC represents the costs of quality non-conformance of all or-
vant organizations, and regularly revised when necessary. ganizations in the smart city in a specific time. CNCi refers to the costs of
• Control & Verify: In this step, the conformance to approved plans, non-conformance of organization I. TSi refers to the turnover of the
management techniques, and quality standards are verified and organization I to the smart city in a specific time. The costs for all non-
approved. A regular monitoring process is conducted where the conforming organizations in the smart city are calculated and added to
conformance is checked regularly to control organizations from get the total CQC for the smart city.
falling into old habits of non-conformance. Incentives are provided
to the participating organizations to stay on track. The concept of 3.2.2. Right documentation in first time (RDFT)
carrots and sticks is used to reward good works, and poor confor- For holistic city management and associated waste minimization
mance is penalized. related to poor documentation, it is necessary to have the right docu-
mentation in the first attempt rather than wait for the mistakes to be
found. The later problems are discovered, more cost will be incurred.
3.2. Measuring and testing the performance of smart city integrated RDFT criterion is related to the misspellings in documents processed in
processes the smart city management process. It comprises a list of internal com-
plaints or mistakes when entering conformance results. Eq. 2 can be used
Smart cities work in an integrated way where processes from
6
to measure this criterion.

∑
i
NDERi
RDFT = (1 − ) x 100 (2)
n
TNR
Where NDERi refers to the number of document error reports generated

by the organization I and TNR refer to the total net revenue received by
the smart city management team.
3.2.3. Timely implementation of control measures (TICM)

Timely implementation of control measures (TICM) guarantees that
the losses are minimized if not eliminated in the smart city management
process. TICM criterion measures the capabilities of various procedures
involved in smart city management and indicates if these can meet their
demands regarding the speed of work required. Eq. 3 can be used to
assess the TICM.
∑
i
NTTi
TICM = ( ) x 100 (3)
n
TNTi
Where NTTi refers to the number of tests performed in time by the

participating organization I in the smart city, and TNTi refers to the total
number of tests conducted by organization I. All the test results are
added to get the TICM for the entire smart city management process.
3.2.4. Activity processing index (API)

Quality conformance and compliance officers have the power to Fig. 4. (a) Yearly publication trend and (b) citations to the retrieved articles.
check participating organizations’ conformance in smart cities. The
more time these officers spend in checking activity processing activities, highlighting the focus of research on Six Sigmas in the smart cities’
lesser time will be available for other tests and checks, as previously affiliated fields around 2012−2016. The highest number of articles are
mentioned. Thus, the activity processing index (API) is inversely pro- retrieved for years 2013 and 2015 with five articles each, followed by
portional to the CQC and TICM. API is used when the products and 2012 with four articles. Three articles each are retrieved for the years
processes are reviewed or where the actual cause of the problem or non- 2010, 2014, and 2016.
conformance cannot be detected directly. Eq. 4 can be used to assess the Similarly, Fig. 4(b) shows the citations of the documents where the
API. documents published in 2010 have received the highest citations (478),
∑
i followed by 2012 with 161 and 2015 with 137 citations. Another key
NFTi
API = ( ) x 100 (4) observation from Fig. 4 is that the earliest retrieved article dates back to
NRTi
n 2002, which shows a recent focus on Six Sigma methods in smart cities’
affiliated components. Most of the retrieved articles are published in
Where NFTi refers to the number of activities finished in time, and NRTi
2010 and later. It must be noted that there is no paper directly
refers to the number of activities required to be finished in a specific
addressing smart cities using Six Sigma. Rather its related domains in the
time.
wider built environment are addressed by these articles. Thus, the need
for the current study cannot be overstressed.
3.2.5. Quality controls index (QCI)
Afterward, the count of articles retrieved from various sources and
The quantitative model of control can be assessed by measuring the
their pertinent citations were investigated. In terms of the sources, an
level and variability of the input of the smart city management pro-
evenly spread trend is observed where almost all articles are retrieved
cesses. This criterion does not measure the ability to meet smart city
from unique sources. Only two sources are identified to have two rele-
management process requirements; however, it can analyze outputs
vant articles on the theme of the current study and directly contribute to
based on the obtained data. A higher rate of entry can adversely affect
smart cities’ related domains. These sources are the International Journal
the quality of the checks performed. Eq. 5 can be used to assess the API.
of Lean Six Sigma (IJLSS) and Applied Mechanics and Material (AMM). In
∑
i
TNTi terms of citations, the book published by Forbes and Ahmed (2010) with
QCI = ( ) x 100 (5) the title “modern construction: lean project delivery and integrated
MAT
practices” carries the highest citations with a count of 478. This is fol-
n i
Where TNTi refers to the total number of tests performed by the orga- lowed by the article by Antunes and Gonzalez (2015) published in
nization I within the smart city, and MATi refers to the monthly average Buildings Journal with a citation count of 128. The third highest citations
of the tests required by organization I. Using these tests and checks, the are attracted by the papers published in IJLSS, with a combined count of
management process of smart cities can be streamlined to reduce un- 78. These include the studies of Singh and Rathi (2019) and Siddiqui
necessary costs and wastages and control the process in an efficient way. et al. (2016). The relevant papers published in AMM have not been cited
so far.
4. Results and discussions After identification of the sources and article citations, the types of
retrieved articles are analyzed. As shown in Fig. 5, the results highlight
4.1. Literature synthesis that more than half (60 %) of the retrieved articles comprise journal
articles followed by 25 % masters or pH.D. level thesis. The remaining
As discussed in the method section, 34 articles highly relevant to the 15 % of the articles are classified as book chapters and conference pa-
theme of the current study are retrieved that are provided in Appendix pers. A high number of journal articles signifies the quality of the data,
A. The year-wise distribution of the articles is shown in Fig. 4(a), as discussed by Akram, Thaheem, Nasir, Ali, and Khan (2019).
7
Fig. 7. Classification of articles based on study type conducted.
4.2. Factors and processes identification, and DMADICV constructs
Fig. 5. Types of articles retrieved. Once the initial literature syntheses are conducted, the pertinent
articles are read to highlight the key factors and processes and group
According to the authors, journal articles provide more accurate and them for subsequent categorization into the DMADICV constructs. A
appraised information due to their rigorous review process. Thus the total of 42 groups are identified in the current study. The counts, cate-
presence of more journal articles in the data set highlights the superior gory scores, overall scores, group ranks, and overall ranks of the factors
quality of the data. are presented in each section pertinent to the DMADICV constructs. The
After identification of the article types, the countries of origin of the category score refers to the score or percent share of the group of factors
articles are investigated. Fig. 6 provides a world map with the number of to the overall DMADICV constructs. This is calculated using Eq. 6, where
articles published by different countries among the retrieved articles. count shows the number of articles focused on these groups of factors,
China published the highest number of articles (06), followed by the the cat sum is the total number of articles in the overall construct. To get
USA (04) and India (03). Pakistan, Turkey, the UK, Sweden, and Nigeria the percent share, the relation is multiplied by a hundred.
contributed two articles to the current study’s theme. The remaining
countries with a single contribution are shown in Fig. 6.
Count
Category Score = ∗ 100 (6)
Lastly, in line with the systematic literature analysis, the articles are
Cat Sum
classified into various types based on the type of study conducted or Similarly, Eq. 7 is used to calculate the overall score of the group of
reported. Around 41 % of the retrieved articles are classified as case factors. Count again refers to the number of articles focused on the group
study articles. This is followed by empirical studies with 29 % repre- of factors. In contrast, the total relevant articles show the total number
sentation, conceptual articles with 24 % representation, and review of articles for all constructs in this study. Thus, using Eqs. 6 and 7, the
articles with only six percent representation, as shown in Fig. 7. The high scores are calculated.
percentage of case study papers is because Six Sigma is a process- Count
oriented technique that is generally adopted to improve processes in Overall Score = ∗ 100 (7)
Total Relevant Articles
various sectors. These sectors have been explored as case studies in
different articles. A minimal number of review articles are focused on Further, the group rank refers to the group’s position in the construct
the current study theme. This highlights the need for a review-based where it is listed. The overall rank refers to the ranking of the group
study, which is addressed in the current study. Further, the present among all 42 identified groups. These factors and DMADICV categori-
study provides a conceptual framework, the second-lowest type in terms zations are discussed subsequently.
of studies in this area. This highlights the need for conducting the cur-
rent study. 4.2.1. Definition related factors, processes, and groups
Table 2 presents definition-related factors, processes, and groups.
Fig. 6. World map showing the number of articles retrieved per country.
8
This construct houses eight key groups of definition-related factors. The

maximum count is reported for the group of quality management, having
et al., 2017; Parekh et al., 2020; Setijono & Al-Aomar, 2012; Siddiqui et al., 2016; Taner, 2013)
(Adure & Kulkarni, 2012; Dabbaghi Tehrani, 2010; Hussain et al., 2019; Keskin, 2019; Kwon &
et al., 2016; Sjöqvist & Vrbanc, 2016; Tchidi, He, & Li, 2012; Xu & Yan, 2011; Zhu et al., 2013)
Lee, 2010; Lipscomb & Lewis, 2004; Parekh et al., 2020; Setijono & Al-Aomar, 2012; Siddiqui
Derlukiewicz, 2012; Lee et al., 2004; Linde & Philippov, 2020; Lipscomb & Lewis, 2004; Negi
(Adams et al., 2013; Agina-Obu, 2015; Keskin, 2019; Lovera & Cristina, 2015; Parekh et al.,
13 articles focused on it and a category score of 31 %. DMAIC follows
quality management with 12 articles and 29 % share, and process defi-
(Hui, 2002; Lipscomb & Lewis, 2004; Negi et al., 2017; Setijono & Al-Aomar, 2012)
nitions with six articles and a 14 % share. The definition construct’s
(Adams et al., 2013; Agina-Obu, 2015; Durarca et al., 2015; Hui, 2002; Koziołek &
overall score is 16.66, which reflects its share in the overall DMADICV
method. The top two groups in this construct represent ranks of four and
six, respectively, among all the groups associated with DMADICV
constructs.
Among the key groups, quality management consists of critical quality
factors and processing, including improving the process performance,
defects control, TQM, quality information control, and quality assurance
(Adams et al., 2013; Agina-Obu, 2015; Durarca et al., 2015; Hui, 2002;
Koziołek & Derlukiewicz, 2012; Lee, Park, & Cho, 2004; Linde & Phil-
ippov, 2020; Lipscomb & Lewis, 2004; Negi, Mandaliya, Mahida, Patel,
& Patyal, 2017; Parekh et al., 2020; Setijono & Al-Aomar, 2012; Siddiqui
et al., 2016; Taner, 2013). Parekh et al. (2020) explored the possibility
of applying Six Sigma in metro rail construction projects in India. The
(Kadry, 2013; Tchidi et al., 2012)
authors argued that Six Sigma could evaluate the quality of current
construction activity and quantify the improvement goals to control
2020; Ribes García, 2014)
succeeding critical activities for the project. Further, the quality can be
(Goffnett et al., 2016)
considerably enhanced by integrating it with lean principles (Ansah &

(Tchidi et al., 2012)
Sorooshian, 2017). Linde and Philippov (2020) argued that the Six
(Kadry, 2013)
Sigma process reduces the production and service cost and service de-
livery time, increases the volume of performed work, and decreases
design costs to achieve the pertinent project goals. Further, it affects all
Ref
key stakeholders of the organization. Such a holistic method can do

wonders in smart cities where all the key stakeholders can be managed
and their needs addressed. The associated reduced delivery time,
Overall
Rank
enhanced quality of services, and efficient resource management can

15
24
31
37
41
42
4
improve city management.

The second-highest ranked group in definition-related constructs is
that of DMAIC. Kwon and Lee (2010) discussed the DMAIC method of Six
Group
Rank
Sigma and applied it to the construction industry. Their results show that
1
4
5
7
8
such an application of Six Sigma reduces project waste, improves the

inherent processes, and increases project success chances. Six Sigma can
Overall
16.76
be an efficient process to minimize waste generation in smart city

Score
5.04
4.65
2.33
1.55
1.63
0.78
0.39
0.39
management processes based on these results. Keskin (2019) discussed

the public or citizens’ role as clients who acquire goods, services, and
constructed facilities through the procurement process. DMAIC and
Category
Process Capability Analysis (PCA) can improve this procurement process

30.95
28.57
14.29
Score
9.52
7.14
4.76
2.38
2.38
100
using Six Sigma techniques. Such adoption can lead to better manage-
ment of the service procurement in smart cities.
Count
Process definition is the third-ranked group in definition-related

13
12
constructs. It consists of two main factors or processes: PCA and Qual-

6
4
3
1
1
ity function deployment (QFD). Lovera and Cristina (2015) discussed Six
Improving the process performance, Defects Control,
Sigma implementation for process improvement in construction and

Process Capability Analysis (PCA), Quality Function
argued that it could significantly eliminate the defects in structures.

Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, and Control
Further, the risk is reduced, and the process capability is enhanced.

Define, Characterize, Optimize and Validate
Total Quality Management (TQM), Quality
Socio-economic Approach to Management
Based on these findings, Six Sigma can address the structural defects in
smart city buildings and infrastructure.
Belts: Green, Black, Master Black belt
Similarly, Agina-Obu (2015) discussed the implementation of Six

Definition related factors, processes, and groups.
Information, Quality Assurance
Sigma in fabrication companies and argued that it could create an

overall positive image. It can enhance satisfaction with quality delivery,
Problem-solving Methods
ensure more satisfied clients, reduce displeasure over defects, save time
Factors and processes
losses in production, save money, materials, and reputation. Accord-

Deployment (QFD)
ingly, it can be inferred that a sophisticated quality management system

can help improve smart city processes through the DMADICV method.
PCA, QFD
The rest of the factors and their groups are provided in Table 2.
4.2.2. Measurement related factors, processes, and groups

Table 3 presents the factors, processes, and pertinent groups related
Management
Management
Definitions
to the measurement construct of the DMADICV method for smart city

Solutions
management. Measurement construct houses six critical groups of fac-

Problem
DMADV
Quality
Process
DMAIC
Table 2
Expert
Group
DCOV
SEAM
tors and has a ten percent share among all the DMADICV constructs.
Total
The maximum count of eight articles is recorded for the group of
9
Table 3
Measurement related factors, processes, and groups.
Group Factors and processes Count Category Overall Group Overall Ref
Score Score Rank Rank
Process Quality Statistical Process Measurement, Quality 8 30.77 3.1 1 10 (Adams et al., 2013; Al Dairi, 2017; Durarca
Measurement Benchmark System, Project Tracking and et al., 2015; Hussain et al., 2019; Koziołek &
Reviews, Technological Consumption, Human Derlukiewicz, 2012; Siddiqui et al., 2016;
Consumption, Non-Conformities in Specified Taner, 2013; Yuan et al., 2014)
Limits, Quality Inspection Standards, Quality
Function Deployment
Organization Organizational Capability Measurement, Lack of 5 19.23 1.94 2 21 (Goffnett et al., 2016; Keskin, 2019;
Capabilities Measurement Database, Organizational Koziołek & Derlukiewicz, 2012; Okonkwo &
Assessment Methodologies, Performance Mbachu, 2015; Sjöqvist & Vrbanc, 2016)
Measurement, Profitability
Charts and Moving Range Chart, Capability Histogram and 4 15.38 1.55 3 23 (Hui, 2002; Negi et al., 2017; Parekh et al.,
Graphs Capability Plot, Cause and Effect Diagram, Pareto 2020; Sjöqvist & Vrbanc, 2016)
Chart, Control, and Run Chart, Histogram, Value
Stream Mapping, Graphical and Statistical Tools,
Spaghetti Diagram
Scheduling Work Breakdown Structure, List of Activities, 4 15.38 1.55 4 29 (Adure & Kulkarni, 2012; Hussain et al.,
Measurement Time of Activities, Dependency of Activities, 2019; Linde & Philippov, 2020; Parekh
Construction Sequence, Specification Limits, Pull et al., 2020)
Scheduling
Product Requirement Assessments and Scales, 3 11.54 1.16 5 33 (Agina-Obu, 2015; Linde & Philippov, 2020;
Requirement Benchmarking, ISO 9001 Adoption, GB/T19000- Xu & Yan, 2011)
ISO9000: 2000
Software Usage Primavera, Minitab, Vensim 2 7.69 0.78 6 38 (Forbes & Ahmed, 2010; Parekh et al.,
2020)
Total 100 10.08
process quality measurement. It has a category score of 31 % and an among all DMADICV groups. Antony et al. (2018) discussed Six Sigma
overall score of 3.1 % and ranked at the tenth position overall. Hussain applications in the healthcare sector and recommended using 23 key
et al. (2019) discussed the aspects of process quality management in the plans, charts, and graphs for Six Sigma implementation in the healthcare
construction industry of Pakistan and recommended merging Six Sigma, sector. These are data collection strategy, process mapping, control
green, and lean for a holistic up-gradation of the construction sector chart, monitoring, and control plan, critical to quality link, root cause
processes. According to the authors, the significant barriers in this analysis, Pareto diagram, cause and effect or fishbone diagram, brain-
context are an unstable political environment and lack of government storming, the voice of customer analysis, failure modes effect analysis,
support. The authors recommended providing incentives to various in- supplier-input-process-output-customer analysis, implementation plan,
dustries for promoting quality culture. This can be adopted in smart process flowchart, cost-effectiveness analysis, graphical tools, project
cities where a mix of Six Sigma, green and lean can uplift smart city charter, quality function deployment, statistical process control, base-
processes and ease the associated management. line measurement, experiment design, regression and correlation anal-
Similarly, Zhu et al. (2013) recommended using the DMAIC process ysis. Such charts and graphs can help improve and manage the
to analyze and optimize the design process of housing projects. The healthcare sectors in smart cities. Similarly, Negi et al. (2017) recom-
authors used a case study that successfully eliminated unnecessary links, mended using quality tools like cause and effect diagram, Pareto chart,
enhanced the process, and saved time and cost with a higher quality of failure mode, and effects analysis, histogram, control and run chart, and
the finished product. Thus, a similar application can be implemented in value stream mapping for Six Sigma implementation in construction
smart cities to improve their management process. projects that can help improve construction quality in smart cities. The
The second-ranked group in the measurement category is that of rest of the measurement category groups are shown in Table 3.
organization capabilities. It has a count of five with a category score of
19.23 % and an overall score of around two percent. The overall rank for 4.2.3. Analysis related factors, processes, and groups
this group is 21 among all DMADICV groups. Goffnett, Lepisto, and Table 4 presents the factors, processes, and pertinent groups related
Hayes (2016) proposed using a socio-economic approach to manage- to the analysis construct of the DMADICV method for smart city man-
ment and lean Six Sigma for facilitating operational change in organi- agement. This construct houses three key groups of factors and has a
zations. According to the authors, such integration can enhance the total share of around eight percent in the DMADICV constructs.
organizational capabilities of controlling and managing the core pro- In this construct, the highest-ranked group is process analysis with 13
cesses with a special focus on quality. Such integration will help smart articles, a category score of approximately 62 %, and an overall score of
city management, where the management team can better control and five percent. Adure and Kulkarni (2012) discussed process improvement
manage the pertinent processes. This will help develop robust process in the construction industry through the Six Sigma approach and high-
improvement protocols. Okonkwo and Mbachu (2015) discussed Six lighted that Six Sigma could improve its process analysis components.
Sigma applications in small and medium scale companies in Nigeria. The The authors further argued that the key success factors for implementing
authors recommended using Six Sigma in such organizations and argued Six Sigma in construction are the same as the manufacturing industry
that it could provide a broader quality concept, detailed performance but have more complexity and sensitivity. The success factors remain the
measurement, and coordinated and repeatable performance improve- same regardless of the type of industry; however, the complexities and
ment. Such an approach can be adopted in smart cities to uplift its state challenges may change. Overall, an appropriate definition of critical
of small and medium-sized enterprises and motivate these organizations items, critical to quality (CTQ), proper metrics, coordination between all
for adopting Six Sigma strategies. parties, and commitment of all involved people is the key to successfully
The third-ranked group in the measurement category consists of implementing Six Sigma in any field. This indicates the pathway for
charts and graphs with four articles, a category score of 15.4 %, and an incorporating Six Sigma in smart cities through addressing the
overall score of around 1.5 %. The overall rank for this factor is 23 mentioned vital aspects. Dabbaghi Tehrani (2010) also enforced that Six
10
Table 4
Analysis related factors, processes, and groups.
Process Analysis Process Capability Analysis, DPMO, 13 61.91 5.04 1 3 (Adure & Kulkarni, 2012; Agina-Obu, 2015;
Operational Process Analysis, Defect Dabbaghi Tehrani, 2010; Durarca et al., 2015;
Management, Changing Logical Relations Goffnett et al., 2016; Hui, 2002; Keskin, 2019;
Between Procedures, FMEA, Reliability Lovera & Cristina, 2015; Negi et al., 2017;
Assessment, Performance Assessment Parekh et al., 2020; Ribes García, 2014;
Setijono & Al-Aomar, 2012; Sjöqvist & Vrbanc,
2016; Zhu et al., 2013)
Product Product Testing, Financial Benefits Analysis, 6 28.57 2.33 2 16 (Goffnett et al., 2016; Koziołek & Derlukiewicz,
Analysis Production Analysis, Design and Technique 2012; Linde & Philippov, 2020; Siddiqui et al.,
Correction Measures, Finite Element Analysis 2016; Taner, 2013; Tchidi et al., 2012)
Model
Knowledge- Hybrid Knowledge-Based System, Evaluation 2 9.52 0.78 3 36 (Al Dairi, 2017; Yuan et al., 2014)
Based Indices
Analysis
Models
Total – 100 8.15 – – –
Sigma and its methodologies can improve the process analysis tech- cities and the overall city management process by eliminating defects
niques and overall project management of the construction processes. and improving processes.
The second group in the analysis construct is product analysis with a The last group in the analysis construct is that of knowledge-based
count of six, a category score of 28.57 %, an overall score of 2.33 %, and analysis models. This group is mentioned in two articles, has a category
an overall rank of 16. Linde and Philippov (2020) discussed the imple- score of 9.5 %, an overall score of 0.78 %, and an overall rank of 36.
mentation of lean Six Sigma in construction. The authors argued that Aldairi, Khan, and Munive-Hernandez (2017) proposed a
such deployment affects all construction project participants, including knowledge-based lean Six Sigma maintenance system for sustainable
the customer, product suppliers, company, contractor, subcontractors, buildings in smart cities. The authors discussed that implementing such
designers, equipment suppliers, and surveyors. Six Sigma reduces pro- a system requires a pre-assessment of the organizational capabilities that
duction time, service cost, service delivery time, design cost, and can be improved by enhancing strategic and operational
increased work and production volume due to enhanced product and decision-making hierarchy. Further, maintenance activities in environ-
associated analysis techniques. Koziołek and Derlukiewicz (2012) pro- mentally sustainable buildings must consider prodigious standards, and,
posed assessing the quality of the construction equipment design process therefore, a robust quality assurance measure must be integrated into
through Six Sigma. The author argued that Six Sigma enables the quality the core processes (Iddianozie & Palmes, 2020). Such integration can
assessment of the design and construction process to serve as a quality pave the way for sustainable smart buildings in smart cities and move
assurance method due to avoiding potential defects in the products and towards sustainable smart cities.
processes. This can help improve the construction sector of the smart Similarly, Yuan, Fei, and Ju (2014) proposed using Six Sigma to
Table 5
Design related factors, processes, and groups.
Project Project Implementation Program, Risk 10 25 3.88 1 8 (Al Dairi, 2017; Antunes & Gonzalez, 2015;
Management Management, Process Optimization, Project Koziołek & Derlukiewicz, 2012; Linde &
Plan Selection, Prioritization And Evaluation, Vision Philippov, 2020; Lipscomb & Lewis, 2004;
and Planning, Safety Requirement, Look-Ahead Lovera & Cristina, 2015; Okonkwo &
Planning Mbachu, 2015; Setijono & Al-Aomar, 2012;
Siddiqui et al., 2016; Taner, 2013; Westraadt
& Calitz, 2020)
Lean Adoption Lean Principles, Lean Methodology, Just-In- 7 17.5 2.71 2 12 (Al Dairi, 2017; Forbes & Ahmed, 2010;
Time, Green Lean Adoption, Lean Six Sigma Hansen, 2014; Hussain et al., 2019; Linde &
Philippov, 2020; Parekh et al., 2020; Shan &
Li, 2013)
Product Product Development Criteria, Linking Six 6 15 2.33 3 17 (Hussain et al., 2019; Lipscomb & Lewis,
Development Sigma to Business, Production Planning and 2004; Setijono & Al-Aomar, 2012; Shan & Li,
Control System, Operation and Economy 2013; Siddiqui et al., 2016; Taner, 2013;
Requirement, Total Productive Maintenance Westraadt & Calitz, 2020)
Quality Systematic Quality Development, Measuring 6 15 2.33 4 18 (Dabbaghi Tehrani, 2010; Hansen, 2014;
Development and Documenting Defects, Improvement Koziołek & Derlukiewicz, 2012; Setijono &
Strategy Development, Diverse Design Al-Aomar, 2012; Sjöqvist & Vrbanc, 2016;
Requirement, Reduce Design Errors, Critical to Zhu et al., 2013)
The Quality Approach
IT Usage IT Visualization, Integrated Design 5 12.5 1.94 5 20 (Hansen, 2014; Linde & Philippov, 2020;
Technologies, Information Technology, And Ribes García, 2014; Siddiqui et al., 2016;
Innovation Taner, 2013)
Infrastructure Supporting Infrastructure, Infrastructure 4 10 1.55 6 26 (Hussain et al., 2019; Koziołek &
Design and Integration, Prefabricated Composite Derlukiewicz, 2012; Setijono & Al-Aomar,
Integration Structure, Lean Logistics 2012; Taner, 2013)
Value Design Customer Value Assessments and Designs, 2 5 0.78 7 40 (Linde & Philippov, 2020; Taner, 2013)
Partnerships
Total 100 15.52
11
evaluate indicators in asphalt pavements and road works in smart cities. all DMADICV groups. Siddiqui et al. (2016) highlighted having a
This can help improve the road works and its finished quality in smart comprehensive project management plan as the most important factor
cities. The rest of the groups related to the analysis construct are shown for implementing Six Sigma processes in construction. According to the
in Table 4. authors, having a proper project management plan that addresses all the
key areas of the project ensures the smooth implementation of Six
4.2.4. Design related factors, processes, and groups Sigma. The findings are augmented by Ullah et al. (2017), who
The design-related factors, processes, and pertinent groups as per the demonstrated this effect using a case study of construction projects
DMADICV method for smart city management are shown in Table 5. where the project success was improved by more than 50 % through Six
This construct houses seven key groups and has a total share of around Sigma implementation. The same philosophy can be applied to smart
15.5 % among all the DMADICV constructs. city management as a project where its success can be enhanced through
The highest-ranked group in design construct is that of the project the Six Sigma-based DMADICV method.
management plan. It has a count of ten, a category score of 25 %, an The second-ranked group in design construct is that of lean adoption.
overall score of around four percent, and an overall rank of eight among It has a count of seven, a category score of 17.5 %, an overall score of
Table 6
Improvement related factors, processes, and groups.
Process Quality Construction Quality, Process Performance, 21 22.83 8.14 1 1 (Adams et al., 2013; Adure & Kulkarni,
Improvement Internal Finishing Work, The Profitability of 2012; Agina-Obu, 2015; Al Dairi, 2017;
Suppliers and Stakeholders, Inconsistency and Dabbaghi Tehrani, 2010; Durarca et al.,
Fragmentation Of Processes, Work Volume, 2015; Forbes & Ahmed, 2010; Goffnett
Supply Chains Management, Continuous et al., 2016; Hui, 2002; Hussain et al., 2019;
Improvement, Efficiency Improvement, Keskin, 2019; Linde & Philippov, 2020;
Statistical or Non-Statistical Process Lovera & Cristina, 2015; Negi et al., 2017;
Improvement, Continuous Improvement Okonkwo & Mbachu, 2015; Parekh et al.,
2020; Ribes García, 2014; Shan & Li, 2013;
Siddiqui et al., 2016; Taner, 2013; Zhu
et al., 2013)
Organizational Capabilities Improvement, Leadership 19 20.65 7.36 2 2 (Adams et al., 2013; Adure & Kulkarni,
Development Improvement, Operation Management, Business 2012; Al Dairi, 2017; Dabbaghi Tehrani,
Processes Optimization, Benchmark 2010; Durarca et al., 2015; Forbes &
Organization Capabilities, Teamwork, Quality Ahmed, 2010; Goffnett et al., 2016;
Awareness, Performance Improvement, Hansen, 2014; Hui, 2002; Kadry, 2013;
Creativity/Innovation/Aesthetics, Credibility, Keskin, 2019; Lipscomb & Lewis, 2004;
Strategic Vision, Quality Compliance Negi et al., 2017; Okonkwo & Mbachu,
(Assurance), Performance, Competitiveness, 2015; Setijono & Al-Aomar, 2012; Siddiqui
And Organizational Profitability, Operational et al., 2016; Sjöqvist & Vrbanc, 2016;
Efficiency, Strategic Considerations, Coherent Taner, 2013)
Improvement System
Change Change Resistance by Suppliers and 10 10.87 3.88 3 7 (Adure & Kulkarni, 2012; Al Dairi, 2017;
Management Organizations, Readiness to Change, Cultural Forbes & Ahmed, 2010; Goffnett et al.,
Change, Inclusive Change Protocol, 2016; Hansen, 2014; Hussain et al., 2019;
Demographical Changes Shan & Li, 2013; Siddiqui et al., 2016;
Taner, 2013; Tchidi et al., 2012)
Waste Reduction Unsatisfactory Level of Construction Materials 10 10.87 3.88 4 9 (Forbes & Ahmed, 2010; Hui, 2002;
Quality, Rejected Product Reduction, Reduced Hussain et al., 2019; Kwon & Lee, 2010;
Energy Consumption, Pollution Reduction, Linde & Philippov, 2020; Negi et al., 2017;
Eliminating Unnecessary Links Ribes García, 2014; Setijono & Al-Aomar,
2012; Shan & Li, 2013; Zhu et al., 2013)
Value Creation Customer Value Creation, Long Term Value 8 8.70 3.1 5 11 (Adams et al., 2013; Agina-Obu, 2015;
Plans, Client Satisfaction, Social Responsibility, Kadry, 2013; Linde & Philippov, 2020;
Value Maximization Okonkwo & Mbachu, 2015; Tchidi et al.,
2012; Zhu et al., 2013)
Personal Personnel Training, Teamwork and 6 6.52 2.33 6 14 (Adams et al., 2013; Hussain et al., 2019;
Development Multitasking, Daily Reporting, Motivation, Linde & Philippov, 2020; Shan & Li, 2013;
Worker Development, Continuous Siddiqui et al., 2016; Taner, 2013)
Improvement, Education and Training,
Employee Empowerment, Employee
Improvement and Engagement
Sustainability Sustainability Goals Attainment, Sustainable 6 6.52 2.33 7 19 (Al Dairi, 2017; Hui, 2002; Hussain et al.,
Development, Sustainable Building 2019; Kadry, 2013; Negi et al., 2017)
Maintenance, Sustainable Organizational
Performance
Improved Time Reduction, Budget Maintenance, Self- 4 4.35 1.55 8 25 (Adams et al., 2013; Dabbaghi Tehrani,
Services Assessment, Performance Improvement 2010; Linde & Philippov, 2020; Tchidi
et al., 2012)
Quantification Improvement Goals, Risk Quantification, 3 3.26 1.16 9 34 (Parekh et al., 2020; Siddiqui et al., 2016;
Process Quantification Taner, 2013)
Resource Resource Optimization, Effective Use of 3 3.26 1.16 10 35 (Hussain et al., 2019; Okonkwo & Mbachu,
Optimization Resources 2015; Shan & Li, 2013)
Stakeholder Lack of Coordination and Consistency Between 2 2.17 0.78 11 39 (Adams et al., 2013; Linde & Philippov,
Coordination Process Participants, Commitment from all 2020)
Stakeholders
Total 100 35.67
12
around three percent, and an overall rank of 12 among all DMADICV shown in Table 6. Keskin (2019) discussed the organizational capabil-
groups. Linde and Philippov (2020) discussed that lean Six Sigma ities of public agencies and argued that their process capabilities are
adoption can ensure cost and time reduction and improve workers’ usually inferior that can be improved through the adoption of Six Sigma.
productivity. Sjöqvist and Vrbanc (2016) highlighted that Volvo cars Similarly, Lipscomb and Lewis (2004) argued that Six Sigma is an
had outperformed the Swedish construction industry due to their quality effective method for managing smart city claims. The methods of DMAIC
awareness and Six Sigma process controls. The authors proposed that the and DMADV allow administrators to recognize a wide variety of factors
construction industry should adopt the lean Six Sigma philosophy. that drive total loss costs and create meaningful and effective measures.
Further, it should include quality awareness in their company cultures to These include outcome-focused claims practices, loss mitigation, pro-
move towards zero defects in the product and processes. Similarly, gram satisfaction, cost of risk, operational effectiveness, and capital
Hussain et al. (2019) proposed integrating and adopting green, lean, and management. Six Sigma best practices should be divided into procedural
Six Sigma methods for improving the quality of the construction sector and outcomes approaches to manage claims in smart cities effectively.
in Pakistan. Thus, lean adoption merged with Six Sigma methods can The third-ranked groups in improvement construct are that of change
help improve and streamline the processes involved in smart city management and waste reduction. These groups have a count of ten arti-
management. cles, a category score of around 11 %, an overall score of around 11 %,
The third-ranked groups in the design-construct are that of product and overall ranks of seven and nine, respectively. Hussain et al. (2019)
development and quality development. These have a count of six, a cate- listed change resistance by suppliers and organizations, readiness to
gory score of 15 %, an overall score of around two percent, and an change, and cultural change resistance as critical barriers to integrating
overall rank of 17 and 18, respectively, among all DMADICV groups. green, lean, and Six Sigma in the construction industry. This is com-
Shan and Li (2013) argued that integrating and applying lean principles plemented by Siddiqui et al. (2016), who highlighted change manage-
and Six Sigma in residential construction can improve the finished ment, effective change control protocols, and the willingness to change
product quality. The authors proposed a residential production and as critical factors for Six Sigma implementation. In terms of waste
construction process management tool for the residential construction reduction, Negi et al. (2017) and Linde and Philippov (2020) outlined
industry to achieve the zero-defects quality goal by integrating lean and that the key waste in construction and overall project management
Six Sigma. Similarly, Setijono and Al-Aomar (2012) proposed the processes can be considerably reduced through Six Sigma-based meth-
concept of Six Sigma ratings for adopting lean and Six Sigma to improve odologies. Accordingly, the current study uses the Six Sigma DMADICV
product and quality development. According to the authors, 27 types of method for change management, waste reduction, and overall smart city
wastes are generated in construction processes. Defects are the most management. The remaining groups related to improvement construct
common type of construction waste controlled by integrating Six Sigma and their key factors and processes are listed in Table 6.
rating into a lean construction framework.
Further other wastes such as overprocessing and delays can also be 4.2.6. Control & verification related factors, processes, and groups
addressed through such a framework. Such frameworks can measure Table 7 presents the factors, processes, and pertinent groups related
progress and guide improvement in processes that can be adopted in to the control & verification construct of the DMADICV method for
smart cities to improve their management. The remaining groups of smart city management. This construct houses seven key groups of
design-related factors are presented in Table 5. factors and has a total share of more than 14 % among all the DMADICV
constructs.
4.2.5. Improvement related factors, processes, and groups The top-ranked factor group in the control & verification construct is
The improvement-related factors, processes, and pertinent groups as that of cost control. This group has a count of 12, a category score of more
per the DMADICV method for smart city management are shown in than 32 %, an overall score of around five percent, and an overall rank of
Table 6. This construct has 11 key groups of factors, with a total share of five among all DMADICV groups. Parekh et al. (2020) discussed that Six
around 36 % among all the DMADICV constructs. Sigma techniques could help save costs and control the project finish
The top-ranked group of factors in the improvement construct is that quality, decreasing the need for reworks. However, Hussain et al. (2019)
of process quality improvement. This was expected as Six Sigma is a pro- argued that developing countries might be hesitant to adopt Six Sigma
cess improvement technique, so all the relevant articles should be dis- processes due to the lack of awareness of improved productivity and
cussing this in some way. Accordingly, this is the highest-ranked group higher initial costs associated with devising the implementation sys-
among all groups of the DMADICV method. It has a count of 21, a tems. Setijono and Al-Aomar (2012) argued that the cost control aspect
category score of around 23 %, and an overall score of more than eight could be further improved due to adopting lean Six Sigma that reduces
percent. Adams et al. (2013) discussed the quality management process waste. The same can be used in smart cities where costs can be
approach in the construction equipment manufacturing process. The controlled due to the Six Sigma DMADICV method.
authors argue that Six Sigma should be implemented using TQM as a The second-ranked group in the control & verification construct is
foundation for holistic process quality improvement. The two tech- that of schedule control. This group has a count of seven, a category score
niques can complement each other and lead to overall process im- of around nine percent, an overall score of about three percent, and an
provements in various sectors of smart cities. Durarca et al. (2015) overall rank of 13 among all DMADICV groups. Zhu et al. (2013) argued
discussed the quality assurance and improvement of water intended for that Six Sigma methods could reduce the time required for completing
technological and human consumption in smart cities. According to the projects with lesser costs and enhanced quality. Similarly, Okonkwo and
authors, Six Sigma methodologies can improve the water quality in- Mbachu (2015) discussed that Six Sigma methods could provide better
dicators and the overall process quality for more sustainable water finish quality due to enhanced project management capabilities, a lesser
consumption in smart cities. need for reworks, detailed performance measurement, and reduced
The second-ranked group in improvement construct is that of orga- time. Based on these studies, it can be inferred that Six Sigma can help
nizational development. This group is the overall second-ranked group better manage the timelines and schedules in smart cities.
among all DMADICV constructs and has a count of 19, a category score The third-ranked group in the control & verification construct is that
of 20.65 %, and an overall score of more than seven percent. It includes of organizational control. This group has a count of five, a category score
all the core factors and processes of organizational development such as of 13.5 %, an overall score of around two percent, and an overall rank of
capability improvement, leadership improvement, operation manage- 22 among all DMADICV groups. Siddiqui et al. (2016) highlighted the
ment, business processes optimization, benchmarking organization ca- commitment of top management and organizational controls as critical
pabilities, teamwork, quality awareness, performance improvement, factors for implementing Six Sigma in construction organizations. Ac-
innovation, credibility, strategic vision, quality compliance, and others cording to the authors, the more control an organization has over its
13
Table 7
Control & verification related factors, processes, and groups.
Cost Control Increasing Construction Costs, Cost 12 32.43 4.65 1 5 (Agina-Obu, 2015; Hui, 2002; Hussain et al.,
Reduction, Transparency of Expenditure, 2019; Kadry, 2013; Koziołek & Derlukiewicz,
Budget Management 2012; Linde & Philippov, 2020; Lovera &
Cristina, 2015; Negi et al., 2017; Okonkwo &
Mbachu, 2015; Parekh et al., 2020; Setijono &
Al-Aomar, 2012; Zhu et al., 2013)
Schedule Control Meet Deadlines and Budget Deficit, Time 7 18.92 2.71 2 13 (Agina-Obu, 2015; Hussain et al., 2019; Linde
Control, Time Utilization Efficiency & Philippov, 2020; Okonkwo & Mbachu, 2015;
Ribes García, 2014; Setijono & Al-Aomar, 2012;
Zhu et al., 2013)
Organization Improper Control of Priorities, Project 5 13.51 1.94 3 22 (Adams et al., 2013; Al Dairi, 2017; Lovera &
Control Management Skills, And Commitment of Cristina, 2015; Siddiqui et al., 2016; Taner,
Top Management, Defect Management, 2013)
Policy Deployment, Six Sigma Ratings
Overheads Loss Control, Overhead Costs Control, 4 10.81 1.55 4 27 (Agina-Obu, 2015; Linde & Philippov, 2020;
Control Budget Control Okonkwo & Mbachu, 2015; Setijono &
Al-Aomar, 2012)
Communication Communication Control and Verification 3 8.11 1.16 5 29 (Keskin, 2019; Siddiqui et al., 2016; Taner,
Control 2013)
Emissions Control Emissions Control, Carbon Emissions 3 8.11 1.16 6 30 (Hussain et al., 2019; Kadry, 2013)
Control
Govt Support and Government Support, Political 3 8.11 1.16 7 32 (Keskin, 2019; Shan & Li, 2013; Xu & Yan,
Policies Environment, Population Control, 2011)
Resident’s Quality Development,
Government Supervision, National Policy
Total 100 14.33
processes and resources; its project management will be better. Six Table 7, along with their key factors and processes.
Sigma can provide such controls.
Similarly, Taner (2013) discussed the leadership skills and commit-
4.3. The holistic systems model for DMADICV method application in
ment of top management, cross-functional teamwork, and commitment
smart cities
of middle managers tantamount to the project success. Thus, more
organizational control and broader scale policies facilitate the adoption
Based on the DMADICV constructs, a six-layer systems model is
of Six Sigma. This can be used to adopt Six Sigma strategies for the
presented for smart city management through Six Sigma, shown in
holistic management of smart cities. The remaining groups are listed in
Fig. 8. Each layer corresponds to the Define, Measure, Analyze, Design,
Fig. 8. The holistic systems model for DMADICV application in smart cities.
14
Improve, and Control & Verify constructs within the DMADICV model. providing incentives and controlled through fines for non-
The model consists of three levels, where, at the first or central level, conformance.
smart city management is improved through six DMADICV constructs. • In the last layer, the conformance to approved DMADICV plans,
At level two, the DMADICV method groups are listed, whereas, at the management techniques, and quality standards is verified, regularly
outer level (level three), the key factors and processes as detailed in monitored, and approved or rejected accordingly for all participating
section 4.2 are linked to the DMADICV groups. The process flows in such organizations.
as way that the level three factors and processes are managed and in-
tegrated to control level two groups. These groups are used to monitor Using these layers, the smart city can be managed through the Six
and control the layers at level one. Overall, the model ensures that all Sigma-based DMADICV method, where the processes can be integrated
three levels are integrated and perform in a holistic way to ensure proper and emergent issues resolved immediately, thus transiting towards
smart city management. At the center of the model lies the layers that smart management and smart governance in smart cities.
work in an iterative way where all the key information is shared with
other layers and managed to work as a single connected system. 5. Conclusions
Accordingly, a six-step iterative process is followed where the infor-
mation and control measures are shared between all constructs of the Six The current study provides a conceptual framework for adopting Six
Sigma DMADICV model for smart city management. Sigma in smart cities. A new method of DMADICV is proposed for this
Fig. 9 provides a high-level model of the Six Sigma-powered smart purpose that combines the current Six Sigma methods: DMAIC and
city management using the DMADICV method. The model aims to pro- DMADV or DFSS. A comprehensive review of systematically retrieved
vide smart citizens services where the technical management teams literature in the core fields of the built environment is conducted. This
support the city governance team for holistic smart city management. includes the areas of construction, architecture, urban planning, real
The iterative layers and associated information and knowledge sharing estate, and property management. These fields and smart cities are used
process are shown along with the key process groups in each layer. The as keywords to retrieve 34 relevant articles that are thoroughly reviewed
model operates in the following layers: to retrieve key factors and processes related to Six Sigma adoption in
smart cities.
• In the first layer, all issues and problems in the smart city are defined, The DMADICV method consists of six key constructs: Define, Mea-
the citizens’ requirements are gathered, and management goals are sure, Analyze, Design, Improve, and Control & Verify. Each construct is
defined. explained in the current study, and a conceptual linking framework is
• In the second layer, the processes performance of the smart city, the provided for smart city management. An assessment mechanism for
organizational management teams, and business organizations are measuring and testing the performance of smart city integrated pro-
measured considering the smart citizens’ requirements. cesses is also provided and discussed. This comprises measuring and
• In the third layer, the root causes of problems, variations, and non- controlling the cost of quality non-conformance, right documentation in
compliance issues are analyzed with the end goal of smart city the first time, timely implementation of control measures, and the ac-
management in mind. tivity processing index quality controls.
• In the fourth layer, the Six Sigma implementation process and its The related factors and processes for all constructs of the DMADICV
detailed plans are designed and shared with all participating method are retrieved from the relevant literature that is scored, ranked,
organizations. and placed into groups for proposing the conceptual framework.
• In the fifth layer, the root causes of non-conformance to the Six Accordingly, the define construct comprises the critical groups of quality
Sigma DMADICV method are eliminated. This is supported by management, DMAIC, process definitions, DMADV, expert manage-
ment, problem solutions, define, characterize, optimize and verify
Fig. 9. Six Sigma powered smart city management model.
15
(DCOV), and socio-economic approach to management (SEAM). The through the proposed framework. Six Sigma-based DMADICV method
measure construct comprises process quality measurement, organization can help improve smart city processes, link participating organizations,
capabilities, charts and graphs, scheduling measurement, product and address emergent issues. The proposed model is by far the first study
requirement, and software usage. The analyze construct comprises pro- targeted at managing smart cities through Six Sigma methodologies. The
cess analysis, product analysis, and knowledge-based analysis models. proposed DMADICV model is a humble addition to the body of knowl-
The design construct includes the project management plan, lean adop- edge and Six Sigma literature that can be adopted and utilized in other
tion, product development, quality development, IT usage, infrastruc- knowledge fields. The current study directly addresses and humbly
ture design and integration, and value design. The improvement construct contributes to the smart cities and resilient environments, smart city
consists of process quality improvement, organizational development, governance, and decision support systems for trade-off and uncertainty
change management, waste reduction, value creation, personal devel- analysis for improved management of cities and society. This study will
opment, sustainability, improved services, quantification, resource attract a diverse audience, such as the city management team, civil
optimization, and stakeholder coordination. Whereas the control & verify engineers, policymakers, government officials, politicians, planners, and
construct consists of cost control, schedule control, organizational con- urban regeneration specialists. The current study is limited to the
trol, overheads control, communication control, emissions control, and retrieved data set only, as provided in Appendix A. In the future, when
government support and policies. there are more studies focused on smart cities, a new study conducted in
In terms of the contributions and shares in the DMADICV framework, a different context may yield different results. Accordingly, the proposed
improvement construct has the highest share with a percentage of 35.67 model can be modified to include other aspects not considered in the
%, followed by define with 16.76 %, design with 15.52 %, control & current study.
verify with 14.33 %, measure with 10.08 %, and analyze with 8.15 %
respectively. The top ten ranked groups for realizing smart city man- Funding
agement through the Six Sigma DMADICV method include process
quality improvement, organizational development, process analysis, This research did not receive any specific grant from funding
quality management, cost control, DMAIC, change management, project agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
management plan, waste reduction, and process quality measurement
and value creation respectively. Declaration of Competing Interest
The DMADICV framework and its dynamic relations are shown
through a system model and its key groups represented in layers of smart The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
city management. The city governance and management teams can interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
effectively and efficiently provide services to their smart citizens the work reported in this paper.
Appendix A. List of all retrieved and shortlisted articles and their details
Authors Title Year Source Google Citations Cites Cites Authors Age
Scholar Per Per count
Rank year author
V Parekh, K Application of Six Sigma on METRO 2020 CIGOS 2019, Innovation for 34 2 2 1 3 1
Solanki, N Rail Construction Project Sustainable Infrastructure. Springer,
Prajapati Singapore, 2020.
I Linde, D Applying Lean Six Sigma in 2020 Access Journal 35 0 0 0 2 1
Philippov construction. World practice
experience
K Hussain, Z He, Green, lean, Six Sigma barriers at a 2019 Building and Environment 10 26 26 7 4 1
N Ahmad, M glance: a case from the construction
Iqbal sector of Pakistan
P Keskin Process capability analysis (PCA) of 2019 Thesis: Izmir Institute of Technology, 113 0 0 0 1 1
tender evaluation process in public Architecture
agencies
S Kadry Sustainable Development of the 2018 Book: Understanding Six Sigma 26 0 0 0 1 2
Environment Using Six Sigma
PS Negi, A Six Sigma in construction industry: a 2017 International Journal of Productivity 25 7 2.33 2 4 3
Mandaliya, A review and Quality Management
Mahida…
JSS Al Dairi The design and development of a 2017 Thesis: Univeristy of Bradford, UK 96 0 0 0 1 3
knowledge-based lean Six Sigma
maintenance system for sustainable
buildings. The design and
development of a hybrid …
SQ Siddiqui, F Six Sigma in construction: a review of 2016 International Journal of Lean Six 36 39 6.71 47 4 4
Ullah, MJ critical success factors Sigma
Thaheem, HF
Gabriel
O Sjöqvist, M Exploring the Suitability of Six Sigma 2016 Thesis: Chalmers Sweden 64 0 0 0 2 4
VRBANC in Major Swedish Construction
Companies
SP Goffnett, L Using the socio-economic approach to 2016 International Journal of Productivity 87 0 0 0 2 4
Lepisto, R management to augment Lean Six and Performance Management
Hayes Sigma
VO Okonkwo, VM A Comparative analysis of application 2015 European Journal of Engineering and 28 7 1.4 4 2 5
Mbachu of Six Sigma project management Technology
(continued on next page)
16
(continued )
Rank year author
technique in small and medium scale

construction companies in Nigeria
DL Lovera, M Application of Six Sigma in 2015 Thesis: Polimi Italy 38 0 0 0 2 5
Cristina construction
ION Durbacă, EF A new alternative of improving water 2015 Journal of Engineering Studies & 60 0 0 0 3 5
Radu quality consumption indicators using Research
current statistical approach Six Sigma
(6σ).
JT Agina-Obu Applicability of Six Sigma in Nigerian 2015 International Journal of Economics 71 2 0.4 2 1 5
Fabrication Companies: Case of and Business Management
Aveon Offshore in Port Harcourt
R Antunes, V A production model for construction: 2015 Buildings 86 128 25.6 64 2 5
Gonzalez A theoretical framework
F Ribes García Six Sigma implementation within the 2014 Thesis: Universitat Politècnica de 62 0 0 0 1 6
Building Construction Industry: a case València
study of the Research Building
Construction
J Yuan, H Fei, Z Research of the evaluation indicators 2014 Recent Developments in Evaluation 77 1 0.17 0 3 6
Ju and methods of asphalt pavement of Pavements and Paving Materials
surface segregation based on Six
Sigma
D Hansen Decoding the productivity code: 2014 Thesis: DTU Denmark 119 2 0.33 2 1 6
Towards an improvement theory for
sustainable organizational
performance
Y Shan, Z Li Integration and application of lean 2013 Proceedings of 2012 3rd 8 4 0.57 2 2 7
principles and Six Sigma in residential International Asia Conference on
construction Industrial Engineering and
Management Innovation (IEMI2012)
J Zhu, P Mao, M Design Process Optimization Method 2013 Applied Mechanics and Materials 14 0 0 0 3 7
Li of Indemnificatory Housing Project
Based on DMAIC Theory
S Kadry Six Sigma methodology for the 2013 Mechanism Design for Sustainability 26 0 0 0 1 7
environment sustainable
development
E Adams, E Sabet, Quality management approach in 2013 Proceedings of 24th Annual POMS 40 0 0 0 4 7
A Spencer, B construction equipment (Production and Operations
Yazdani manufacturing Management Society) Conference,
Denver, Colorado, United States,
3−6 May 2013, Denver, Colorado
MT Taner Critical success factors for Six Sigma 2013 International Review of Management 55 47 6.71 47 1 7
implementations in large-scale and Marketing
Turkish construction companies
MF Tchidi, Z He, Process and quality improvement 2012 Journal of Civil Engineering and 20 46 5.75 15 3 8
YB Li using Six Sigma in construction Management
industry
S Koziołek, D Method of assessing the quality of the 2012 Automation in Construction 21 39 4.88 20 2 8
Derlukiewicz design process of construction
equipment with the use of DFSS
(design for Six Sigma)
D Setijono, R Al- A lean construction framework with 2012 International Journal of Lean Six 23 74 9.25 37 2 8
Aomar Six Sigma rating Sigma
GS Adure, SS Process improvement in construction 2012 Global Journal of Engineering and 31 2 0.25 1 2 8
Kulkarni industry through Six Sigma approach Applied Sciences
W Xu, Y Yan On the initial establishment of quality 2011 Applied Mechanics and Materials 45 0 0 0 2 9
assurance system for indemnificatory
housing
OB Kwon, SH Lee Improving the Efficiency of DMAIC 2010 Korean Journal of Construction 5 0 0 0 2 10
Application Process through the Case Engineering and Management
Studies of Practical Six Sigma
Construction Projects
M Dabbaghi Performance Improvement in 2010 Thesis: University of Boras 42 0 0 0 1 10
Tehrani Construction Project based on Six
Sigma Principles
LH Forbes, SM Modern construction: lean project 2010 Book: Modern construction: lean 110 478 47.8 239 2 10
Ahmed delivery and integrated practices project delivery and integrated
practices
B Lipscomb, A The principles of Six Sigma: building 2004 Risk Management 2 12 0.75 6 2 16
Lewis a quality claims management
program
YS Lee, SH Park, Management innovation of Real 2004 Journal of the Korean Society for 30 2 0.13 1 3 16
BJ Cho Estate Business using Six Sigma Quality Management
Methodology: Strategy planning and
Critical Success Factors
(continued on next page)
17
(continued )
Rank year author
MOKSZE HUI An Exploratory Study of Six Sigma in 2002 Thesis: NUS Singapore 46 0 0 0 1 18
Construction
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Sustainable Cities and Society 72 (2021) 103022

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Sustainable Cities and Society

Managing smart cities through six sigma DMADICV method: A

Fig. 1. Research methodology adopted in the current study.

interrelationships of smart cities in Indonesia (Firmansyah, Supangkat,

Fig. 3. The DMADICV model for smart city management.

to measure this criterion.

Where NDERi refers to the number of document error reports generated

3.2.3. Timely implementation of control measures (TICM)

Where NTTi refers to the number of tests performed in time by the

3.2.4. Activity processing index (API)

Fig. 7. Classification of articles based on study type conducted.

4.2. Factors and processes identification, and DMADICV constructs

This construct houses eight key groups of definition-related factors. The

considerably enhanced by integrating it with lean principles (Ansah &

key stakeholders of the organization. Such a holistic method can do

enhanced quality of services, and efficient resource management can

improve city management.

such an application of Six Sigma reduces project waste, improves the

be an efficient process to minimize waste generation in smart city

management processes based on these results. Keskin (2019) discussed

Process Capability Analysis (PCA) can improve this procurement process

Process definition is the third-ranked group in definition-related

constructs. It consists of two main factors or processes: PCA and Qual-

Sigma implementation for process improvement in construction and

argued that it could significantly eliminate the defects in structures.

Further, the risk is reduced, and the process capability is enhanced.

Socio-economic Approach to Management

Similarly, Agina-Obu (2015) discussed the implementation of Six

Information, Quality Assurance

Sigma in fabrication companies and argued that it could create an

losses in production, save money, materials, and reputation. Accord-

ingly, it can be inferred that a sophisticated quality management system

4.2.2. Measurement related factors, processes, and groups

to the measurement construct of the DMADICV method for smart city

management. Measurement construct houses six critical groups of fac-

The maximum count of eight articles is recorded for the group of

Fig. 9. Six Sigma powered smart city management model.

technique in small and medium scale

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