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>If improved to Six Sigma, accuracy is 99.99966%. That means only one of about every 294,000 pieces of vital information would be erroneously discarded.

How can someone know in advance what info is important? 6 Sigma works for manufacturing or highly regularized paper processes such as approving cookie cutter loans at GE Capital.

However can a 6 Sigma genius tell me if this information vital or not?--- 'A field agents observes there seem to be many Arabs at flight schools.' Well most Arab countries train their future pilots in the US. There have always been Arabs at flight schools. Can 6 Sigma tell me at what point does that info constitue a clue for further investigation or when should it get ignored?

How can someone know in advance what info is important?"

That is why some quantitative process improvement like Six Sigmna would help. The INS and other govt bureaucracies have no mechanism for fixing problems, it is like a seive. This would help get a handle on wher there a quality breakdowns, lapses, (eg why did they not deport Malvo? why did they give visas to dead terrorists? ) ... This all is management 101 type stuff, and the Federal Govt is *hopeless* if it cant even try this.

I am sure it will help if they try it sincerely and in mode of 'learning' and equally sure it is no silver bullet.