DMAIC

DMAIC was developed by Edwards Deming and is one of two major methodologies for the Six Sigma system. The Six Sigma system, a registered trademark of Motorola Corporation, seeks to identify and reduce the causes of defect (errors) and minimize variations in both business and manufacturing processes in order to improve quality of process outputs. DMAIC is useful in improving an existing business process to reduce defects. In any situation, whether it be it physical (i.e. manufacturing) or transactional that is producing measurable results, the DMAIC process can be applied.

THE DMAIC FIVE PHASES

DEFINE – This is the first step in the process. At this step, the problem, the process, and specific goals are defined. These have to be consistent with the customer’s demands and the business strategy. This phase should contain the standard information for a project management charter such as purpose, scope, roles, budget, and expected outcomes.

MEASURE – A base measurement has to be established to determine whether or not defects have been reduced. Therefore data has to be collected and measured which will determine the factors that have influence over the outcome of the process or procedure.

ANALYZE – This step is where the data under investigation is analyzed to determine the cause and effect relationships. In order to fix any problem successfully, the cause and effect must be considered.

IMPROVE – After the data is analyzed, solutions are given as to how the defects can be lowered and processes are streamlined.

CONTROL – This is where control systems are implemented to continuously monitor the process. Therefore any variance or deviation will stand out and corrected before they can have a negative impact on the process by causing defects. Continued measurement and analysis must be continued to keep process on track and free of defects.

Timelines need to be estimated for each phase and also basic statistics that is already available and relevant to the project.

DMAIC SUITABILITY

Three characteristics that make a problem suitable for DMAIC are:

1. There is a gap between the actual and the necessary and desired performance.
2. The cause of the problem is not clear or not understood.
3. There is no predetermined solution and there is not an apparent optimal solution.
4. (Sobh, 2008, p. 167)

CONSIDERATIONS BEFORE USING DMAIC

Whether or not the data is available or easy to obtain
The existence of leadership support for improving the process
Whether or not the problem has a known solution that can easily be implemented and as such if DMAIC is needed in such a case.
The process needs to be directly related to key outcomes such as profitability, customer satisfaction, or employee satisfaction.

NOTES

The project team should develop a process for updating the new procedures when required. The update process will include updating the process map and user guides, communicating the changes to all involved, and modifying the monitoring plan. The team should plan for common changes such as shifts in employee roles, changes in customer specifications and replacements for existing technology.