Dmaic Dmadv
Dmaic Dmadv
Dmaic Dmadv
DMAIC (Define—Measure—Analyze—Improve—Control)
DMAIC is the more well-known and most-used LSS project method. DMAIC focuses
on improving an existing process by incorporating the following phases:
Phase Description
Measure: Collect data from the process to establish a baseline for the
improvements.
Project charter to define the focus, scope, direction, and motivation for the
improvement team
Voice of the customer to understand feedback from current and future customers
indicating offerings that satisfy, delight, and dissatisfy them
Analyze the process to determine root causes of variation and poor performance
(defects).
Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) for identifying possible product, service,
and process failures
Kaizen event to introduce rapid change by focusing on a narrow project and using
the ideas and motivation of the people who do the work
when an existing process or product already exists but still needs to meet a Six
Sigma level or customer specification.
Define
The goals of the first phase are to identify the purpose of the project, process or
service, to identify and then set realistic and measurable goals as seen from the
perspectives of the organization and the stakeholder(s), to create the schedule and
guidelines for the review and to identify and assess potential risks. A clear definition
of the project is established during this step, and every strategy and goal must be
aligned with the expectations of the company and the customers.
Measurement
Next comes measuring the factors that are critical to quality, or CTQs. Steps taken
should include: defining requirements and market segments, identifying the critical
design parameters, designing scorecards that will evaluate the design components
more important to the quality, reassessing risk and assessing the production
process capability and product capability. Once the values for these factors are
known, then an effective approach can be taken to start the production process. It
is important here to determine which metrics are critical to the stakeholder and to
translate the customer requirements into clear project goals.
Analysis
Actions taken during this phase will include: developing design alternatives,
identifying the optimal combination of requirements to achieve value within
constraints, developing conceptual designs, evaluating then selecting the best
components, then developing the best possible design. It is during this stage that
an estimate of the total life cycle cost of the design is determined. After thoroughly
exploring the different design alternatives, what is the best design option available
for meeting the goals?
Design
This stage of DMADV includes both a detailed and high level design for the selected
alternative. The elements of the design are prioritized and from there a high level
design is developed. Once this step is complete, a more detailed model will be
prototyped in order to identify where errors may occur and to make necessary
modifications.
Verify
In the final phase, the team validates that the design is acceptable to all
stakeholders. Will the design be effective in the real world? Several pilot and
production runs will be necessary to ensure that the quality is the highest possible.
Here, expectations will be confirmed, deployment will be expanded and all lessons
learned will be documented. The Verify step also includes a plan to transition the
product or service to a routine operation and to ensure that this change is
sustainable.
For any DMADV project, there may be more emphasis on certain components of the
approach over others, though the goal remains the same: to address an identified
issue and produce desired results in a way that can be maintained through normal
operations.
DMADVO is a lesser known DFSS method. The difference between DMADV and
DMADVO is that “O” or “Optimize” has been added. Thus, DMADVO prioritizes the
need for the organization to optimize the design after implementation.
DMAIC vs DMADV
For developing a new product, service or process, there’s a modified version called
DFSS (Design for Six Sigma). The process most often used in DFSS is called
DMADV (Define—Measure—Analyze—Design—Verify).
• DMAIC addresses the current process; DMADV addresses the design process.
• DMAIC reduces/eliminates defects (reactive); DMADV prevents defects
(proactive).
• DMAIC includes specific solutions; DMADV is part of the solution design
process.
• DMAIC includes controls to sustain the gains; DMADV includes verification
and validation of the finished design.
DMAIC and DMADV provide a structured process for improvement. When applied
properly with the applicable improvement tools, they can help ensure the success of
your LSS projects, which can reduce costs and increase customer satisfaction.