The Six Sigma Article

DMAIC Versus DMADV

2008-02-07T06:11:00.000-08:00

We know that everything in business is a process, right? Sales people have a list of companies and contacts that they work in a certain fashion to produce a sale, production receives an order and schedules the manufacturing, the product is built, packaged, shipped and invoiced. When the packing department has a problem with their process, though, should they fix it with a DMAIC or DMADV (also referred to as DFSS) type project?
The Similarities of DMAIC and DMADVLet's first look at the DMAIC and DMADV methodologies and talk about how they're alike. DMAIC and DMADV are both:

Six Sigma methodologies used to drive defects to less than 3.4 per million opportunities.
Data intensive solution approaches. Intuition has no place in Six Sigma -- only cold, hard facts.
Implemented by Green Belts, Black Belts and Master Black Belts.
Ways to help meet the business/financial bottom-line numbers.
Implemented with the support of a champion and process owner.

The Differences of DMAIC and DMADVDMAIC and DMADV sound very similar, don't they? The acronyms even share the first three letters. But that's about where the similarities stop.

DMAIC

Define the project goals and customer (internal and external) deliverables
Measure the process to determine current performance
Analyze and determine the root cause(s) of the defects
Improve the process by eliminating defects
Control future process performance

When To Use DMAICThe DMAIC methodology, instead of the DMADV methodology, should be used when a product or process is in existence at your company but is not meeting customer specification or is not performing adequately

DMADV

Define the project goals and customer (internal and external) deliverables
Measure and determine customer needs and specifications
Analyze the process options to meet the customer needs
Design (detailed) the process to meet the customer needs
Verify the design performance and ability to meet customer needs

When To Use DMADV
The DMADV methodology, instead of the DMAIC methodology, should be used when:

A product or process is not in existence at your company and one needs to be developed
The existing product or process exists and has been optimized (using either DMAIC or not) and still doesn't meet the level of customer specification or six sigma level

"I Thought it was a DMAIC, But it Turned Out to be a DMADV!"Occasionally a project is scoped as a DMAIC for incremental process improvement when it really required a DMADV methodology improvement. And it was a month into the project that you realized this! Don't be discouraged about the work you put into the DMAIC because
1) it's happened to more businesses than just yours,
2) you understand the process at a much greater detail than you did initially, and
3) you were able to practice not just DMAIC skills but also DMADV!

Calculating the Cost and Savings of Six Sigma Quality

2008-02-07T06:04:00.000-08:00

One of the most distinct differences between Six Sigma and other quality management systems is the link to business finances. Financial benefits of potential process improvement projects are quantified and used to help select and prioritize process improvement projects. Financial benefits are re-evaluated during the analyze phase to ensure that the cost of improvements suggested will be supported by the benefit of the project. And finally, the financial benefits are verified once the project enters the control (for DMAIC) and verify (for DMADV) phases.

The rigor associated with linking Six Sigma projects to business financials helps connect everyone within the business -- not just the quality department and related personnel. The entire organization, including the CEO, CFO, line managers, employees, and shareholders, looks to Six Sigma to increase cost savings, productivity, and incremental revenue. It also helps differentiate substantial process improvements from insignificant 'fluff' projects that have little long-term benefit for the business

Six Sigma - What is Six Sigma?

2008-02-07T05:49:00.000-08:00

Six Sigma at many organizations simply means a measure of quality that strives for near perfection. Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects (driving towards six standard deviations between the mean and the nearest specification limit) in any process -- from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service.

The statistical representation of Six Sigma describes quantitatively how a process is performing. To achieve Six Sigma, a process must not produce more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities. A Six Sigma defect is defined as anything outside of customer specifications. A Six Sigma opportunity is then the total quantity of chances for a defect. Process sigma can easily be calculated using a Six Sigma calculator.

The fundamental objective of the Six Sigma methodology is the implementation of a measurement-based strategy that focuses on process improvement and variation reduction through the application of Six Sigma improvement projects. This is accomplished through the use of two Six Sigma sub-methodologies: DMAIC and DMADV. The Six Sigma DMAIC process (define, measure, analyze, improve, control) is an improvement system for existing processes falling below specification and looking for incremental improvement. The Six Sigma DMADV process (define, measure, analyze, design, verify) is an improvement system used to develop new processes or products at Six Sigma quality levels. It can also be employed if a current process requires more than just incremental improvement. Both Six Sigma processes are executed by Six Sigma Green Belts and Six Sigma Black Belts, and are overseen by Six Sigma Master Black Belts.

According to the Six Sigma Academy, Black Belts save companies approximately $230,000 per project and can complete four to 6 projects per year. General Electric, one of the most successful companies implementing Six Sigma, has estimated benefits on the order of $10 billion during the first five years of implementation. GE first began Six Sigma in 1995 after Motorola and Allied Signal blazed the Six Sigma trail. Since then, thousands of companies around the world have discovered the far reaching benefits of Six Sigma.

Many frameworks exist for implementing the Six Sigma methodology. Six Sigma Consultants all over the world have developed proprietary methodologies for implementing Six Sigma quality, based on the similar change management philosophies and applications of tools.