DMAIC is the Six Sigma’s trademark methodology. DMAIC is the acronym which stands for Define, Measure, Analise, Improve and Control. So, Six Sigma’s working methodology consists of five concrete steps. The ultimate aim is to identify low performing processes in the business and reduce the errors in those process by improving effectiveness and efficiencies of these processes.
Let’s see what DMAIC exactly is. The five steps in defined and explained one by one.
Define
This is the first step in the methodology. This is the step where business objectives, processes involved in a project etc. are defined During this stage the teams are formed. Customers requirements, their level of satisfaction needed etc. all are determined. During this stage process flowcharts are created and process charter is developed.
Measure
During this second step, the data is measured related to the processes. Also the current sigma levels of the processes are measured through various tools. The data measured is continuous and discrete. Besides sigma level of processes and repeatability and reproducibility of processes is taken into account.
Analyze
During analysis phase the data collected in second phase is analyzed. Low performing processes are identified and process teams try to identify the root cause of the problems in the low sigma processes.
Improvement
The analysis stage helps to define some solutions to improve the sigma levels of the processes. During this stage the teams design some solutions for improving sigma levels of the processes. This includes robust design concepts and process optimization.
Control
This stage is the last stage of DMAIC methodology. To retain the improvement in sigma level of processes, certain tools and techniques are applied at this level.
The content help has been taken from the book “The Six Sigma Handbook†by “THOMAS PYZDEKâ€.