Thursday, March 31, 2011

Six Sigma methodologies :: DMAIC and DMADV

DMAIC Vs DMADV

DMAIC and DMADV are two Six Sigma methodologies that eliminate defects from a process or product. It’s important to understand DMAIC and DMADV and when it is most appropriate to use each methodology.

Everything in business is a process. 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. If the packing department has a problem with their process then should they fix it with a DMAIC or DMADV (also referred to as DFSS) type project?

The Similarities of DMAIC and DMADV

Let'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 DMADV

DMAIC and DMADV sound very similar. The acronyms even share the first three letters. But that's about where the similarities stop.

DMAIC	Define		Define the project goals and customer (internal and external) deliverables
	Measure		Measure the process to determine current performance
	Analyze		Analyze and determine the root cause(s) of the defects
	Improve		Improve the process by eliminating defects
	Control		Control future process performance
DMADV		Define		Define the project goals and customer (internal and external) deliverables
		Measure		Measure and determine customer needs and specifications
		Analyze		Analyze the process options to meet the customer needs
		Design		Design (detailed) the process to meet the customer needs
		Verify		Verify the design performance and ability to meet customer needs

When to Use DMAIC

The 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.

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