I found this news article today: “To Use DMEDI or to Use DMAIC? That Is the Question.” Glad I found this because this is a crucial question for companies that are going into Six SIgma, such as those on my interview list.
So far only DMAIC and DFSS are mentioned. I think because when we talk of Six Sigma, DMAIC often comes to mind. But because of this article, I will definitely ask my succeeding interviewees about the roadmaps that they tried or have used.
The article introduced another roadmap, DMEDI, which is said to be useful for initiatives when the process being improved does not currently exist in any form. This statement is suspicious, though. Because there may be process improvements that don’t have properly placed documentation, yet the organization is currently working on it. Or the the process may even be performed differently by different teams. In that case, even in a very loose form, the DMAIC roadmap is more appropriate to follow through the Define and Measure phases to set a statistical baseline and to measure improvement.
At any rate, it will be helpful to look closely at these two roadmaps and how each benefits a particular industry.
DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) is an analytical, data-driven approach to eliminating weaknesses in active processes, products and services. DMAIC, which focuses on reducing variation and defects, produces incremental improvements.
DMEDI (Define, Measure, Explore, Develop, Implement) is a creative approach to designing new robust processes, products and services. This roadmap is focused on obtaining significant competitive advantages or quantum leaps over current environments. DMEDI projects typically require more time and resources to complete.
You may read a brief comparison of the DMAIC and DMEDI Six Sigma Roadmaps here.
Let’s see now how the two roadmaps benefit each industry or business environment.
| BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT | DMAIC | DMEDI |
| Transactional Business | Reduce cycle time and errors | Develop a new service order handling process |
| Service/Manufacturing | Identify causes and eliminate defects in molds | Weld new materials |
| Product Development | Reduce defects released in new software versions | New material development |
View the complete table.
To help you decide which Six Sigma roadmap is right for your kind of organization, view this flowchart.
