Six Sigma is a proven disciplined approach for improving measurable results for any organization. To achieve Six Sigma Certification, you must complete an actual Six Sigma project. The key to Six Sigma is the completion of leadership sponsored projects. And the key to successfully carrying out these projects is the methodology you are using.
Below is an overview of some of the methodologies.
The DMAIC. You use the DMAIC methodology when a product or process is in existence at your company but is not meeting customer specification or is not performing adequately. The DMAIC methodology involves the following five phases: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control. In some businesses, only four phases (Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) are used; in this case the Define deliverables are then considered pre-work for the project or are included within the Measure phase. There is even a DMAIIC, where the first I stands for Improve and the second I stands for Implement.
The DMAIC methodology breaks down as follows:
Define the project goals and customer (internal and external) requirements.
Measure the process to determine current performance.
Analyze and determine the root cause(s) of the defects.
Improve the process by eliminating defect root causes.
Control future process performance.
The DFSS. It is the acronym for Design For Six Sigma. You use DFSS to design or re-design a product or service from the ground up. The expected process Sigma level for a DFSS product or service is at least 4.5 (no more than approximately 1 defect per thousand opportunities), but can be 6 Sigma or higher depending the product. Producing such a low defect level from product or service launch means that customer expectations and needs (CTQs) must be completely understood before a design can be completed and implemented.
Unlike the DMAIC methodology, the phases or steps of DFSS are not universally defined. Each company or training organization will define DFSS differently, depending on their kind of business, industry and culture; other times they will implement the version of DFSS used by the consulting company they commission to assist them in the deployment. Because of this, DFSS is more of an approach than a defined methodology.
One popular Design for Six Sigma methodology is called DMADV. The five phases of DMADV are:
Define the project goals and customer (internal and external) requirements.
Measure and determine customer needs and specifications; benchmark competitors and industry.
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.
A slight modification on the DMADV methodology is DMADOV: Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Optimize and Verify.
There are a few other variations of DFSS that you might be interested to know about: DCCDI, IDOV and DMEDI.
How do you decide which methodology is best for your organization? The popular advice is to seek help from consultants or the published cases studies or books. In any case, according to Kerri Simon, a certified Six Sigma Quality Black Belt for a Fortune 100 company, “if you follow a detailed DFSS methodology, you may achieve high quality levels for new products and services. If you are interested in improving your existing products or services, DMAIC is a more appropriate methodology to use.”
Read more What Is DFSS? And how does Design For Six Sigma compare to DMAIC?
