THE DEFINE, MEASURE, ANALYZE, IMPROVE, CONTROL (DMAIC) PROCESS
Nafi Alonaizi
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Nafi Alonaizi
Senior Healthcare Subject Matter Expert | Health Sector Transformation | Qualitative Researcher
Define, measure, analyze, improve, and control (DMAIC) is a data-driven quality strategy used to improve processes. The letters in the acronym represent the five phases that make up the process, including the tools to use to complete those phases. It is an integral part of a Six Sigma initiative, but in general can be implemented as a standalone quality improvement procedure or as part of other process improvement initiatives such as lean.
THE DMAIC PROCESS
- Define the problem, improvement activity, opportunity for improvement, the project goals, and customer (internal and external) requirements.
- Project charter to define the focus, scope, direction, and motivation for the improvement team
- Voice of the customer to understand feedback from current and future customers indicating offerings that satisfy, delight, and dissatisfy them
- Value stream map to provide an overview of an entire process, starting and finishing at the customer, and analyzing what is required to meet customer needs
2. Measure process performance.
- Process map for recording the activities performed as part of a process
- Capability analysis to assess the ability of a process to meet specifications
- Pareto chart to analyze the frequency of problems or causes
3. Analyze the process to determine root causes of variation and poor performance (defects).
- Root cause analysis (RCA) to uncover causes
- Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) for identifying possible product, service, and process failures
- Multi-vari chart to detect different types of variation within a process
4. Improve process performance by addressing and eliminating the root causes.
- Design of experiments (DOE) to solve problems from complex processes or systems where there are many factors influencing the outcome and where it is impossible to isolate one factor or variable from the others
- Kaizen event to introduce rapid change by focusing on a narrow project and using the ideas and motivation of the people who do the work
5. Control the improved process and future process performance.
- Quality control plan to document what is needed to keep an improved process at its current level
- Statistical process control (SPC) for monitoring process behavior
- 5S to create a workplace suited for visual control
- Mistake proofing (poka-yoke) to make errors impossible or immediately detectable