Category: Design for Six Sigma (DFSS)

Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) can be accomplished using any one of many methodologies. IDOV is one popular methodology for designing products and services to meet Six Sigma standards. IDOV is a four-phase process that consists of Identify, Design, Optimize, and Verify. These four phases parallel the four phases of the traditional Six […]

One of the most confusing issues associated with someone saying “I’m using Six Sigma” has to do with what methodology they are using. A majority of the time they are using the DMAIC methodology because they have existing processes that are wasting resources (hence the big savings you’ve heard about at GE, Honeywell, […]

By employing Lean and Six Sigma techniques, Dr Pepper was able to embark on a journey that prioritized Rapid Continuous Improvement, a strategy that led to a number of savings for the organization that totaled over 100 million dollars. Dr Pepper Had a Problem Dr Pepper’s history traces all the way back to 1885 and […]

By understanding some of the components of Agile, you can learn to incorporate them into DMADV projects and drive positive results.

Design for Six Sigma (DFSS), or the Six Sigma DMADV process (Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Verify), is an improvement system used to develop new processes or products at Six Sigma quality levels. It also can be employed if a current process requires more than just incremental improvement. It is executed by Six Sigma Green Belts […]

Many of us – as Quality professionals – have implemented quality improvement projects throughout our careers. Best practices resulting from these implementations are paramount for: designing processes for Six Sigma (defect-free) production from the beginning, increasing business productivity on future projects, as well as not ‘reinventing the wheel.’ After recently implementing a technology project, I thought it […]

We know that everything in business is a process, right? 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. When the packing department has a problem with their […]

In the 21st century, new technologies will be developed and improved and will eventually be obsolete for the need of more advanced technologies. In this dynamically changing world, product cycles are expected to last for just a few months. To meet these demanding requirements product developers have to develop products in the shortest amount of […]

Finding ways to automate and improve business processes is a major focus for today’s organizations. At the heart of every business is a complicated web of human and automated processes. For the business to be as effective as possible, these processes must be as efficient as possible. Service-oriented architecture (SOA) is a concept whose time […]

A bad taste can prevent some people, particularly the young and the elderly, from taking a medication – which can endanger their health. Taste can also influence what over-the-counter drugs people purchase and the choice between generic and brand-name medications. Because taste is such a key factor in compliance and purchasing decisions, optimizing taste is […]

In the battle of “survival of the fittest,” every business must constantly re-evaluate its processes to improve how it delivers products or services to customers, while at the same time reducing its cost of doing business. Businesses that establish an effective continuous improvement culture will be able to sustain their competitive edge. Beginning in 2003, […]

The following case study illustrates how a pharmaceutical company applied selected DFSS (Design for Six Sigma) tools to develop a new recruiting process for sales representatives. Tools and activities are described along the IDOV (Identify, Design, Optimize, Verify) phases, which served as a guiding roadmap through this process design project. Identify The need to completely […]

When attending a performance by a symphony orchestra, the audience witnesses a tightly coupled, highly predictable process executed by a high-functioning multifunctional team. This is exactly how product development should be executed. Many similarities exist between an orchestra and the product development process. An orchestra’s “product” is delivered during the performance. The product is the […]

In serious software discussions, some ideas about Six Sigma that are being accepted as truths are a bit out of step with the latest facts and experience.

At its core, Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) is concerned with the accurate translation of what the customer wants into measurable characteristics, and then putting these characteristics into functions and design elements. The idea behind DFSS is intuitive and simple. If done well, a company will end up with a product that has what the […]

During the last several years, there has been a tremendous amount of discussion relating to the offshore outsourcing of software development work to achieve significant cost reductions. This has been an emerging trend for about a dozen years, but one that has been recently accelerated and subject to wild variations in success and efficiency. A […]

One of the big benefits of Six Sigma is the discipline it brings to the use of facts and measures to guide significant and predictable results. At first glance, that discipline might seem to fly in the face of the flexibility and creativity that also are very important in development and problem-solving. One potential collision […]

Integrating Design for Six Sigma (DFSS), IDOV (identify, design, optimize, validate) roadmap and selected DFSS tools in the information technology (IT) system development methodology can strengthen the business focus of IT system delivery. Adding additional steps at the beginning and end of the traditional system development cycle for DFSS can support the better understanding of […]

While several factors can drive the success or failure of a Six Sigma project, experienced project managers cite resource planning or allocation of resources as the greatest driver of success for larger projects. All three types of resources – materials, technology and people – must be used effectively. In particular, human resource management plays a […]

While there are more than a few connections between the Six Sigma DMAIC roadmap and Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI), some practitioners may not be aware of the connections between CMMI and Design for Six Sigma (DFSS). CMMI has four process categories, each contains several process areas that are associated with a maturity level (Table […]

Making a single DMAIC-DFSS roadmap elicits numerous coexistence and integration questions. Nonetheless, a combined core roadmap is possible.

“99.44 percent pure” “It takes a licking and keeps on ticking” “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight” “The ultimate driving machine” “We bring good things to life” For recent generations of Americans, the slogans above have become synonymous with the high-profile brands they represent. But these words are not simply clever taglines. They […]

With a robust quality improvement program in its emergency department (ED) since 1998, LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, has frequently used the routine analysis of operational data to improve its care for subsets of patients. Initiatives have successfully addressed pediatric patients with fever, acute coronary syndrome patients, endotracheal intubations and pain management, […]

Every organization faces the daunting task of executing projects that meet or exceed the expectations of its customers. That makes project management a key component of most enterprises, regardless of the business sector. Yet project management is not always met with organization-wide satisfaction. One major reason is that many project management offices (PMOs) are replicated […]