Design for six sigma

Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) focuses on performing additional work up front to assure you fully
understand the customer's needs and expectations prior to design completion. DFSS requires
involvement by all stakeholders in every function.

• Six Sigma is a system that balances and optimizes the people in your company with the
production process to give the best product quality, sales, and customer service.
 • The six-sigma design always emphasizes that success
means a win-win situation for both businesses and customers. Clients get the best products
and services, and the companies make a good profit.
• Contrary to popular belief, passable goods and services aren’t going to generate the revenue
a company needs.
• A good example is a football team. Lesser practices may be cheaper in the long run, but it
results in passable plays and poorly coordinated teams.
• With Six Sigma, the higher-ups need to know what they’re doing or are at least committed
to seeing the change process finish.
• Implementing your six sigma design has to happen in one area of a company at a time.
• Hard data and good observation on your processes is the best way to determine areas for
improvement.
• The way to determine the starting point is to “pick the low-hanging fruit”.
The basic DMADV method consists of the following five steps:
1. Define: Define design goals that are consistent with customer demands.
2. Measure: Identify and measure product characteristics that are critical to quality (CTQ).
3. Analyze: Analyze to develop design alternatives, create a high-level design, and evaluate
design capability to select the best design.
4. Design: Complete design details, optimize the design, and plan for design verification.
5. Verify: Verify the design, set up pilot runs, implement the production process, and hand
it over to the process owners.
DMADV is also known as DFSS, an abbreviation of Design for Six Sigma.

Pyzdek model of DMAIC on a Six Sigma project.