Define, measure, analyze, improve, control, goes the mantra used to carry out improvement projects in many companies. In various books, these steps get slightly different interpretations. But the overall outline is still characterized by DMAIC. This article will show a proven way to simplify and expedite the use of the DMAIC model.

It is universally acknowledged that a process in need of improvement is one that needs to be operated on target with reduced variation. To operate on target, you’ll need to know when to adjust and when to refrain from adjusting. Failing to make a needed adjustment will increase the variation in the process outcomes, and making needless adjustments will also increase the variation in the process outcomes. To operate with minimum variance, you’ll need to operate the process predictably.

One hundred years ago, Walter Shewhart gave us an operational definition of how to get any process to operate predictably and on target. As we shall see, Shewhart’s approach answers all the questions raised by the DMAIC model.

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