The DMAIC Six Sigma organization is at the core of Six Sigma practices. At their most basic, the DMAIC Six Sigma procedures offer a skeleton set of procedures for Six Sigma methods, but many people have set down guidelines based on each of the procedures to facilitate in-depth analysis. Black Belts and other Six Sigma specialists are generally the main organizers and designers of company improvement plans that are based on DMAIC Six Sigma.

Though the word is pronounced like duh-may-ick, the letters of DMAIC actually can be broken down into the five steps of the Six Sigma improvement process: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control. Many Six Sigma experts add an R onto either end--first for Recognize, then for Realize. By Recognizing the state of current operations, a team can open the door for improvement processes, starting with a lengthy Definition process.

The Stages of DMAIC Six Sigma

During the Define stage, a team will identify the goals of the entire operation by identifying the customer, and what is essential to customer satisfaction. This includes setting a scope for the project, and identifying those issues that are Critical to Quality. Next, the team will Measure the performance of the business practices involved and develop a plan for collecting data and Analyze that data. These steps often include comprehensive tests such as DoEs.

Once the key factors that are critical to success have been identified, they can be targeted and Improved upon. Team will work to create innovative solutions that effectively target the critical factors involved, and develop a Control plan to keep the improved processes from reverting. The Control plan usually includes a plan for the monitoring of processes, and new organizational ideas dedicated to the Realization of low standard deviation (3.4 defects per million).