DMADV in Process Mapping

Taking the operations of a company and trying to create a new process is a large task. Due to business development and evolution, the ideal process will also constantly evolve. So how can someone measure the impact that their project had on the business?

Six Sigma is a methodology created to reduce waste and increase efficiency. It originated in the manufacturing industry and has spread across other industries to help all types of companies improve processes.[14]

DMADV[15] is a method used within Six Sigma. It is often used by project management, and it can help determine effectiveness of an operational process. DMADV stands for:

• Define
• Measure
• Analyze
• Design
• Verify

This methodology can be used broadly to help define a goal, or even to show the results of a project.

Define

Define the scope of the part of the process that is going to be targeted for change. As an example, we will use the “customer order to shipment” process. The scope is from the point the customer places the order until the order is shipped out of the warehouse.

Measure

Choose what specific business data can be measured at this point in the process. For the “customer order to shipment” process, good measurements could include:

• Hours from customer order to order confirmation.
• Days from order to shipment.

This data should then be pulled. If it is not already captured, then go back through the company systems to compile it.

Analyze

Analyze the compiled data to determine what the precise measurements are. For example:

• What is the average number of hours from customer order to customer confirmation?
• What is the average number of days from order to shipment?

Be specific with these measurements. Take the average for a week, a month, and a quarter.

Design

The new process is designed to improve the measurements of the current process. For example, say the project intends to decrease the number of days from order to shipment. Implementing an auto-invoicing process is awesome, but since invoicing generally happens as a separate process after the product ships, it will not affect that measurement. Be sure the measurement supports the defined goal.

Verify

When the new process is implemented, take the measurements at regular intervals and compare them to the original measurements to show the progress that the project has made. Improvement is a continual process, and there is always room for more. The DMADV method helps to ensure the project is moving in the right direction so that the project team gets the recognition it deserves.