DMADV
Definition
DMADV (Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Verify) is a Six Sigma methodology for designing new products, services, or processes to meet customer requirements at Six Sigma quality levels, used when no existing process can be improved to meet the goal.
DMADV is sometimes called DFSS, Design for Six Sigma. It's the twin of DMAIC: use DMAIC to improve something that exists, use DMADV to design something new from the ground up, or when a process improvement effort reveals the existing process is too fundamentally flawed to fix.
The five DMADV phases:
Define: Identify the project goals, customer requirements, and business case. Same as DMAIC Define.
Measure: Quantify customer needs and specifications in measurable terms. What does 'good' look like in numbers? Translate customer voice (VOC) into CTQs (Critical to Quality characteristics).
Analyze: Evaluate multiple design alternatives. Use benchmarking, simulation, and feasibility analysis. Select the design approach that best meets CTQs and constraints.
Design: Develop the detailed design. Build and test prototypes. Optimize the design to hit the CTQ targets.
Verify: Validate the final design under real or simulated conditions. Confirm performance meets CTQs. Pilot, then hand off to the process owner.
DMADV projects appear in manufacturing (designing a new production line), software (designing a new platform from scratch), healthcare (designing a new patient care pathway), and service design (designing a new customer onboarding experience). The Analyze and Design phases generate heavy whiteboard activity, design alternatives get sketched and compared, prototype concepts get drawn, CTQ tradeoffs get mapped.
Examples
- New software product: Define requirements → Measure what users need in quantifiable terms → Analyze three architecture approaches → Design the chosen architecture → Verify with beta users
- New hospital intake process: Define CTQs (wait time, accuracy, patient satisfaction) → Measure current benchmarks → Analyze intake flow designs → Design new digital intake → Verify in pilot ward
- New financial product: Define regulatory and customer requirements → Measure risk tolerance and market size → Analyze product structures → Design pricing and terms → Verify with focus groups
- New manufacturing line: Define output targets → Measure material properties → Analyze equipment options → Design the production cell → Verify with pilot run
Related terms
Snap a dmadv. Ship its actions.
BoardSnap turns any whiteboard, including this one, into a summary and action plan.