In the Lean Six Sigma program the DMAIC (define, measure, analysis, improve, control) is deployed in conjunction with the Project to drive process improvement. In fact, Juran, the renowned quality guru said that breakthrough improvement (in the order of 50%) happens in no other way – project by project. He has been proven to be on the money as per the benchmark and most successful Lean Six Sigma companies like GE and Honeywell.
However, that does not mean that the logic behind the DMAIC cannot be used in everyday life. In many instances, we use it intuitively unknown to ourselves – e.g. we discover a water stain under the sink:
Therefore, the basic logic and closed loop approach behind the DMAIC can be quite useful in everyday situations but unfortunately it not used where it is most needed. The myriad of issues dominating the public airways e.g. the Ryan report, the endless tribunals, the reform of our Health Service, the reform of politics are all examples where the DMAIC loses Improve and Control and gets stuck permanently in the Analyse Phase with report after report gathering dust!
