DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control) is the Six Sigma problem-solving cycle. It's more disciplined than a kaizen event and better suited to problems where you don't know the cause yet.
The five phases
- Define: what problem are you solving, for whom, and how will you know it's solved?
- Measure: baseline the current state with real data. If you can't measure it you can't improve it.
- Analyse: find the root causes. This is where 5 Whys, fishbone, and statistical analysis live.
- Improve: design and pilot changes. Prove they work at small scale before rolling out.
- Control: institutionalise the change. New standard work, new metrics, new audits.
When to use DMAIC vs kaizen
- DMAIC when the root cause is unclear or the problem is data-heavy (defect rate, quality, variation).
- Kaizen when the problem is visible on the floor and the fix is likely to be operational (layout, sequencing, WIP).