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Analyze Phase of a Six Sigma DMAIC Project
Contact Toll Free in the US (866)
409-1363Email info_at_6sigma.com
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The DMAIC is one of Six Sigmas most effective
methodologies for solving a problem. It consists
of five steps, which are Define, Measure,
Analyze, Improve, and Control. In this article,
were going to talk about the Analyze phase the
third phase of DMAIC. Specifically, were going
to talk about what this phase is and the tools
teams can use to identify possible causes and
perform root cause analysis (RCA).
Source 6Sigma.com
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What is the Analyze Phase?
As the name suggests, the phase involves
analyzing the problem to determine the root
cause. This allows the Six Sigma project team to
tackle the problem at a deeper level and get rid
of it permanently. In a manufacturing process,
for example, this means investigating what is
leading to defects in the products. This is
something the customer does not want, which is
also known as variation.
Source 6Sigma.com
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Tools For Identifying Possible Causes
The Analyze phase involves identifying all
possible causes. Since this is Six Sigma, it
means that teams are in luck. There are tools
that they can use to take the guesswork out of
coming up with potential causes.
Source 6Sigma.com
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Here Are The Most Widely-Used Tools For Doing
This
Process map  This is a flowchart that shows the
process in its current state. This means all the
steps, actions, inputs, outputs, and other
details are illustrated for a better
understanding of the process as is. This allows
the team to visualize potential causes by looking
at the changes in the process. Fishbone
diagram  Also known as a cause-and-effect
diagram or Ishikawa diagram, a fishbone diagram
allows the team to group potential causes into
related categories. The problem being experienced
is written as the head of the fish. Each bone on
the spine represents a category. Then lines are
added to each bone, and these are the potential
causes.
Source 6Sigma.com
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Tools For Root Cause Analysis
After identifying the potential causes, the team
needs to perform a root cause analysis (RCA). The
main idea behind RCA is to eliminate the problem
at the root so that it does recur. This is
important because it means that resources arent
wasted on dealing with a superficial or wrong
cause.
Source 6Sigma.com
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Here are some popular RCA tools
Chi-square test This is a test performed to
determine whether there is statistical
significance between the expected and observed
outcomes. If the difference is statistically
significant, it means an independent cause is
responsible. Otherwise, it could be because of
chance and not worth further investigation. Regre
ssion analysis Regression analysis is a series
of statistical techniques that help identify
variables that lead to a particular result. In
this case, it can help tie which potential causes
have an impact on the problem being observed. The
team can then know which ones to ignore and which
ones pay close attention to, as well as how they
are related.