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The Essence of Design

for Six Sigma

L. C. Tang

Design for Six Sigma has been proposed as a new breakthrough strategy for organi-
zations involved in product design and development. It has also been adopted for
the design and improvement of transactional processes. In this chapter, we present
an outline of the IDOV roadmap and the associated deliverables at each phase. Brief
descriptions of selected tools and concepts, such as QFD and reliability, which are not
covered in the traditional DMAIC training curriculum, are included. A table summa-
rizing the quality tools and their respective purposes is also presented.

4.1 INTRODUCTION

Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) was coined by General Electric (GE) in 1996 when
breakthrough improvements had to be derived from the design of their CT scan-
ners rather than from the production line in order to fulfill the much higher reliability
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requirements of customers. This is indeed a natural progression for companies en-
gaging in Six Sigma. After plucking most of the low hanging fruit, improvements
must be sought in upstream processes, particularly the design process. Excellence
in manufacturing has its limitations as it can never eradicate inherent design weak-
nesses. Product design imposes constraints on production processes. DFSS is thus
part of Six Sigma deployment strategies that start with manufacturing and permeate
through design, marketing, and administrative functions in a vertically integrated
enterprise.
The DMAIC quality improvement framework was found to be inadequate as it was
originally conceived for operational activities. Two common frameworks have since
been adopted: IDOV (identify, design, optimize, and validate) and DMADV (define,

Six Sigma: Advanced Tools for Black Belts and Master Black Belts L. C. Tang, T. N. Goh, H. S. Yam and T. Yoap
C 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
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