A Reference Guide To Each Tollgate in A DMAIC
A Reference Guide To Each Tollgate in A DMAIC
A Reference Guide To Each Tollgate in A DMAIC
By Patrick Waddick
The DMAIC methodology should be used when a product or process is in existence at your
company but is not meeting customer specification or is not performing adequately. For DMAIC
milestone reviews, there are certain deliverables, checkpoints, questions and concerns that the
Black Belt and improvement team should be aware of prior to a tollgate/milestone review.
In lieu of or in addition to your Master Black Belt tollgate/milestone preparation review, the
following Six Sigma DMAIC quick reference sheets can help prepare for your milestone review.
Define Phase
Deliverables Of Phase:
• Fully trained team is formed, supported, and committed to work on improvement project.
• Customers identified and high impact characteristics (CTQs) defined, team charter
developed, business process mapped.
Team Readiness
Team Charter
• Project management charter, including business case, problem and goal statements,
project scope, milestones, roles and responsibilities, communication plan.
• Completed, verified, and validated high-level 'as is' (not 'should be' or 'could be') business
process map.
• Completed SIPOC representation, describing the Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs,
and Customers.
• Who are the improvement project team members, including BBs/Project Leads and
MBBs/Coaches?
• Has everyone on the team, including the team leaders, been properly trained (on
DMAIC)?
• Does the team have regular meetings?
• How often are the team meetings?
• Is there regularly 100% attendance at the team meetings? If not, have appointed
substitutes attended to preserve cross-functionality and full representation?
• If substitutes have been appointed, have they been briefed on the project charter and
goals and received regular communications as to the project's progress to date?
• Has the project work been fairly and/or equitably divided and delegated among team
members who are qualified and capable to perform the work? Has everyone
contributed?
• Are there any constraints known that bear on the ability to perform project work? How is
the team addressing them?
• How is the team tracking and documenting its work?
• Is the team adequately staffed with the desired cross-functionality? If not, what additional
resources are available to the team?
Team Charter
- Business Case: What are the compelling business reasons for embarking on this project? Is
the project linked to key business goals and objectives? What key business process output
measure(s) will the project leverage and how? What are the rough order estimates on cost
savings/opportunities on this project?
- Problem Statement: What specifically is the problem? Where does it occur? When does it
occur? What is its extent?
- Goal Statement: What is the goal or target for the improvement team's project? Do the problem
and goal statements meet the SMART criteria (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and
time-bound)? Has anyone else (internal or external to the organization) attempted to solve this
problem or a similar one before? If so, what knowledge can be leveraged from these previous
efforts? How will the project team and the organization measure complete success for this
project?
- Roles and Responsibilities: What are they for each team member and its leadership? Where is
this documented?
- Project Scope: What are the boundaries of the scope? What is in bounds and what is not?
What is the start point? What is the stop point? How does the project manager ensure against
scope creep? Is the project scope manageable? What constraints exist that might impact the
team?
- Milestones: When was the project start date? When is the estimated completion date? Is the
project currently on schedule according to the plan? Has a project plan, Gantt chart, or similar
been developed/completed? How did the project manager receive input to the development of the
plan and the estimated completion dates/times of each activity? Is there a critical path to
complete the project? How will variation in the actual durations of each activity be dealt with to
ensure that the expected project completion date is met?
- Communication Plan: What are the dynamics of the communication plan? What critical content
must be communicated - who, what, when, where, and how? When are meeting minutes sent
out? Who is on the distribution list? How do you keep key subject matter experts in the loop?
• Has a high-level 'as is' process map been completed, verified and validated?
• Has a SIPOC diagram been produced describing the Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs,
and Customers?
• Is the improvement team aware of the different versions of a process: what they think it is
vs. what it actually is vs. what it should be vs. what it could be?
• Is the current 'as is' process being followed? If not, what are the discrepancies?
• Are different versions of process maps needed to account for the different types of
inputs?
• How was the 'as is' process map developed, reviewed, verified and validated?
• What tools and roadmaps did you use for getting through the Define phase?
Measure Phase
Deliverables Of Phase:
Key measures identified, data collection planned and executed, process variation displayed and
communicated, performance baselined, sigma level calculated.
• Solid data collection plan established that includes measurement systems analysis.
• Data collected on key measures that were identified.
• What are the key input variables? What the key process variables? What are the key
output variables?
• What key measures identified indicate the performance of the business process?
• What are the agreed upon definitions of the high impact characteristics (CTQs), defect(s),
unit(s), and opportunities that will figure into the sigma calculations and process capability
metrics?
• What charts has the team used to display the components of variation in the process?
• What does the chart tell us in terms of variation?
Analyze Phase
Deliverables Of Phase:
Data and process analysis, root cause analysis, quantifying the gap/opportunity.
• What does the data say about the performance of the business process?
• Did any value-added analysis or 'lean thinking' take place to identify some of the gaps
shown on the 'as is' process map?
• Was a detailed process map created to amplify critical steps of the 'as is' business
process?
• How was the map generated, verified, and validated?
• What did the team gain from developing a sub-process map?
• What were the crucial 'moments of truth' on the map?
• Were there any cycle time improvement opportunities identified from the process
analysis?
• Were any designed experiments used to generate additional insight into the data
analysis?
• Did any additional data need to be collected?
• What model would best explain the behavior of output variables in relation to input
variables?
Improve Phase
Deliverables Of Phase:
Generate (and test) possible solutions, select the best solutions, design implementation plan.
Control Phase
Deliverables Of Phase:
Monitoring Plan
Process Standardization
• New process steps, standards, and documentation are ingrained into normal operations.
Documented Procedures
Response Plan
• Transfer ownership and knowledge to process owner and process team tasked with the
responsibilities.
Questions To Determine Appropriate Application:
Monitoring Plan
Process Standardization
Documented Procedures
• Is there documentation that will support the successful operation of the improvement?
• Does job training on the documented procedures need to be part of the process team's
education and training?
• Have new or revised work instructions resulted?
• Are they clear and easy to follow for the operators?
Response Plan
• Is a response plan in place for when the input, process, or output measures indicate an
'out-of-control' condition?
• What are the critical parameters to watch?
• Does the response plan contain a definite closed loop continual improvement scheme
(e.g., plan-do-check-act)?
• Are suggested corrective/restorative actions indicated on the response plan for known
causes to problems that might surface?
• Does a troubleshooting guide exist or is it needed?