DMAIC Concept - Measure Phase

• Value Stream Mapping This produces a more detailed representation of the process than the SIPOC diagram and includes such information as wait times, processing times, resource consumptions, process operator.
• Cause and Effect MatrixSee sample : www.asq.org/sixsigma/2008/01/cause-amp-effects-rating-matrix.xls . This tabulates causes against effects and calculates scores which are used to rank the causes. As a measure tool, this matrix is used to select which inputs to focus on because of their significant impact on the process outputs.
• FMEA (Failure mode and Effect Analysis) See on  Define Process
  FMEA tool has a similar function to the cause and effect matrix. All possible failures in the inputs are considered, and then weighted according to probability of occurrence, severity of impact on outputs and difficulty of detection. This assessment also helps to determine what inputs the project team should focus on.
• Pareto Chart (see on Pareto Analysis Methods)
• Measure Systems Analysis (MSA)
  A Measurement System Analysis is a specially designed experiment that seeks to identify the components of variation in the measurement.
  The process of obtaining measurements is subjected to standard analyses to ensure reliability, epeatability and reproducibility. Other attributes of the measurement system are stability, bias and discrimination.
• Control Charts (Control Charts Complete Explanation and Examples)
  A control chart is a run chart sequence of quantitative data with three horizontal lines showing a centred mean and upper and lower control limits. Control charts help to assess the nature of variation of the process. In-control processes are expected to yield data points randomly distributed around the mean but within the calculated control limits.
• Process Capability Assessment or MPCA
  This tool measures of process capability assess the ability of a process to meet functional requirements. Several measures of capability exist. All of them are compare the process standard deviation to the allowable range of variation as specified by the customer.