The DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) improvement cycle is an effective technique for structured change management. The emphasis on measurement and analysis helps ensure that opportunities for improvement are executed in a way that ensures the most positive impact.

DMAIC software supports the approach and helps organizations get the most out of their improvement efforts.

Features

If you are considering DMAIC software, here are the key features to look for:

Opportunity Capture

The improvement cycle begins when an employee recognizes and reports and opportunity for improvement. Your DMAIC solution should make it easy for anyone to suggest an opportunity, from any device, at any time. They should be able to include documents, images, and other content that will help when the opportunity is evaluated. By making the submission process easier, you're reducing one of the most significant barriers to engagement. Your staff are busy, so if it's hard to participate, they won't.

Active Workflow

Once the DMAIC cycle begins, it is essential to maintain momentum and make sure that no critical path tasks are missed. DMAIC software helps with alerts and smart notifications that ensure team members and managers know when action is required. Dashboards make it easy to determine when progress is stalled and built-in collaboration features keep the team in sync. Your software solution should tell the right people the right information at the right time, so that everyone stays on top of their improvements without being overloaded by extraneous information.

Impact Reporting

It is important to be able to measure and calculate the impact of every improvement, whether it results in a financial change, a qualitative one, or no change at all. Understanding the results of improvement activities big and small across the entire organization is essential to securing continued executive investment and support. Additionally, making the impact of their work apparent to your employees increases their motivation to participate in the future, as well. DMAIC software makes it possible to view the impact of every improvement, project, location, and person, so that you can really understand the impact of your initiatives.

Knowledge Capture

DMAIC is a cycle that repeats over and over with incremental improvements being made each time. Therefore, it is critical that the knowledge gained during each cycle is captured and made available for those involved in the next improvement attempt. When every lesson learned is captured in a DMAIC system, it is not lost when employees leave the company or change roles. DMAIC software provides a searchable database of all past improvements so that before a new initiative is started, any person can search the database to see what's already been done in this area.

Benefits

DMAIC software with these key features offers the following benefits for companies.

Faster Cycle Times

DMAIC software takes the friction out of improvement, resulting in faster cycles and a shorter path to positive change. The increased communication, visibility, and accountability afforded by your software solution means that there is less downtime between steps in the improvement cycle. The faster each improvement goes from start to finish, the sooner you can benefit from the impact and move on to the next initiative.

Improved Collaboration

One of the biggest challenges of structured improvement is keeping everyone involved on the same page and informed about the progress of the cycle. This is especially difficult when the team includes people from different functional areas who employ different workflows, terminology, and leadership behaviors. DMAIC software breaks down the barriers to transparency and collaboration so that everyone speaks the same language and follows the same improvement process no matter where they work or what they do.

More Impact from Improvement

With a knowledge repository in place, each DMAIC cycle can begin with a review of what’s worked well, or failed in the past. Teams get a leg up on improvement and can make smarter, data-driven decisions that result in more effective changes. Each improvement has the maximum, sustaining impact when you put it in DMAIC software.

Support for Improvement Culture

Introducing a DMAIC software solution signals to the organization that management is serious about the approach and willing to invest in its success. The best solutions also include improvement broadcasting capabilities so they can be used to recognize and reward employees and teams that demonstrate a dedication to improvement. 

What benefits have you seen from employing DMAIC software? Leave a comment and tell us about it!