Process

The DDM Process — Beyond Six Sigma

Over the course of many years of analyzing and solving many complex engineering problems in development programs and manufacturing processes, LuNa Consultants has developed the DDM Process, a reliable methodology and a set of tools to quickly identify a problem's root cause(s) and resolve it. This process has proven to be very effective in rapidly solving significant problems where other methods have failed.

The DDM process includes the best from teachings by Kepner-Tregoe, Dorian Shainin, William Diamond as well as from Taguchi methods, Six Sigma, Lean, Just In Time and Poka-yoke. We also use Minitab as our statistical tool for appropriate projects.

The DDM Process includes the following three phases:
Define the problem and how to measure it
  • What IS the problem?
  • What IS NOT the problem?
  • How do we measure it?
  • Can we measure the same thing twice?
  • Listen to the parts
Discover the root cause and prove we can control it
  • What is the current status?
  • What are the clues?
  • Check against a model
  • What is NOT the root cause
  • Prove we can control it through experiments
Make a difference
  • Determine tolerances
  • Change the product
  • Change the process
  • Control the process
  • Celebrate the success!

Unlike many other methodologies, you don't need to purchase new software to use the DDM Process — all you need is Microsoft Excel (2003 or newer). Our tools are delivered in the form of customized spreadsheets used in the different steps of the DDM process. The spreadsheets analyze your specific problems and give you a graphical picture of the road to the solution.

LuNa Consultants uses the DDM Process and its accompanying tools on all problems we are tasked to analyze and resolve. For over 40 years, it has allowed us to quickly and efficiently resolve problems that other teams have been unable to resolve. During that time, many people using other software packages have used them to find the solution that otherwise eluded them.

Contact us today to see how we can solve your team's challenging development and manufacturing problems.

DDM Process Seminars

We can also set up a seminar to teach your team on the DDM Process. We can custom tailor the program to your specific needs including applying the DDM Process to a significant problem your team currently faces in a collaborative manner. This has the dual benefit of identifying the root cause of a current problem while teaching your team how to better handle future ones!

We encourage the use of our skills to coach people through their first application of the DDM Process. As you become used to solving problems more efficiently, we are available to help you with unusual situations that arise. We believe it is more important to focus our training on core areas and teach the team how to adapt to new situations instead of having a fixed, cookbook that attempts to cover all known possible cases.

Contact us today to see how we can improve your team's problem-solving skills.