USE OF DMAIC AS AN APPROACH FOR BACHELOR RESEARCH

Ton van Kollenburg Jun SwagemakersProfessor of Improving Business Lecturer BBA, Researcher Improving Business

Avans University of Applied Sciences.

• 29.000 students

• 20 academies

• 54 studies

• Over 20 researchgroups in 6 Centres of Expertise

• Top rated University of Applied Science

Please take your cellphone…

• Go to: https://www.socrative.com

• Choose: “Student login”

• Use “LEANSURVEY” as roomname

• Please answer the first question

Question 2.

What is the importance of bachelors (in. studies like economics,

technology and/or health) having DMAIC knowledge and skills?

Choose one option.

a) Very unimportant

b) Unimportant

c) Neutral

d) Important

e) Very important

Why teach DMAIC?

63%

21%

11%

5%

Improvement project with

complete DMAIC

Less than 1/3 About half About 2/3 All

39%

29%

24%

0%

8%

Importance application

DMAIC by bachelors

Very important Important Neutral

Unimportant Very unumportant

What research models are used in bachelor research?

Problem-definition

Diagnose PlanInter-

ventionEvaluation

Methodical working

Research cycle

Problem-finding

research

Q A

Research cycle

Diagnosticresearch

Q A

Research cycle

Design-research

Q A

Research cycle

Monitoringresearch

Q A

Research cycle

Evaluation-research

Q A

Source: Losse (2012)

Does this match DMAIC?

Problem-definition

Diagnose PlanInter-

ventionEvaluation

Methodical working

Research cycle

Problem-finding

research

Q A

Research cycle

Diagnosticresearch

Q A

Research cycle

Designresearch

Q A

Research cycle

Monitoringresearch

Q A

Research cycle

Evaluation-research

Q A

Research cycle

Standardisationresearch

Q A

Securing

Define

Measure

Analyse Improve Control

Source: van Kollenburg (2016)

Question 3.

Are you using DMAIC in your curriculum? More answers are possible.

a) No

b) Yes, in lectures

c) Yes, in student projects

d) Yes, in theses

e) Yes, in other ways

f) I don’t work at a university

In DMAIC projects a lot of tools are being used…

Brainstorming

5xWhy

Ishikawa

Flowchart

5W1H

Autonomous Maintenance

Pareto-analysis

House of Quality

Choice matrix

CTQ

VoC

MSA

VSM

Swimlane

KPI

Pickdiagram

ANOVA

Visual Management

One Point Lessons

Question 4.

How frequently do you see all DMAIC steps used completely in a thesis

or in other student-projects?

a) Always

b) 75-99%

c) 50-74%

d) 25-49%

e) 1-24%

f) Never

Question 5.

If students perform their research in a company: how important is it

that they actually implement and secure their recommendations? More

answers are possible.

a) That’s unimportant

b) It’s important they implement their recommendations

c) It’s important they secure their recommendations

Conclusions (1)

In some of our students’ theses:

• The solution is already given in the problem definition

• There is ‘jumping to conclusions’, without proper analysis

Jumping to conclusions in a problem definition.Examples from theses.

1. “Improve a given process by implementing an ERP-system.”

2. “Map a proces and analyse where bottlenecks occur and eliminate

them by applying the lean-method.”

Question 6.

One of the demands of bachelor qualification is that students solve

problems within their field of study. In which phase of the DMAIC-

approach does this occur? Multiple answers are possible.

a) Define

b) Measure

c) Analyse

d) Improve

e) Control

Conclusions (2)

In most of our students’ theses:

•Phases D, M and A are used

• In the I-phase an advise is given

•An implementation plan and control plan are made

•There is no testing of solutions in the I-phase

•There is no securing of solutions in the C-phase

Research at a University of Applied Science

• Is solving problems by doing research in a real situation

•And trying to find the best solution in a specific context

•Although finding the solution in itself might be learningfull

• It wouldn’t help really solving the problem

•To have impact

•Our students must change the current situation!

When a result of research is…

1. Published

2. Read

3. Shared

4. Used

5. Creating change

Impact will be increasing

Further research is needed

•How can students really have impact?

•What does this mean for current curricula?

So: use of DMAIC as an approach for Bachelor Research

• Is desired by companies where students come to work

• Knowing DMAIC has the characteristics of a research methodology

• But still the use of DMAIC can be improved

• So it can be used to have impact

YOU ARE WELCOME TO SHARE YOUR

SUGGESTIONS OR EXPERIENCES!

Ton van Kollenburg ajc.vankollenburg@avans.nl

Jun Swagemakers jjm.swagemakers@avans.nl

Sources

• Losse, M. (2012) “Verbinding tussen onderwijs en onderzoek”, Amersfoort: Presentatie

Facta conferentie 11 december 2012

• Kollenburg, T. van (2016) “DMAIC als onderzoeksaanpak in bedrijfskunde-opleidingen

van Avans Hogeschool”, ‘s-Hertogenbosch: Avans Hogeschool