DMAIC is used to improve an existing business process. The basic methodology consists of the following five steps:

1. Define process improvement goals that are consistent with customer demands and the enterprise strategy.

2. Measure key aspects of the current process and collect relevant data.

3. Analyze the data to verify cause-and-effect relationships. Determine what the relationships are, and attempt to ensure that all factors have been considered.

4. Improve or optimize the process based upon data analysis using techniques like Design of Experiments.

5. Control to ensure that any deviations from target are corrected before they result in defects. Set up pilot runs to establish process capability, move on to production, set up control mechanisms and continuously monitor the process.