Website created in white label responsive website builder WebWave.

As a true Six Sigma practitioner, we believe this framework is a great enhancement of the Six Sigma framework, and it does not present a completely new and foreign idea to the Six Sigma mindset.

There are 5 steps in the Design Thinking framework:

• Emphatize: VOC gathering with better, more emotional theme

• Define: Hey.. Six Sigma has Define phase too. Proper definition of issue to be addressed is always essential in any type of project, to ensure we are setting the right direction.

• Ideate: This is the combination of Measure and Analyze - the principle remains the same - you want to start finding key touchpoints in your processes and begin to map out how your product will look like.

• Prototype: Design/Develop. The word "Prototype" is actually better suited for this phase - It means the product being worked on is a Work in Progress (MVP, quick-turn, not a perfect end product) and will go through iterations to complete and meet the "Product-Market Fit".

• Test: This is the Verify phase of Six Sigma DMADV. Feedback for the result of the Prototype to make sure the result meets the expected outcome and benefit.

The overall framework feels more nimble, more efficient, and we have to agree that this feels better suited for today's fast paced businesses.

Having said that, this is not an excuse to ignore the fundamental principle of requirement analysis. Remember that Steve Jobs once pointed out. "Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works."