Design for Six Sigma strategies transform our methodologies for improving quality from inspecting defects after-the-fact to building quality into the product from the beginning of the design. The cost of poor quality becomes part of the design equation, along with the warranty, liability, recall, lost customer, and rework costs. The cost of the product should include all of the quality issues, with optimizations targeting the total cost up front, early in the design.

DFSS considers the statistical contribution of the design parameters to the critical requirements. The effects of variation can be identified, understood, and forecast during the design cycle. CAE analyses should include a robust assessment of known sources of variation. The sigma quality level must be calculated given the target performance and variation. Adoption of the DFSS process mitigates the risks and costs of poor quality. Number of pages in report, 20.