Frameworks · Process & Operations

The frameworks behind the process work.

See the workflow whole before automating any of it.

Two Lean and Six Sigma frameworks for organizations where the goal is measurable process improvement. DMAIC structures the improvement cycle — Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control. AI substantially accelerates the Define and Measure phases that historically took weeks of manual data work.

Value Stream Mapping reveals the workflow before tool selection. Most AI opportunities are actually workflow opportunities that AI happens to enable. Without the map, automation entrenches the waste rather than removing it.

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Lean Six Sigma DMAIC

Five-phase process improvement: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control. AI accelerates Define and Measure.

A five-phase improvement cycle from Lean Six Sigma: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control. The standard for structured process improvement in manufacturing and ops-heavy environments.

Use case
Improving a process where the goal is measurable, the data exists, and root causes need isolating, not guessing.

How Far West applies it
For manufacturing and ops clients, AI accelerates Define and Measure — surfacing baselines and variation that used to take weeks of manual work.

asq.org · DMAIC

Value Stream Mapping

The Lean technique for seeing the whole workflow before changing any of it.

A Lean technique for mapping every step in a workflow — value-adding, non-value-adding, and necessary-but-non-value-adding — to surface waste and redesign opportunities. Originated at Toyota, canonical in Lean operations for decades.

Use case
Before automating a process, see it whole. Most AI opportunities are really workflow opportunities; without the map, automation entrenches the waste instead of removing it.

How Far West applies it
The Workflow-First Sequence draws on VSM: the map comes before the tool. KPMG's 2024 paper, The Importance of Value Streams in the Age of AI, anchors the current application.

lean.org · Value Stream Mapping

Where this work shows up

Process-and-operations frameworks anchor manufacturing and ops-heavy engagements.

AI Integration Engagement — VSM maps the workflow; DMAIC structures the improvement cycle.
AI Workflow Discovery — the Workflow-First Sequence draws on VSM principles to map the work before selecting the tool.

Where to start

For manufacturing and ops-heavy organizations, the Workflow Map stage is where we earn our keep. Scope it on the discovery call.

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