Perfection is extremely difficult to achieve when playing team sports. This is especially true for lacrosse, a sport where dropped passes, missed shots and turnovers are prevalent even at the college and professional levels of the game. In order to improve on mistakes, teams must first recognize where the errors are being made. The purpose of this project is to implement the DMAIC process improvement method into lacrosse, with the goal of identifying and implementing improvements, leading to a more successful team.
In order to use DMAIC, lacrosse was expressed as a process that included five phases: offense, defense, riding, clearing and faceoffs. Data was gathered for each phase using game film from the Arizona State Men’s Club Lacrosse Team over the course of the 2019 and 2020 seasons. The data was then analyzed by comparing the output statistics of each phase to the goal differential, number of goals scored, and number of goals against. Once the areas of improvement were determined, additional analysis was done to determine why these certain areas needed improvement. The results provided what changes needed to be made in order to improve the team. In order to ensure the team sustained their success, control measures were put in place to determine what action needs to be taken and when.

Lean philosophy is a set of practices aimed at reducing waste in an industry/enterprise. By eliminating the aspects of a system that do not add value, the system process will be able to work continuously in a flow, and as a result have a shorter cycle time. With a shorter cycle time, less resources are diminished, and efforts can be properly distributed in order to achieve maximum efficiency. In relation, Six Sigma is a process that aims to reduce the variability of a system, and in turn reduce the number of defects and improve overall quality of a product/process. For this reason, Lean and Six Sigma go hand-in-hand. Cutting out non-value adding steps in a process will increase efficiency and perfecting the steps still in place will improve quality. Both aspects are important when it comes to the success of a business practice. DNASU Plasmid Repository would be a major benefactor of the Lean Six Sigma process. The process of cloning DNA requires great attention to detail and time in order to avoid defects. For instance, any mistake made in the bacteria growth process, such as contamination, will result in a significant amount of time being wasted. In addition, the purification of DNA steps also necessitates vigilant observation since the procedure is highly susceptible to little mistakes that could have big impacts. The goal of this project will be to integrate Lean Six Sigma methodology into the DNASU laboratory. By applying numerous aspects of Lean Six Sigma, the DNA repository will be able to improve its efficiency and quality of processes and obtain its highest rate of success.