A Failure Mode and Effect Analysis FMEA is a systematic method for identifying and preventing product and process problems before they occur. FMEAs are focused on preventing defects, enhancing safety and increasing customer satisfaction. FMEAs are conducted in the product design or process development stages, although conducting an FMEA on existing products and processes can also yield substantial benefits. Six Sigma's project team use FMEA in the Analyze stage of DMAIC because extraordinary quality is not only designed into the product, it is designed into the development process itself.