DPMO - Defects Per Million Opportunities is a six sigma quality metric focused on representing a ratio of the number of defects/flaws in a million opportunities. This involves reviewing how many times a defect/flaw was made every time there was an opportunity to make one. DPMO is a critical metric of six sigma and is used to review the process performance based on statistical data. It is calculated using the following formula:  DPMO = Total Defects Observed / Total Opportunities * 1 million  I.e. Total number of Defects / Total number of opportunities * 100000  DPMO is also referred to as Nonconformities Per Million Opportunities (NPMO) in certain areas.