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"Nothing is less real than realism... Details are confusing.
It is only by selection, by elimination, by emphasis, that
we get at the real meaning of things."
[Georgia O'Keeffe 1922]
Market research, surveys, focus groups, customer feedback,
build-to-print specifications... The information may be
abundant and accessible, but it does not do any good if we
jump at satisfying every customer verbatim without doing a
sound Voice of the Customer analysis.
It is by carefully eliminating noise, identifying explicit
and implicit needs and positive quality, and uniting this
knowledge with understanding of the customer "gemba" and
business strategy, a good QFD practitioner arrives at the
true customer reality and delivers solutions.
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The 20th Symposium on QFD concluded successfully
recently in Santa Fe, NM, where clear blue sky,
reddish sandy hills, piñon-studded mountains, and
sun-glowing adobe greeted the attendees with the
same enchantment that some eighty years ago
captivated Georgia O'Keefe, one of America's most
celebrated modernist artists who lived and adored
New Mexico.**
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Reflecting the global economic concerns, this year's
crowd was smaller than usual. Nonetheless, the event
was attended by professionals from Canada, Denmark,
Germany, Russia, Turkey, U.K., and the U.S.
Highlights included an impressive lineup of strong
QFD papers, advanced case studies, and great
speakers. All of these made this symposium truly a
lively forum of mutual learning.
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During the experts' panel, passionate discussions
took place among speakers and audience on the
important topics such as customer value,
stakeholder, Kano model, cost deployment, corporate
culture, and so forth. The panelists provided
valuable insights on QFD implementation,
integration, and cultural issues across the broad
spectrum of industries and countries.
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A special achievement was recognized for Carey W.
Hepler, Innovation Director of Blue Cross Blue
Shield of Florida, for having completed the gruel
process of earning a full status QFD Black Belt®
. Mr. Hepler will shortly enter the
"train-a-trainer" training, with the QFD Institute
developing a custom-tailored QFD training manual for
the company and training Mr. Hepler on how to teach
the QFD Green Belt® Courses within his company. This
will allow him to begin issuing QFD Institute
certificates to his students.
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The annual event was also an opportunity for
state-of- the-art Modern QFD learning, including the
2-day
QFD Green Belt® Certificate Course, 5-day
advanced
QFD
Black Belt® Certificate Course, half day-day
QFD
Green Belt® Update Course, and 1-day
Kansei Engineering Workshop. Congratulations to
everyone who successfully completed these demanding
programs.
We have always stressed the importance of
continually updating one's
skills
and knowledge. The annual Symposium and public
training sessions are designed for these
opportunities. One of this year's attendees in QFD
Black Belt® Course has this feedback:
"I rate it as the most valuable and enjoyable 5 days
training I've attended during my career to date. The
work that you've done to advance the traditional QFD
to more effectively align business goals to solution
development and delivery is truly outstanding....
the penny dropped for me why Modern QFD is the
fundamental process for speed and accuracy of
decision making."
The annual Symposium on QFD began in 1989 as a way
for industry professionals and academics to exchange
ideas and learn from
each
other in a supportive atmosphere. Over the years,
this has helped many businesses keep an innovative
spirit and leadership in both good times and bad.
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We invite you to mark your calendar now for 2009 so
you can attend or even present next year.
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The 21st Symposium on QFD
December 5, 2009
Savannah, Georgia USA
Call for Papers is now in
effect.
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** "When I got to New Mexico that was mine. As soon
as I saw it that was my country. I'd never seen
anything like it before, but it fitted to me
exactly. It's something that's in the air - it's
different. The sky is different, the wind is
different..." [Georgia O'Keeffe 1977]
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