blitz qfd

Customer, Kunde, Kyaku: How to better understand customers and improve their process

Voice of Customer is not a customer need. Unlike conventional VoC methods capable of only superficial analysis, inadequate, modern blitz QFD offers a deeper/broader systematic approach to understanding the customers in situ and their process, enabling you to identify hidden market opportunities and novel solutions.

An Apple a day, keeps competitors away!

Late Steve Jobs embodied intuitive grasp of QFD thinking. Reflecting his April 1989 interview with Inc. magazine, here we highlight his brilliant insights on product, process, and customer that is uniquely his. Good news is, by using modern QFD tools, you can emulate and systematize his intuitive approach beyond a single individual, improving communication, training of new-hires, and long-term integration and adoption in the organization.

QFD by the book? What should you do when your boss demands a House of Quality?

What should you do when your boss demands a House of Quality matrix? — when all you know about QFD is from stories and diagrams that you and your boss had seen in some books. This is how to respond, before risking your valuable project in an mature House of Quality quandary.

Customer satisfaction at lower cost

According to Glenn Mazur, “.. in tough economic times, Blitz QFD® can help assure that the feature and technology costs of the product are things that satisfy the customer. The customer will not pay $100 to solve a $10 problem, but they might pay $99 to solve a $100 problem. Until we know the priority of the need based on the magnitude of the customer's problem, we cannot know what features to offer or delete.”

How customers adapt to unsatisfying products

A case of unsatisfying high tech products is discussed, with an example of Electronic Medical/Health Records (EMR/EHR), where customers are forced to adapt by manual labor in order to enable the technology. To truly integrating new technology, a focused, sound analysis of the gemba is essential. QFD can help.

How reliable are reliability rankings? — A QFD and Kano perspective

What was once 'exciting' quality (such as mechanical quality) has shifted to expected (must-be) quality and now is now unspoken (invisible) quality in today's car market, according to a consumer report survey. What was completely unknown (Kano-neutral) in the 1970s, such as infotainment syncing, is now exciting (attractive) quality. At the same time, this too is rapidly falling to a desired quality. Quality is a moving target. Use modern QFD tools to identify unspoken, hidden true customer needs and priorities.