Page 141 - Design for Six Sigma for Service (Six SIGMA Operational Methods)

116 Chapter Six

In DFSS, time is spent upfront understanding customer wants, needs, and
delights together with corporate and regulatory requirements. This under-
standing is then translated into CTS requirements which then drive
product and process design. The CTS attributes (Hows) are given in the
following diagram as well as the relationship matrix to the Whats. A
mapping begins by considering the high-level requirements for the
product or process. These are the true CTS requirements that define what
the customer would like if the product or process were ideal. This consid-
eration of a product or process from a customer perspective must address
the requirements from higher-level systems, internal customers (such as
manufacturing, assembly, service, packaging, and safety), external
customers, and regulatory legislation. Customer Whats are not easily
operational in the world of the Black Belt. For this reason it is necessary
to relate true quality characteristics to CTS requirements—design charac-
teristics that may be readily measured and, when properly targeted, will
substitute or assure performance to the Whats. This diagram, which relates
true quality characteristics to substitute quality characteristics, is called a
relationship matrix.

Importance to the customer
Meet time expectations
Know my business and offers
Save money and enhance productivity
Do it right the first time
Consultative
Know our products and processes
Talk to one person
Answer questions
Courteous
Adequate follow-up

The logic of a matrix is several levels deep. A tree diagram, one of the new
seven management tools, is commonly used to create the logic associated
with the customer. The mapping of customer characteristics to CTS
attribute characteristics is extremely valuable when done by the DFSS
team. A team typically begins differing in opinion and sharing stories and
experiences when the logic is only a few levels deep. An experiment may
even be conducted to better understand the relationships. When
completed, the entire team understands how product and process charac-
teristics that are detailed on drawings relate to functions that are important
to customers.