Q 288. What are the various approaches that can be used to serve the purpose of CTQ Drilldown? Answers with examples will be preferred. 

 

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As a customer we always tend to buy a product and post using the same have a perception about the product. Irrespective of the fact whether we buy a new pen or a television we try to weigh the value of money that has been spent with the perceived benefits that we get post using the product or service.

This is customer’s VOC and as a manufacturer or service provider this VOC needs to be collected and then linked with certain measurable criteria’s which can link customer satisfaction with these vital measurable factors (X’S). These factors for the manufacturer or the service provider is known as a CTQ (Critical to Quality).  

The CTQ will always be some measurable product/service characteristic which is derived from the customers need (Stated & Unstated).The company set standards which are either based on industry standards or VOC of customer and achieve the same so that the final output is as per customer’s expectation or rather exceeds customer’s expectation.

The CTQ can also be based on 

1.Voice of Business
2.Voice of Process
3.Voice of Employee
4.Voice of customer which has been covered above 

Please find one example which will help to illustrate the same :- 
Customers VOC                             CTQ 
1.My Calls gets dropped          Network Up Time 
2.The bread is not soft             Baking time/Temperature etc.

 

   
 
There are various Approaches that can be used for CTQ drill down: - 

1.    CTQ Tree – CTQ tree helps to translate customers stated and unstated needs into critical to Quality parameters. These parameters should be measurable, achievable, realistic. The specifications are either given by the customer or are based on industry benchmark. 

                                     

                  

                   

                    

 

2.    Kano Model – Kano model was developed in 1980 by professor Noriaki Kano which classifies customer requirement in 5 categories: - 

I.    Must be Quality – These are features which is a prerequisite for any product or service. If this feature is there it does not leads to customer satisfaction as the buyer feels that this is a basic requirement of any product or service. Example -In hotels it’s a must that the bed sheets and the toilets should be clean. If these features are missing, then this can lead to customer dissatisfaction 
II.    One Dimensional Quality – These are features which results in customer satisfaction if they are present in larger quantities. Example increase in internet speed can result in Customers being happier where else if the speed is less customer can be just dissatisfied 
III.    Attractive Quality – These are qualities if presented product and services can result in customer delighter’s are features Which customers have not even thought about and the supplier has included them .example – In a clinic if parents are waiting for the doctor’s appointment creche which will take care of the kids during the wait time.
IV.    Indifferent Quality – These are features which if present in a product or service does not make a difference for the customer. Example in a call center extremely polite agent can still be rated bad by the customer as his problem was not resolved.
V.    Reserve Quality – These are features which can cause dissatisfaction or vice versa depending on the customer. Example an appliance can have a lot of features and a customer might not be technically sound which might result in him not using the product
 

 

 

 3.    QFD – Quality function deployment is an approach where the customer needs are understood and their stated and unstated needs are converted into measurable critical to quality parameter. It goes further in prioritising the CTQ based on the customers priorities. It assesses how we are faring with respect to the customers expectation & then also tries to evaluate how is the competitors performing as compared to the supplier.

 

 

1.The first step is to list down all the customers’ requirements and then rate it on a scale of 1 to 5. 5 means the customer rates the feature as something which has a great bearing on customer satisfaction.

 

2.The technical requirements are then listed and a correlation with the customer needs is done. Customer wants no bugs in his/her burger and bacterial count which is a technical requirement has a strong correlation with the same. 

Thawing time on the other hand does not impact the cooked my way which has an importance rating of 3 given by the customer.

 

3.Roof the of QFD where correlation between the various technical parameters are done. In the above example there is a strong correlation between # of organic supplies and # of additives in meat.

 

4. Competitor score is also put so that the comparison can be made

 

5.    Then the customers rating & technical requirement is multiplied and added. A a rule of thumb strong is 9, Moderate is 3,Weak is 1 & none is 0.

All the three tools have its own unique usage and a person can choose what is the requirement to make the assessment.
 

CTQ drill down refers to Critical to Quality drill down. CTQ mainly refers as customer requirement which is actually elements or dimensions that are considered as critical for the executing team for the success of product or process.

 

Below is the approach which can be used to serve the purpose of CTQ drill down.

 

VOC ( Voice of Customer ) - Whenever you produce any produce or service customers feedback is very important to identify CTQ's. For example if a company manufacturing ball bearing then if customer having issue for low co-efficient of friction between ball and bearing  then it can be CTQ for producer to maintain required co-efficient of friction.

 

VOC should be collected through different methods such as social listening, through surveys, through focus groups, through customer interviews, through net promoter score.

Various Approaches would be:

1. Project Definition

2. Parameters

3. Customer Perspective 

 

Taking an example of Mobile Phone manufacturing it is defined what it could deliver. There are parameter which are set to match the demands on market. Features are included or modified on customer feedback.

 

 

Problem definition tree diagram, Goal-means diagram and decision tree diagrams can serve the purpose of CTQ drilldown. When VOC is vague and not specific, Quality Function Deployment (QFD) can be used to translate VOC into measurable goal statement.

For example, a customer can ask you to "improve your system". Improve your system is a vague language that can be translated as more productivity in terms of output, faster productivity in terms lead time, better quality delivery with reduced defect rate and cheaper productivity and cost of quality.

It is the three approaches or tools mentioned above that can help you define a specific goal to satisfy your customer.

CTQ (Critical to Quality) Tree is used to drill down to a more concrete project goal.
It starts with wider project goal and works downwards to identify “Critical” factors that is required in achieving the goal.
In simple words drill down generic goal, identify specific and measurable necessities to improve performance. It translates customer needs to Meaningful, Measurable, and Actionable metrics.

 

Approach:
Step 1: Identify Critical Needs

•  "What is critical for this product or service?"
•  Brainstorm needs with key stakeholders

Step 2: Identify Quality Requirements

•  Identify the specific quality drivers
•  Identify all the requirements that are important

Step 3: Identify Performance Requirements

•  Identify the measurable performance requirements

Points to remember before getting in CTQ tree.

• Identify customers
• Collect Voice of Customer data
• Analyze VoC data
• Prepare a list of CTQs
• Choose one CTQ and prepare a CTQ tree only for that CTQ.

Components of CTQ Tree:
Need
it is the origin of CTQ tree, and it highlights the customer requirements

Driver
Drivers are the parameters on which a customer judges the quality of product.

Requirements
These are the measurable performance specifications that have to be met by drivers to satisfy customers.

 

In order to make an effective and efficient CTQ tree, it is necessary to identify all the above components perfectly.

 

Below is an example of CTQ drill down for a Good Coffee

 

Benefits of CTQ:

• It highlights any weak areas in an organization where performance is below standard and helps in root cause analysis.
• It helps to identify private needs of the individual customer and recognize measurable performance requirements needed for specific customer’s satisfaction.
• Helps in the quality improvement of a product or service.

Do’s while doing CTQ drilldown:

• Have Specific and measurable CTQs.
• Reflect input from primary and secondary customers (direct and indirect or stakeholders).
• Discuss business value of capturing and reporting a specific metric vs. cost (time and effort) of capturing that data.
• Delineate between metrics that exist currently vs. recommendations.
• For recommended metrics, discuss how they will be measured and reported.
• If a CTQ has no clear quantitative metric, discuss alternative ways of measurement (qualitative, other indicators).

Common CTQ Errors:

• Missing elements of Speed, Quality, Cost, or Risk
• Metrics do not reflect measurement of the process product or outcome
• Metrics do not have solid Operational Definitions
• Metrics do not demonstrate how it is calculated
• Metrics are not at the appropriate level of detail
• Information in artifacts is not consistent
• Artifact created individually without consultation
• Artifact was created but no analysis was conducted

CTQ helps to understand the customer’s general requirements in more specific terms.

1. Goal means diagram

2. Problem definition tree

 

The various tools that can be used for CTQ drill down are:

1. VOC/VOB- identifying the critical customer requirements

3 .QFD-  quality function deployment

While Aritra Das Gupta has provided more methods for CTQ drilldown, the best answer selected today is that of Mohamed Asif due to his lucid explanation and good use of examples.