How can you use CTQ to identify what matters most to your customers?

1 What is CTQ?

CTQ stands for Critical to Quality, and it is a way of defining and prioritizing the attributes that your customers care about the most. CTQs are derived from the voice of the customer (VOC), which is the collection and analysis of customer feedback, preferences, and expectations. By using CTQ, you can translate the VOC into specific and measurable criteria that your process or product must satisfy to meet or exceed customer expectations.

2 How to create CTQs?

Creating CTQs requires following a four-step process. First, you must identify the customer segments and their needs, which can be done through surveys, interviews, focus groups, or observation. Then, you must translate the customer needs into requirements that are quantifiable and objective. After that, you should prioritize the requirements using tools such as Kano model, Pareto analysis, or QFD matrix to evaluate and compare them based on customer value and effort. Finally, you should select the most critical requirements and define them as CTQs, making sure each CTQ has a clear statement, a unit of measure, a target value, and a specification limit. For example, a CTQ could be "delivery time: hours, target: 24, upper limit: 48".

3 How to use CTQs in Lean Six Sigma projects?

CTQs are essential for Lean Six Sigma projects because they help you align your process or product improvement with customer value. In the Define phase, CTQs can be used to define the scope and objectives of your project, as well as the key stakeholders and customers. During the Measure phase, you can use CTQs to identify metrics and indicators to measure performance and quality, as well as establish the baseline and target for improvement. The Analyze phase allows you to use CTQs to identify root causes and gaps between current and desired states, while evaluating potential solutions and their impact on customer value. In the Improve phase, CTQs can be used to implement and test solutions, monitor results, and assess customer satisfaction. Finally, in the Control phase, CTQs can help ensure that improvements are sustained and standardized, with any deviations or errors detected and corrected.

4 What are the benefits of using CTQs?

Using CTQs can bring a multitude of advantages, such as improving customer satisfaction and loyalty, reducing waste and variation, increasing efficiency and effectiveness, enhancing innovation and differentiation, and boosting competitiveness and profitability. By focusing on the most important aspects of quality, you can deliver what customers want and need, streamline process or product design and development, create value-added features and benefits for customers, and increase market share while decreasing costs.

5 What are the challenges of using CTQs?

Using CTQs can also pose some challenges, such as collecting reliable and relevant VOC data, translating customer needs into clear and measurable CTQs, balancing multiple conflicting CTQs, communicating and aligning CTQs across your organization, and managing and updating CTQs as customer expectations and market conditions change. These tasks require careful consideration in order to ensure success.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?