bringing the voice of the customer (voc) into dfss

Market-Driven Market-Driven Product DefinitionProduct DefinitionMarket-Driven Market-Driven Product DefinitionProduct Definition

Bringing Voice of the Customer (VOC) into DFSS

Bringing Voice of the Customer (VOC) into DFSS

Corporate Office, 84 State Street Boston, MA 02109 (617) 723-1150 www.pdcinc.com

Sheila [email protected]

Richard [email protected]

Prepared for:

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

©2005 Product Development Consulting, Inc. 2www.pdcinc.com

A Customer-centric Product A Customer-centric Product

Definition ApproachDefinition Approach

Medical Device Company Medical Device Company

Case StudyCase Study


Medical Device Company- Problem to be SolvedMedical Device Company- Problem to be Solved• Company offered surgical products

and technologies that led the medical devices industry... BUT:~ McKinsey study said they were missing

focus on customer~ Had “popup thunderstorms” - showed

prototype to customer with response: “No, not what I wanted!”

~ Did not want to impose technical limitations on products prematurely

• Design for Six Sigma being broadly applied to improve yield on large R&D investment.

• Teams struggling with QFD ~ Needs statements were ambiguous~ Attributes were riddled with solutions~ Teams didn’t consistently believe in

the output of QFD


Medical Device Company - Conceptual VOC Flow for DFSSMedical Device Company - Conceptual VOC Flow for DFSST

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Customer NeedsAmbiguous

Voices of The Customer Research: thru Observation and Proper Probing Outputs: Images, Needs, Requirements (300+)

Customer Needs, Market Research, etc.

Critical Product Level Requirements

CTQ’s Critical-to-Quality (3-5)

Define the differentiating requirements, to be measured,

which are critical to the fulfillment of customer needs

Key Customer Req’ts (30+) Measurable in customer terms


Medical Device Company - Conceptual VOC Flow for DFSSMedical Device Company - Conceptual VOC Flow for DFSST

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Customer NeedsAmbiguous

Voices of The Customer Research: thru Observation and Proper Probing Outputs: Images, Needs, Requirements (300+)

Customer Needs, Market Research, etc.

Critical Product Level Requirements

CTQ’s Critical-to-Quality (3-5)

Define the differentiating requirements, to be measured,

which are critical to the fulfillment of customer needs

Key Customer Req’ts (30+) Measurable in customer terms

Key Challenge - How to make this conceptual flow actionableKey Challenge - How to make this conceptual flow actionable


Gather VoiceGather VoiceOf CustomerOf Customer

1. Gain baseline understanding of opportunity (mission)

2. Understand customer segments (Customer Matrix)

3. Gather competitive benchmark data

4. Gather reactive voice of the customer data

(Leverage existing (Leverage existing data)data)

Translate Translate VOCVOC

1. Identify gaps and developresearch plan

2. Plan customer interviews and observations (WS #1)

3. Develop interview guides & schedule interviews (WS # 2 & 3)

4. Gather customer data (WS #4)

5. Analyze customer data (WS #5)

6. Define customer requirements (WS # 6 & 7)

7. Develop performance metrics and test plan (WS # 8)

(Disciplined Field (Disciplined Field Visits and Interviews)Visits and Interviews)

Confirm andConfirm andDevelopDevelop

CTQsCTQs

1. Confirm / Validate customer requirements & determine weighting & value (WS # 9 & 10)

2. Analyze results -prioritize customer and performance requirements - determine CTQs (WS # 11 & 12)*

(Independent of Solution Independent of Solution with a Validation Plan)with a Validation Plan)

Medical Device Company - VOC ProcessMedical Device Company - VOC Process

*For work-sessions (WS#1-12) Reference “Customer-Centric Product Definition - The Key to

Great Product Development”


Active Listening

Probing

You !

Depth of Probing

Skills

Expressed Data

TacitData

Fertile Data

The Golden Nugget

(solutions)

(needs)

Gather VOC: The Old Mine PrincipleGather VOC: The Old Mine Principle


Translate Data: Why “Images”?Translate Data: Why “Images”?

• Is the key to capturing the voice of the customer~ Helps the team discover unstated requirements

• Allows the team to reach consensus regarding the customers’ environment

• Creates a single document that tells a story and can be shared

• Pinpoints the customer pain that drives their buying decisions ~ “The wound squirted out when I squeezed down on it.”

~ “It was a large vessel and I tore it with the small staple”


Requirements TranslationRequirements Translation• Clearly state and document the customer needs

implicit in the verbal and observational data from the interview~ Derive provocative positioning from the voices of the

customer

• Customer features statements are the most critical output of the voice of the customer process~ The basis for sellable solutions~ Provide new, deep insights ~ Do not constrain customer solutions

• Such as~ Physician achieves wound closure with minimum

intervention.~ Physician avoids creating scare tissue in a maximum #

of conditions~ Physician stops bleeding with minimum intervention.


Confirm Results: Kano Survey

DysfunctionalDysfunctional

SatisfactionSatisfaction

DissatisfactionDissatisfaction

FunctionalFunctional

Indifference• Physician can

close wounds with minimum visibility

Attractive• Physician can close wound with

minimum scar tissue

Must-be• Physician minimizes the amount of

bacteria in the wound

One-Dimensional

• Physician has maximum access to wound location


Selecting CTQsSelecting CTQs

• Cover all must-be elements; don’t spend more than necessary

• Match or slightly beat projected competition on one-dimensional elements; don’t spend more than necessary

• Have some attractive elements


“VOC gives us a common language, sentence structure, and continuity that we need for cross-functional alignment. Instead of taking the customer's word's literally, we have a framework for efficiently translating them into requirements from the start. This means our teams are free to focus on innovation and differentiation.It really goes back to our desire to redefine success. Were we successful without robust VOC process? Yes. Are we more successful with it? Absolutely. We have taken success to the next level, gotten a bigger return on our investment.”

Group Product Director


• How successful are you at making your VOC unambiguous?

• How effective are you at setting CTQ criteria that ensure customer requirements are measurable and solution free?

• Do you use “customer value” to guide your product development? How successful have you been?

• How do you gain team consensus on where to invest your R&D dollars for maximum return?

Sharing Your Experiences with Sharing Your Experiences with

Integrating VOC into DFSSIntegrating VOC into DFSS

bringing the voice of the customer (voc) into dfss

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