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Module -3

Customer Focus
Customer Focus - Agenda

• Challenging the Specification


• Process Map – SIPOC
• Kano Model
• Identifying Customer Requirements
• Developing Measures (y’s)
• Concept generation/selection
Two methods for achieving Six Sigma…

Lower Upper
Spec. Spec.
•Reduce Variation in our Limit Limit

processes
OR

Lower Upper
Spec. Spec.
Change the specification! Limit Limit

Sometimes this is not cheating


Where has the specification come from?

• “We have always done it this way…..”


• “We have never had any customer complaints…”
• “We know what the customer wants…”
• “That was what the process was capable of
producing…”
OR

A clear understanding of the customer requirements


Outputs, “y’s”

• In Six Sigma we need to have objective


measures of the Customer Requirements
• These measures are referred to as the “y’s”
or process outputs
• We need a rigorous and structured process
to establish and prioritise these y’s
• This enables us to generate/check that the
specification is focused on the customer
DMAIC Improvement Process

Customer Focus
Define

Measure
Identify
Opportunity Analyse
Identify
Output Improve
Measures
Identify
Critical Inputs
Control
Or Process Optimise
Steps The
Process Control
The
Process
Define - Identify Customer Requirements
Process Map - SIPOC
• To assist in identifying the Customers and their
Requirements, develop a SIPOC (Suppliers-
Inputs-Process-Outputs-Customers) process map:
• What are the start and finish points as defined by the
project scope?
• Who are the suppliers and what are their inputs to the
process (what do the suppliers provide to the start of
the process)?
• Who are the customers and what are the outputs of the
process (what do the customers receive from the
process)?
• What are the key process steps between the start and
finish points (at this stage “macro” level)?
SIPOC Example – Order Fulfilment
Receive order

Suppliers: Check stock Order stock


Sales
Stores All No
available? Notify Sales
Yes Outputs:
Pull product and check Packaged Product
Inputs: Shipping requisition
Order Package product Order fulfilment note
Product
Packaging Weigh product

Correct No Customers:
weight? Sales
Yes Shipping
Transfer to Goods Out End customer
Define - Identify Customer Requirements

• Identifying the Customer Requirements


during the Define phase can help to:
• Clarify who the customers are (Internal/External)
• Ensure that the project is customer focused
• Prioritise areas to focus on
• Assist in setting the project goal
Measure- Develop Measures y’s

• Clear understanding of the Customer


Requirements will help to:
• Identify the measures (if not already specified)
• Check that they are the right measures
• Identify missing measures
• Check that the specification (target and tolerance)
is correct
• Prioritise the measures
Problems with no Customer Focus

A lack of understanding of the customer


and their requirements can lead to:
• Focus on the wrong measures
• Tolerances that are too tight
• Tolerances that are too wide
• Incorrect targets for the measures
• Too many measures
• Missing measures
Who is/are the customer(s)?

Most Least
useful 1. End Users heard
e.g. consumer, user, receiver

2. Intermediate customers
e.g. retailer, distribution

Least 3. Internal customers Most


useful e.g. executive, IT heard
Kano Model

Excitement
. . (Unspoken)

Performance
Requirements
TIME (Spoken)
X 
Basics
(Unspoken)

.. ..
Establishing Requirements

Spoken Performance Requirements


• Face to face interviews
• Customer clinics
• Focus groups
• Telephone surveys
• Mail survey
Unspoken Basic Requirements
• Customer complaints
• Refunds
• Quality issues
• Functional requirements
Unspoken Excitement (Wows!)
• Watch customers (or video)
• Customer modifications
• Innovation/breakthrough
Customer requirements Example
Directory Enquiries
Good service 1

Customer service requirements


Friendly 2
Ea sy to underst and 3
Helpf ul 4
Quick Response 5
Good Inf ormation 6
Several Numbers in one c all 7
Numbers n ot give n too quickly 8
A r ea code w he n necessary 9
A lternative s if n umber not f ound 10
V alue f or money 11
Cheap 12
Satisf actory a nsw er 13
Company Requirements 14
Minimum running cos ts 15
Security of inf orma tion 16
Legal Requirements 17
Data prot ection act 18
Customer Requirements Table
Dire ctory Enquire s

Our company
Competitor A
Competitor B
Customer Competitive Assessment
Requirements Customer assessment

Customer Complaints
Importance Weight

1
2
3
4
5
Good service 1
Customer service requirements

Friendly 2 3.0 5
Ea sy to underst and
Helpf ul
3
4
5.0
4.0 53
Importance weight
Quick Response 5 5.0 126
Good Inf ormation 6
Several Numbers in one c all 7 1.0 2
Numbers n ot give n too quickly 8 2.0

A r ea code w he n necessary 9 3.0


A lternative s if n umber not f ound 10 2.0 76
V alue f or money 11
Cheap 12 5.0 23
Satisf actory a nsw er 13 5.0
Company Requirements 14
Minimum running cos ts 15 5.0
Security of inf orma tion 16 4.0
Legal Requirements 17
Data prot ection act 18 5.0
SWOT Analysis

Strengths
Strategy - Short term, advertise strengths. Long term
retain, unless costing too much

Weaknesses
Strategy - Short term, interim fix if necessary. Long term,
improve, consider copying competition

Opportunities
Strategy - Short term? Long term, identify ways to exploit.
Threats
What will change with time e.g., new competition, legislation,
fashion etc.
Planned Quality

Dire ctory Enquire s

Target
Our company
Competitor A
Competitor B
Customer Competitive Assessment
Customer Complaints
Importance Weight
Planned

1
2
3
4
5
Good service 1 Quality
Customer service requirements

Friendly 2 3.0 5
Ea sy to underst and 3 5.0

Helpf ul 4 4.0 53
Quick Response 5 5.0 126
Good Inf ormation 6
Several Numbers in one c all 7 1.0 2
Relationship Matrix

HOW

WHAT

WEAK RELATIONSHIP
MEDIUM RELATIONSHIP

STRONG RELATIONSHIP
Correlation matrix

Strong Positive
Positive
Negative Negative
Strong Negative Correlation

HOWS
Technical Importance Rating

HOW
WHAT
5
3
2
1
5
2
4
2

=1
HOW MUCH
=3
=9 51 89 9 13 21 25 21 18
(5 x 9) + (2 x 3) = 51
Service Planning Matrix

CORRELATION
MATRIX

HOW
IMPORTANCE

CUSTOMER
WHAT RELATIONSHIP COMPETITIVE
MATRIX ASSESSMENT

HOW MUCH

COMPANY
COMPETITIVE
ASSESSMENT

IMPORTANCE
Analysing & Diagnosing the Service Planning Matrix

• Service Strengths
• Service Weaknesses
• Service Opportunities (Sales Points)
• Planned Quality
• Blank, Weak Rows
• Blank, Weak Columns
• Conflicts in Customer vs Company Survey
• No jumping to solutions
• Resolve Negative Correlations
• Finalise Targets
Example – Directory Enquiries

Successful enquiry rate(%)

13 STD given when requi red

Registration of database
Information restriction
Number of repititions

Number of operators
Rate number s given

Time to answer call

# numbers per call

17 System parameters
Correct grammar

Time per enquiry


Number of lines
Charge per call
Importance Weight
1 Communication
Eloquenc e

Politeness

7 Performance

Help desk
Re la tionship

11 Information
Stro ng
Med iu m
Weak

10

12

14
15
16

18
19
20
2
3
4
5
6

8
9
Good serv ice 1
Customer service requirements

Friendly 2 3.0

Ea sy to unders t and 3 5.0


Helpf ul 4 4.0
Quick Res pons e 5 5.0

Good Inf ormation 6


Several Numbers in one c all 7 1.0

Numbers n ot giv e n too quickly 8 2.0

A r ea code w he n necess ary 9 3.0


A lternative s if n umber not f ound 10 2.0

V alue f or money 11
Cheap 12 5.0
Satisf ac tory a nsw er 13 5.0

Company Requirements 14
Minimum running cos ts 15 5.0
Security of inf orma tion 16 4.0

Legal Requirements 17
Data prot ection act 18 5.0
Importance Weight

Example – Directory Enquiries


Communication
Eloquenc e
Correct grammar
Politeness
Rate number s given
Number of repititions
Performance
Time to answer call
Successful enquiry rate(%)
10 Charge per call
11 Information
12 # numbers per call
13 STD given when requi red
14 Information restriction
15 Help desk
16 Registration of database Re l a ti onship
17 System parameters
Strong Negative
Negative
Positive
Strong Positive

18 Time per enquiry


19 Number of lines
20 Number of operators
Customer Complaints

Customer Competitive Assessment


Customer Focus Workshop
1. For the given product, brainstorm “end-user” customer
requirements. Put each idea onto a Post-It as it is generated.
2. Attempt to prioritise the requirements by sorting the Post-Its into
a single line from most important to least important.
3. For the top five requirements identify appropriate measures (y’s)
using the question “How would we measure if the product meets
this requirement?”. Where possible, identify objective, variable
measures as opposed to subjective or discrete measures. There
may be more than one measure for each requirement and some
measures may address several requirements.
4. Discuss briefly how you would establish the appropriate target
and tolerance for the measures.
5. Prepare a short summary to present to the other teams.

N.B. In practice it would be dangerous for us to assume that we know what the customer
wants! In a real application, we would establish this working directly with the
customers.
Customer Focus- Summary

• The Customer is at the centre of Six Sigma


• There are two ways to achieve Six Sigma:
• Reducing variation in the process
• Opening up the specification
• A SIPOC Process Map defines the process to be
improved
• Product/Process measures should be directly linked to
Customer Requirements
• Customer Focus is used in the Define and Measure
phases of the DMAIC Improvement Process

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