Thomson Reuters 2014 Journal Citation Reports® recognizes "Using QFD to Write an ISO Standard"

Writing and publishing implies a level of authority on a particular subject. We say "imply" because it may not always be the case. There are numerous books, papers, and articles that suggest a certain expertise but fall short of delivering it.

The recent advent of self-publishing technology, without peer review, makes it difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff.  Even the Quality community is not immune.

That is why it was a pleasant surprise to receive a notification from Francis and Taylor, publishers of the Quality Engineering Journal, saying that a recent article by Glenn Mazur, "Using Quality Function Deployment to Write an ISO Standard for QFD,"  has been recognized by Thomson Reuters 2014 Journal Citation Reports® for improving Quality Engineering Journal Impact Factors.

screen shot of Thomson Reuters JCR

Thomson Reuters is a major multinational media and information company based in New York City. Thomson Reuters Journal Citation Reports® measures how many times a particular article has been cited by peers, as an indicator of the article impact on the subject matter. This is what they say on their web page:

Hooray for Glenn Mazur, executive director of the QFD Institute and also one of the contributors of this QFD Blog. He also shares his expertise often in the QFD Institute Newsletter, which is free and you can subscribe from here. He will be speaking at the December 5, 2014 Symposium on QFD.

 Thomson Reuters® and Journal Citation Reports® are registered marks of Thomson Reuters.

Healthcare QFD examples - October 30, 2014 in Orlando, Florida

Modern QFD has been used successfully in the healthcare industry, from clinical gemba such as hospitals and medical labs, to health insurance industry and medical device development including Electronic Medical Records.

Healthcare QFD methods and tools will be presented on October 30, 2014 at ASQ Technical Communities Conference in Orlando, Florida USA.

The talk, "Delighting Customers in Health Care Using QFD" (1:45 pm - 2:45 pm), will share the case studies of a hospital, healthcare insurance company, and medical device development to show how you, too, can acquire, analyze, prioritize, and innovate solutions for the Voice of Customer.

We hope you will be able to join us!

Is it mean to mean different things with the same words?

One strength of Modern Blitz QFD^® and its powerful voice of customer analysis toolset is a way to more deeply understand the customer's words, since different cultures, regions, age groups, sexes, and so forth can use the same words to mean different things.

The other day, I was listening to the rock opera Tommy by the Who, and in the song Pinball Wizard is the line "…sure plays a mean pinball." Even though I have heard that song a hundred times or more, it suddenly occurred to me, does that mean he plays average pinball or above average pinball?

If you ask us quality specialists, "mean" means average. If you ask us hippies (the album was released in 1969), "mean" means wickedly good, and certainly better than average. Same word, different meaning depending on who says it and in what context.

In his hilarious book Dave Barry Does Japan, the author offers a translation table. My favorite is "We will study your proposal" translated into American English as "We will feed your proposal to a goat."

My point is this, QFD should start with the voice of the customer, but that voice must be translated in order to understand its true meaning.

New QFD Group in LinkedIn

The QFD Institute is pleased to launch a new LinkedIn Group devoted to conversations, Q&A, and announcements about QFD activities. It is moderated by the Executive Director, Glenn Mazur.

To join this new group,

1. You must have a free LinkedIn account, which you can easily join at www.linkedin.com

2. In the search box, type "qfd institute" and select the QFD Institute Group.

3. Click "Join" and join the conversation.

While there are other QFD-named groups, it appears they have gone "ghost" or "zombie" where the underlying moderator no longer exists or participates.

This new QFD LinkedIn group is for professionals who are serious about learning and implementing QFD and relevant methodologies for design, quality, new product development, business process innovation, VOC, innovation, etc.

We invite you to ask a question, post a comment, like something, or follow the QFD Institute.