13 March 2016

ISO Standard for Innovative Customer Experience

ASQ's annual congress will again take place this May in Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA.

Mark your calendar for May 17, 2016 at  4 pm–5 pm as Glenn Mazur, executive director of the QFD Institute, will present "ISO 16355: A Standard for Innovative Customer Experience."  It will be in "T30: Customer Experience Track."


Click to see the video preview
"ISO 16355: A Standard for Innovative Customer Experience"

By the way, companies with international business and those who lead corporate efforts in Design for Six/Lean Sigma (DFSS/DFLS) should also consider attending the March 22–23, 2016 QFD Green Belt® Course, to develop the skills needed to achieve 21st century levels of innovation and quality in their new products and comply with the new standard.

In addition to the modern QFD software templates and case studies, students of the March 2016 QFD course will receive the ISO 16355-1 Tools Matrix reference eBook ($149 value). This course has no prerequisites. Registration is here.



27 February 2016

New ISO 16355-1 for QFD



Since 2009, an international team of QFD experts convened by the QFD Institute has been writing the new ISO standard 16355 for QFD. The Part I is now on sale through various standards organizations listed below.

The purpose of the standard is to guide the global community of QFD practitioners, international businesses, and Quality and Design professionals in complying with the skills they need to achieve 21st century levels of innovation and quality in their new products.

To comply with this standard—more accurately, to be able to use the standard successfully, you must possess important QFD foundations.

Simply copying from the standard will not help achieve the desired success. You must know how to tailor QFD methods discussed in the standard, you must be able to distinguish which QFD tools and which deployments in what sequence are best for your project, not falling into copying something that turns out to be detrimental to your particular project.

To develop the sound QFD foundation to comply with ISO 16355 and develop successful product development skill-set, consider proper training. This will save you from making costly mistakes, wasting resources, and project failure.

The papers and links referenced in the standard and its Tool Matrix have been complied in a 1400+page eBook, which was complimentary to the March 2016 QFD Green Belt® attendees. After that, this eBook is available from the QFD Institute. It contains case studies using the tools cited in the ISO 16355 as well as other resources. 

Standard organizations selling ISO 16355-1:2015 (Part I):
  • ISO (International Standards Organization)
  • ANSI (American National Standards Institute)
  • ASQ (American Society for Quality)
  • BSI (British Standards Institute)
  • DIN (German Institute for Standardization)
  • JSA (Japan Standards Association)
  • NEN (Netherlands NEN)
  • EESTI (Estonian Centre for Standardisation)
  • SIS (Swedish Standards Institute)
  • NO (Standards Norway)
  • AFNOR (France)
  • Normservis (Czech Republic)
  • SCC (Standards Council of Canada)

Original post Feb. 27, 2016.  Updated March 25, 2016.




11 February 2016

2016 ISQFD Call For Papers

The QFD Institute is issuing Call For Papers for its 2016 International Symposium on QFD (ISQFD). Interested parties are invited to send a paper proposal by May 01, 2016.

This symposium welcomes participation from all countries and industries. Both completed projects and those still in progress are candidates for presentation.

Speaker benefits include discounts for the symposium and QFD courses in Boise.


More about this International Symposium (ISQFD):

(Click to go to Call For Papers page)













22 January 2016

Modern QFD tools for Gemba study


One of the most frequently asked questions about customer gemba visits is what questions to prepare in advance.

Gemba preparations depend greatly on the type of QFD project. Is it an improvement, a refresh, an upgrade, a new technology, a next generation, or totally new to the world?

The new ISO 16355 for QFD explains the process in Part 2 (ISO/DIS 16355-2). Modern QFD offers specific tools for this, including the customer process model and gemba visit table, and this critical part of QFD is taught in detail in the QFD Green Belt®.

The most important thing to remember during a Gemba visit is to encourage your customer to speak openly about what frustrates them, not just product complaints. Use the gemba visit to discover what you don't know you don't know. A January 2, 2016 article in The New York Times by Pagan Kennedy "How to Cultivate the Art of Serendipity" calls this wonderfully, "the art of finding what we're not seeking."

(an illustration of the Persian poem describing the Three Princes of Serendip, {PD-US})
illustration of the Persian tale
source: wikipedia {PD-US}
The article explains the history of the word 'Serendipity' to a Persian fairy tale about three princes from the Isle of Serendip who have super powers of observation — a skill, not just dumb luck. Three types of observers are identified by University of Missouri information scientist, Sanda Erdelez:
  •  Non-encounterers who stick to a preferred list;   
  •  Occasional encounterers who have moments of serendipity;
  • Super-encounterers who have happy surprises wherever they look.
Among a super-encounterer, these are some of their attributes:
  • Open to ideas that evolve on an unrelated project.
  • Transform mistakes into a breakthrough.
  • See patterns that others don't see.
Readers familiar with the modern QFD tools may recognize some of these attributes. You can master these tools and techniques and you too can become a "serendipiter."
  1. Gemba visits should be conducted by...
  2.  ....
  3.  ...  Read the full article at www.qfdi.org





27 September 2015

Taxi of Tomorrow failing on today's needs?

Last year we discussed the "Taxi of Tomorrow," New York City's taxi design contest. We called attention to the peril of new product development without understanding stakeholders and offered some QFD perspectives.

Now that the winning model (Nissan) is being rolled out to replace the aging fleet of NYC cabs, are New Yorkers happy? Not so fast. The debate continues.

Nissan minivan - the winner of Taxi of Tomorrow contest
Taxi of Tomorrow
Nissan NV200
photo: mr.chopper / wikipedia

The Nissan model (photo right), based on a Japanese family van never tested in a commercial fleet until now, offers features such as a spacious interior, rear seat airbags, driver GPS, and charging ports for electronic devices.

The critics complained that the Nissan model is only a gasoline fueled vehicle (at least for now) and does not offer wheelchair accessibility.

Intriguingly, it caught our eyes that the contest decision makers (politicians, taxi and limousine commissioners, industry leaders) gravitated toward the established, practical product features for the final selection, such as Safety, Comfort, Passenger and Driver Amenities, and Economy.

In the pre-decision survey, the general public additionally voiced these important features: Environmental friendliness and forward-looking design fit for the international center of business, arts, and tourism.

What neither party articulated, during and after the contest, were the true needs of customers, especially the "latent" needs.

That may be why Uber, Lyft, and others are able to make a dent in the market share of traditional taxis. Note here, what types of vehicle it is or what amenities it is equipped with are no longer the differentiating points in this new competition.

This may come as shocking to those who worked hard to bring the winning design onto the streets of Manhattan. But with the entry of this new app-based, on-demand competition, the physical features that the Taxi of Tomorrow has focused have become irrelevant — as if the Taxi of Tomorrow addresses the needs of yesterday!

The city officials are hopeful the new taxi will bring back customers, but it seems they need more than an eye-catching new design to successfully compete in this new market.

How can they turn the Taxi of Tomorrow truly live up to its name?
Read more...



24 August 2015

Speaking on Innovation, Quality and QFD tools and methods

Have you been wanting to learn more about Innovation, Quality, and Modern QFD?  The latest tools and methods?  The kind of information that you can use right away in your work?

Here are upcoming opportunities that are open to the public:


September 19, 2015
ASQ Innovation Conference 2015
Lecture "Quality Fitness-Focused Innovation"
Charlottesville, Virginia USA


September 25–26, 2015
International Symposium on QFD
Hangzhou, CHINA


October 26–27, 2015
World Quality Forum
Budapest, HUNGARY


November 4–5, 2015
QFD Green Belt® Certificate Course
Calgary, Alberta CANADA


November 6, 2015
ASQ Calgary Quality Conference
Keynote "Mine Your Own Business: Reverse QFD Method"
Calgary, Alberta CANADA


November 9–10, 2015
ASQ International Conference on Quality Standards
Indianapolis, Indiana USA



We look forward to seeing you there!



18 May 2015

How to become a great salesperson

(photo of apartments - photo courtesy of Roy Googin/wikipedia)
photo of big city apartments
photo courtesy of Roy Googin / wikipedia
Last week while apartment hunting with our newly graduated son, I got to meet one of the best sales people I ever met. I'll call her Brittany.

The challenge was this the apartments she had ready for instant move-in were the unites that had two bedrooms and cost about $100 a month more than the one bedroom our son had budgeted.

While he hesitated, Brittany chatted with us about the graduation, our son's new job, and how often we would visit him. Then she struck:

"If he had a two bedroom apartment, you could stay with him!"

Immediately, I did the mental math of our 5-day graduation visit: $150/night for a hotel, $100/day for three meals for two people, etc. If we visited twice per year for five days, our hotel and meal cost would be more than double the difference between a one- and two-bedroom apartment.

Why doesn't he get the two-bedroom and we pay the extra $100/month. A definite win-win!

This is what good sales people do, and why they are so valuable on a QFD team. Brittany was able to quickly translate the feature of "two-bedroom" into the customer need of "parents can visit cheaply."


16 January 2015

Marriott Red Coat Direct

Let's welcome the New Year with some of the tremendous improvements made in the hotel industry in recent years.  We just completed our 26th annual symposium and training sessions at the Charleston SC Marriott. As you can guess, in 26 years we have learned a lot about how we want to run our events and what the hotel must do to make it run smoothly.

Since we are quality assurance professionals, the failure-complaint mode is not our style. We use FMEA thinking to anticipate and proactively assure what goes right and prevent what could go wrong. This includes providing the hotel with the event order spreadsheet that details each day's room set up, meals (including special diets), audio-visual equipment, costs, and so forth. Such information is always welcomed by the hotel’s banquet staff who take care of multiple groups simultaneously.

Despite this, there are always a few minor things each year that we did not anticipate. This year, the unseasonably warm sun poured into the meeting foyer and melted our ice cream snack. Instead of chasing down a hotel worker or relaying the problem through the front desk via a house phone as we usually have to do, we were able to get the melted ice cream replaced instantly with a couple of swipes and clicks!
(screen shot of Marriott Red Coat Direct app)

The "Marriott Red Coat Direct” is a mobile device app that the chain has rolled out in recent years. It lets us meeting planners message anything needing immediate attention, from “adjust room temperature,”  “too much noise from kitchen,” “need more chairs,” to “a daily statement before the end of the day” and more all without leaving the meeting room or even talking.

We can't tell you what a relief this was. The reassuring part of this system is that the message is viewed not only by the banquet staff who were assigned to our function but also by their peers and their bosses. This provides multiple eyes and ears to make sure the meeting planner’s Voice of the Customer is heard and taken care of   in real time.

Most important, it allowed us to focus on what mattered most – our attendees – instead of running around looking for help.

We look forward to hearing more success stories by companies listening to their customers not only to handle complaints, but to build into their future offerings.



17 November 2014

Upcoming Public QFD Courses
— Learn today's best methods and tools

All events listed here will be held at Charleston Marriott in Charleston, South Carolina USA. The 1-day Symposium on December 5, 2014 is complimentary to the course attendees.

Registration Page.
For questions, please contact the QFD Institute.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

QFD Green Belt® Certificate Course
December 3–4,  2014  (Wed & Thurs)

    QFD Green BeltĀ® Certificate Course
  • Your chance to learn Modern Blitz QFD®.  
  • Learn how to do QFD analysis without the outdated 4-house matrices, without the resource-consuming House of Quality matrix.
  • Learn how to do a Gemba and VOC analysis, correctly identify and prioritize customer needs, transform them into design specifications of customer-value and innovative solutions, deploy them throughout your new product/service development process — with agility and efficiency essential to today's lean environment. 
  • Templates included (modern QFD, AHP, modern House of Quality, Maximum Value Table, and more).
  • No Prerequisites.

QFD Black Belt® Certificate Course
December 8–12,  2014  (Monday - Friday)

    QFD Black BeltĀ® Certificate Course
  • Advanced QFD training for DFLS/DFSS black belts and master black belts, trainers, facilitators, innovation leaders, corporate training scouts, and anyone who is inspired to be a project leader.  
  • Learn the full depth and breadth of Modern Comprehensive QFD, including detailed instructions on how to correctly deploy a House of Quality matrix for its full power, with correct data input and prioritization.
  • Learn how to expertly integrate your own process and other quality and design methods such as DFLS, Hoshin, Kansei Engineering, TRIZ, Critical Chain, six sigma DMAIC, StageGates, DFMEA and more. 
  • Templates included (modern QFD, AHP, modern House of Quality, Maximum Value Table, and more), and over 1,000 pages of training manual.
  • Prerequisites: Qualified graduates of the QFD Green Belt® Courses.

If you have attended the above courses more than three years ago, now is the time to refresh your knowledge and skills in these semi-private coaching sessions:
    QFD Update Courses
  • QFD Green Belt® Update Course is the continuing education for QFD Green Belt® graduates. This half-day course is conveniently scheduled on December 7, 2014, 4 PM - 7:30 PM.
  • QFD Black Belt® Update Course is the continuing education for QFD Black Belt® graduates. Attendees of this full-day course on December 7, 2014 receive the latest copy of both QFD Green Belt® and QFD Black Belt® training manuals.
We look forward to meeting you in these Charleston QFD events.