How do you prioritize CTQ characteristics?

CTQ characteristics are the critical-to-quality attributes that define the customer value of a product or service. They are derived from the voice of the customer (VOC) and translated into measurable and actionable specifications. Prioritizing CTQ characteristics is essential for Lean Six Sigma projects, as it helps to focus on the most important factors that affect customer satisfaction and loyalty. In this article, you will learn how to prioritize CTQ characteristics using four steps: identifying, validating, rating, and ranking.

1 Identify CTQ characteristics

The first step is to identify the CTQ characteristics that are relevant for your product or service. You can use various methods to collect the VOC, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, complaints, reviews, or benchmarking. You should aim to capture both the explicit and implicit needs and expectations of your customers, as well as their pain points and preferences. Once you have collected the VOC data, you need to analyze it and convert it into CTQ characteristics. A common tool for this purpose is the Kano model, which classifies the CTQ characteristics into three categories: basic, performance, and delighters.

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🇮🇳 Ajay Kumar

Result-Driven Operations and Quality Management Professional •Process Excellence •Lean Six Sigma Black Belt •Vendor Development •QMS(IATF16949, ISO9001,14001 & 45001), New Product Development •QA •Customer Handling •Dojo
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CTQ is the one of the part of any improvement is to be done and there are many such CTS, CTP etc..and it can be captured with several techniques but the one which i rated the most and is missing here is FMEA…this is great tool to identify the same… Kano model in my awareness is used for identifying the customer requirements in terms of basic ( bare minimum), performance and excitement and to get CTQ with that is still a subject of discussion…how can be done and upto level?

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2 Validate CTQ characteristics

The next step is to validate the CTQ characteristics that you have identified. You need to ensure that they are accurate, relevant, and feasible for your product or service. You can use various methods to validate the CTQ characteristics, such as customer feedback, market research, competitor analysis, or technical assessment. You should aim to eliminate any CTQ characteristics that are unclear, redundant, unrealistic, or insignificant for your customers. You should also verify that each CTQ characteristic has a clear and measurable definition and a target value or range.

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🇮🇳 Ajay Kumar

Result-Driven Operations and Quality Management Professional •Process Excellence •Lean Six Sigma Black Belt •Vendor Development •QMS(IATF16949, ISO9001,14001 & 45001), New Product Development •QA •Customer Handling •Dojo
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Why validation is required for CTQ characteristics…validation to my awareness is done on identifying significant causes from probable causes list.. If CTQ are defined then we need to define controls accordingly to ensure better results to the customer or end user of the product.

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3 Rate CTQ characteristics

The third step is to rate the CTQ characteristics that you have validated. You need to assess the importance and performance of each CTQ characteristic for your customers and your business. You can use various methods to rate the CTQ characteristics, such as customer surveys, quality function deployment, or pairwise comparison. You should aim to assign a numerical score or a qualitative rating to each CTQ characteristic based on its impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty, as well as its alignment with your strategic goals and capabilities.

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🇮🇳 Ajay Kumar

Result-Driven Operations and Quality Management Professional •Process Excellence •Lean Six Sigma Black Belt •Vendor Development •QMS(IATF16949, ISO9001,14001 & 45001), New Product Development •QA •Customer Handling •Dojo
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There is no such controls defined in the systems globally where we need to rate the CTQ characteristics.. however there is a system defined in the form of FMEA where we define Critical characteristics and significant characteristics and accordingly collect data in the process or based on previously available data we do the rating to put extra controls which are more severe to the organisation.

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4 Rank CTQ characteristics

The final step is to rank the CTQ characteristics that you have rated. You need to prioritize the CTQ characteristics based on their importance and performance ratings. You can use various methods to rank the CTQ characteristics, such as Pareto analysis, matrix diagram, or decision tree. You should aim to create a list or a map of the CTQ characteristics that shows their relative priority and helps you to identify the gaps and opportunities for improvement. You should also consider the trade-offs and dependencies among the CTQ characteristics and balance them accordingly.

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