17. Phase 1: Gathering the Voice of the Customer

This chapter presents guidelines for acquiring the Voice of the Customer (VOC). As we saw in Chapter 6, this is a complex subject. Listening to the customer requires time and good listening skills. As a reminder, we outlined in Figure 1-1 (Chapter 1) the fundamental steps for this key part of the QFD process:

1. Gather the VOC

2. Analyze the VOC

3. Define Customer Prioritized Needs

4. Validate Customer Needs

5. Begin the HOQ Work

No matter how your company or business accomplishes these five process steps—whether formally or informally—they must be done, as QFD will not work well without established customer needs. The better your company does the first four steps, the more value will be added ...

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