Strategic Matrices and Customer Analysis

In this chapter the first two phases of the QFD framework will be discussed: Strategy; Customer. In the QFD “strategy” area, we will calculate: the priority of strategic targets; the priority of our core competencies; the priority of the customer segments. Priority is a numerical value we obtain as an output of a matrix such as: Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) Matrix; QFD correlation matrix; Preplan matrix. Displaying customer segment priorities and their deployment with a graph will allow for focused planning of the first activity around the customer: the open answer “gemba” interviews with a small group of selected customers. After collecting several raw data, phrases and expressions from the customers interviewed, the QFD team will start brainstorming sessions making use of the Jiro Kawakita (KJ) method, to display, organise and select ideas and data. The output of KJ is a set of sentences that form the so called Demanded Quality Deployment Chart. A QFD questionnaire will then be prepared and sent to a large group of customers, contacts and potential customers. Following this questionnaire competitor benchmarking starts. The average scores obtained from the questionnaire will be inserted in a matrix called “Preplan” the output of which will be an assessment of the customer’s requests (Demanded Qualities) through an index called Demanded Quality Weight. An educational case study (the development of “Royal” classic bicycle) is used to describe each step of the method. Exercises for the reader are proposed at each stage.