Quality Management and the Kano Model

The Kano model is a tool that can be used to prioritize the Critical to Quality characteristics, as defined by the Voice of the Customer The three categories identified by the Kano model are:Must Be: The quailty characteristic must be present or the customer will go elsewhere.

Performance: The better we are at meeting these needs, the happier the customer is. Delighter: Those qualities that the customer was not expecting but received as a bonusThe First Step for Creating the Kano Model: Identifying the Voice of the CustomerThe first step for creating the Kano model is to identify the quality characteristics that are typically fuzzy, vague and nebulous. These quality characteristics are referred to as the Voice of the Customer (VOC). Once the Voice of the Customer is understood, we can attempt to translate it into quantitative terms known as critical to quality (CTQ) characteristics. This should not be a new concept for those familiar with the Six Sigma methodology. What happens from here, though, can sometimes go astray if we are not careful and try to put our own spin on the needs of the customer.

This may be the result of trying to make things more easily obtainable for us—a formula for failure.Use the Kano Model to Prioritize the Critical to Quality CharacteristicsSo, now that we have identified what is important to the customer in workable terms, we can go to the second step. Always keeping the customer in mind, we can apply the concepts outlined in the Kano model diagramThe Kano model is broken down into an (x, y) graph, where the x-axis of the Kano model represents how good we are at achieving the customer’s outcome(s), or CTQ’s. The y-axis of the Kano model records the customer’s level of satisfaction as a result of our level of achievement.The red line on the Kano model represents the Must Bes.

That is, whatever the quality characteristic is, it must be present; if the quality characteristic is not met, the customer will go elsewhere. The customer does not care if the product is wrapped in 24-carat gold, only that it is present and is functionally doing what it was designed to do. An example of this would be a client who checks into a hotel room expecting to find a bed, curtains and bathroom in the room. These items are not called out for by the customer, but would definitely cause them to go elsewhere if any of these “characteristics” were not present.

The blue line on the Kano model represents the Performance. This line reflects the Voice of the Customer. The better we are at meeting these needs, the happier the customer is. It is here where the trade-offs take place.

Someone wanting good gas mileage would not likely expect to have a vehicle that has great accelerations from a standing position.By far, the most interesting evaluation point of the Kano model is the Delighter (the green line). This represents those qualities that the customer was not expecting, but received as a bonus. A few years ago, it was customary that when a car was taken back to the dealer for a warranty oil change, the vehicle was returned to the owner with its body washed, mirrors polished, carpets vacuumed, etc.

After a few trips to the dealer, this Delighter became a Must Be characteristic.Thus, a characteristic that once was exciting was now a basic need, and a part of the customer’s expectations. Another example of this is the amenities platter that some hotels provide their platinum customers upon checking in. I am one of those clients entitled to such a treat. This practice was certainly a delight. It has, however, become an expected part of my check-in, such that if there is no platter waiting in my room, I’m on the phone with the front desk.

Once the critical to quality characteristics have been prioritized, the last step of the Kano model involves an analysis of evaluating or assessing just how well we can satisfy each of Dr. Noriaki Kano’s classifications.The Herzberg's two-factor theory states that there are certain factors in the workplace that cause job satisfaction, while a separate set of factors cause dissatisfaction. It was developed by psychologist Frederick Herzberg, who theorized that job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction act independently of each other. Two-factor theory distinguishes between:•Motivators (e.g.

challenging work, recognition, responsibility) that give positive satisfaction, arising from intrinsic conditions of the job itself, such as recognition, achievement, or personal growth,[4] and •Hygiene factors (e.g. status, job security, salary, fringe benefits, work conditions) that do not give positive satisfaction, though dissatisfaction results from their absence. These are extrinsic to the work itself, and include aspects such as company policies, supervisory practices, or wages/salary.

Pareto Analysis is a simple technique for prioritizing possible changes by identifying the problems that will be resolved by making these changes. By using this approach, you can prioritize the individual changes that will most improve the situation.Pareto Analysis uses the Pareto Principle – also known as the "80/20 Rule" – which was developed by Joseph M. Juran in 1937. It is the idea that 20 percent of causes generate 80 percent of results. With this tool, we're trying to find the 20 percent of work that will generate 80 percent of the results that doing all of the work would deliver.

In its simplest terms, Pareto analysis will typically show that a disproportionate improvement can be achieved by ranking various causes of a problem and by concentrating on those solutions or items with the largest impact. The basic premise is that not all inputs have the same or even proportional impact on a given output. This type of decision-making can be used in many fields of endeavor, from government policy to individual business decisionsBenchmarking is simply the comparison of one organization's practices and performance against those of others. It seeks to identify standards, or "best practices," to apply in measuring and improving performance. It is the process of identifying, understanding, and adapting outstanding practices and processes from organizations anywhere in the world to help your organization improve its performance. It is an on-going outreach activity; the goal of the outreach is identification of best operating practices that, when implemented, produce superior performance Benchmarking is a quality improvement tool that identifies:•What you're doing •How you're doing it •How others do it •How well you're doing it in reference to measures •What and how to improveThe concept of degrees of freedom is central to the principle of estimating statistics of populations from samples of them.

"Degrees of freedom" is commonly abbreviated to df. Think of df as a mathematical restriction that needs to be put in place when estimating one statistic from an estimate of another.In statistics, the number of degrees of freedom is the number of values in the final calculation of a statistic that are free to vary. The number of independent ways by which a dynamic system can move without violating any constraint imposed on it, is called degree of freedom. In other words, the degree of freedom can be defined as the minimum number of independent coordinates that can specify the position of the system completely.Estimates of statistical parameters can be based upon different amounts of information or data.

The number of independent pieces of information that go into the estimate of a parameter is called the degrees of freedom. In general, the degrees of freedom of an estimate of a parameter is equal to the number of independent scores that go into the estimate minus the number of parameters used as intermediate steps in the estimation of the parameter itself (which, in sample variance, is one, since the sample mean is the only intermediate step.