Six Sigma and the Voice of the Customer


Overview/Description
Target Audience
Expected Duration
Lesson Objectives
Course Number



Overview/Description
Do you know the phrase, "caveat emptor"? It's a Latin term that means, "Let the buyer beware." It's also a legal principle stating that consumers must purchase goods at their own risk, because unless specifically asked, the seller is generally under no obligation to disclose defects. Caveat emptor once struck fear in the hearts of many wary consumers. Fortunately, the tide has turned. Increased market competition, modern consumer protection laws, and expanded customer awareness have helped negate the influence of this business maxim. Today, organizations are admonished to heed the voice of customers and give them what they really want. "Voice of the customer," or VOC, is a Six Sigma® term that refers to customers' actual, as opposed to assumed, product and service needs and desires. This course, Six Sigma and the Voice of the Customer, is a guide to understanding VOC and Six Sigma's strategies for identifying customers and collecting customer data. In Lesson One, you'll learn about different customer types and prioritizing those customers. In Lesson Two, you'll learn about customer data sources and methods for collecting that data. Six Sigma is a registered Trademark of Motorola Corporation, and all rights, title, and interest in Six Sigma belongs to Motorola.

Target Audience
Candidates for black belt certification; managers/executives overseeing personnel involved in the implementation of Six Sigma in their organization; consultants involved in implementing a Six Sigma proposal; and organizations implementing a Six Sigma project

Expected Duration (hours)
2.0

Lesson Objectives

Identifying the Customer

  • recognize the benefits of knowing how to identify customers for a Six Sigma project.
  • determine if a Six Sigma team has implemented an effective voice of the customer strategy and indicate why or why not.
  • match internal and external customer categories with examples.
  • classify examples of hidden customers being discussed in a given business scenario.
  • identify questions that a Six Sigma team must consider when identifying stakeholders.
  • sequence examples of the steps used to segment customers.
  • select examples of the steps for segmenting customers in a given business scenario.
  • Collecting Customer Data

  • recognize the benefits of knowing how to collect customer data for a Six Sigma project.
  • match reactive customer data sources that are used to capture the voice of the customer with examples.
  • match proactive data gathering methods that are used to capture the voice of the customer with examples.
  • Course Number:
    OPER0177