Step 1: Prepare the List of Metrics
The most useful met1ics are those that reflect as directly as possible the degree to "hi
product satisfies the customer needs. The relationship between needs and metric i
to the entire concept of specifications. The working assumption is that a translation from tomer needs to a set of precise. measurable specifications is possible and that meeting cations will therefore lead to satisfaction of the associated customer needs.
A list of metrics is shown in Exhibit 6-4. A good way to generate the list of metri - l.l
contemplate each need in tum and to consider what precise, measurable characteritico
product will reflect the degree to which the product satisfies that need . ln the ideal case. is one and only one metric for each need. In practice, this is frequently not possible.
for example, consider the need that the suspension be "easy to install." The rmay conclude that this need is largely captured by measuring the time requi 1 for assembly of the fork to the frame. However, note the possible subtleties in translation. Is assembly time really identical to ease of installation? The installari could be extremely fast but require an awkward and painful set of finger action . w ultimately may lead to worker injury or dealer frustration. Because of the impr nature of the translation process, those establishing the specifications should h been directly involved in identifying the customer needs. Tn this way the team can
on its understanding of the meaning of each need statement derived from firth
interactions with customers.
The need for the fork to reduce vibration to the user's hands may be even more diffi to translate into a singl e metric, because there are many different conditi ons under whi vibration can be transm i tted, including small bumps on level roads and big bump rough trails. The team may conc l ude that several metrics are requi red to capture thi s n inc l uding, for example, the metrics "attenuation from dropout to hand l ebar at I 0 Hz•• a "maximum value from the Monster." (The "Monster" is a suspension test developed Mountain Bike magazine.)
A simple needs-metrics matrix represents the relationship between needs and metri1
An example needs- metrics matrix is shown in Exhibit 6-5. The rows of the matrix 1
respond to the customer needs, and the columns of the matrix correspond to the metri1
A mark in a cell of the matrix means that the need and the metric associated with 1 cell are rel ated ; performance relative to the metric wi ll influence the degree to which 1 product satisfies the customer need. This matrix is a key element of the House of Qua/i
a graphical technique used in Quality Function Deployment, or QFD (Hauser and Clat
ing, 1 988). ln many cases, we find the i n formation in t h e needs-metri cs matrix is ju t easi l y communicated by l isting the n u mbers of the needs related to each metric along i the list of metrics (the second col umn in Exhibit 6-4). There are some cases, however. which the mapping from needs to metrics is compl ex, and th e matrix can be quite usel for representing this mapping.