Quantum Leap: Breaking Through Performance Barriers with QFD - Hardcover

Barnard, Bill; Wallace, Tom

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0939246414 ISBN 13: 9780939246410

Publisher: Wight (Oliver) Publications Inc.,U.S., 1994

Synopsis

Taking the Voice of Your Customers into the critical decisions that affect the future of your company is no longer an option; it's essential to your success. In The Innovation Edge, Barnard and Wallace show you how to use exciting new management tools to reach into the marketplace and clearly hear the stated and even the unspoken needs of your customers.
By applying Quality Function Deployment, (QFD), and other related tools to the development of your company's long-term game plan, you can achieve dramatic breakthroughs in performance. Used by organizations such as Hewlett-Packard, NCR, and the Ford Foundation, this innovative approach is positioning early users in the forefront of their industries.
In The Innovation Edge, you'll follow the discovery of this new approach and its implementation at a mythical company named B&W Inc. By following its management team through its turmoil, into the learning curve, and on to bottom line results, you'll see how to use the Voice of the Customer to achieve real breakthroughs in your company's performance.
Barnard and Wallace show, through a step-by-step approach, how to clearly understand the Voice of the Customer; link customers to your long-term game plan; and deploy the plan throughout your group, division, or company.
You'll see how to use new tools such as choice modeling, "catch-ball," and in-context customer visits. Experienced advice shows you how and where to start building strategic breakthroughs in your company by carefully using the Voice of the Customer.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Advance Praise for The Innovation Edge "QFD is a powerful tool for creating competitive advantage for the company of the 90 s. The Innovation Edge explains both the technique and its implementation. It s eminently readable and easy to understand. If you re a student or a businessman, reading this book will set you on the right path." Professor Ron Pannesi, Kenan–Flagler Business School University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill "The Innovation Edge is an important book that describes the principles behind a systematic approach to developing customer–driven strategies. The use of QFD processes has allowed us to achieve this goal in less time and with less effort." John H. Edholm, Vice President, Pierce & Stevens Corp. "The weakness of many of today s quality systems is that they don t address the essential role of top management. The Innovation Edge corrects this deficiency by aiming directly at the executive suite. Barnard and Wallace are not content with merely preaching the new philosophy; this book is loaded with techniques never before published. It brings the techniques and strategies coupled with real–world case studies within the grasp of even the busiest executive. If you re managing for the twenty–first century, this book is a must." Glenn H. Mazur, Executive Director, QFD Institute

Synopsis

During the 1980s many companies focused their strategies, energies and resources on what is commonly known as continuous improvement. While the results of many companies have been mixed, one outcome has been clear. The process of gradual improvement has not offered, in many cases, significant "quantum leaps" in performance. This text argues that one of the reasons for this shortfall is that the improvement initiatives of the 1980s did not reach the executive suite. This book offers companies the opportunity to address the challenges found in the corner offices around the world. Based on concepts used by companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Corning and Motorola, "Quantum Leap" aims to show managers how to use Quality Functional Deployment (QFD) to achieve world-class results. Key features of this text include: a step-by-step approach; showing companies how to use QFD to link the voice of the customer to the process of creating a viable, visible strategy; presenting a hands-on guide to implementing and effectively managing a QFD-based strategy for quantum leap results; highlighting potential problems and pitfalls; and the inclusion of practical advice for dealing with each challenge. This book should be of interest to senior and middle management personnel in manufacturing companies.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wight (Oliver) Publications Inc.,U.S.
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0939246414
• ISBN 13: 9780939246410
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 200