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News from PDSS Inc.
"Leading the Future in Product Development" 
May 2008- Vol 1, Issue 5
In This Issue
DFSS Implementation: Project Coaching is Important for Success
What's a NUD?
Resources Cited in Feature Article - 35% Off
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Greetings!

This month we explore the topic of expert project coaching as a way to boost your organization's ability to take full advantage of the power of DFSS. There are a few areas that organizations typically struggle with where coaching can really help. We also provide references to Skip's books that help with those areas. At the end of the newsletter are links to purchase the books at 35% off list price.

As always, we love to hear your feedback!

DFSS Implementation: Project Coaching is Important for Success

As a company begins its journey to implement DFSS (Design for Six Sigma) it will encounter challenges along the way. This article discusses one potential issue we have observed in our consulting work. Whether you have already implemented DFSS in your product development process or are just getting started, budgeting for focused project coaching after formal training is important for success.

The application of DFSS tools, methods and best practices to projects and day-to-day work can putter along after the DFSS instructors have finished in the classroom. Some companies find themselves ready to go deeper and really put it to work on projects with a focus on the more challenging tool-task applications. For example, there are four areas where PDSS is often asked to work "hands-on" together with a company's teams on actual projects after DFSS has been otherwise successfully deployed. We have cited resources to help with each area. They are:

1. Proper and balanced integration of DFSS tools, methods and best practices into a "leaned-out" version of the product development process.

Resource: See Six Sigma for Technical Processes by Creveling and Six Sigma for Marketing Processes by Creveling, Hambleton & McCarthy.

2. NUD-based VOC gathering and processing followed by NUD-based QFD to translate customer requirements into technical requirements, especially for platform and modular design strategies. Note: "NUD" stands for requirements that are New, Unique and Difficult.

Resource: See Chapters 3, 6, and 14 in DFSS in Technology & Product Development by Creveling, Slutsky & Antis.

3. Critical Parameter Management that is truly focused on what is critical; the NUD requirements and functions that fulfill them.

Resource: See Chapters 8 - 13 in DFSS in Technology & Product Development by Creveling, Slutsky & Antis.

4. Robust Design at the sub-assembly, sub-system and integrated system level. The real issue here is system integration, interface sensitivity analysis and product robustness vs. part conformance to spec.

Resource: See Engineering Methods for Robust Product Design by Fowlkes & Creveling.

It's not uncommon to experience these challenges. The learning curve can be steep. After the formal training program is complete, and your teams are starting to use DFSS, one of the issues listed above, or a similar roadblock, will occur. This does not call for a repeat of the training sessions. Rather, consider hiring an expert to provide focused project coaching with the team on their actual project to get them over the hump. Your team will be stronger for it, and will be ready to help from within the organization on the next projects.

Hiring an outside expert for focused project coaching has the following benefits:

  1. Better results, or perhaps a breakthrough, on the target project,
  2. Increased competency and experience for the project team,
  3. Avoid re-allocating internal resources onto the target project; and
  4. Prepares project team members to become internal coaching experts, if that's your goal.

If you are just starting on your journey to DFSS, realize that formal classroom training should represent only about half of your total budget for outside resources, with the remainder for expert coaching on actual projects. Of course, when you are starting out, you don't know where your projects will stall, but stall they will without some project coaching. Be sure to include it in your plan.

For those who are well on their way with DFSS, are there opportunities that focused project coaching could tap further into the full benefits of using it?

In future articles, we will discuss other issues that affect the success of your DFSS deployment. Let us know if you have particular questions or how you responded to an implementation challenge on this topic and we will try to include them in a future article.

Have a comment on this article? Please "reply-to" this newsletter email.

What's a NUD? 

To elaborate further on requirements that are New, Unique and Difficult (NUD), the following is from DFSS in Technology & Product Development by Creveling, Slutsky & Antis, page 123.

  1. New needs: features or performance your product has not historically delivered.
  2. Unique needs: features or performance that are distinctive or highly desired beyond the numerous other less-demanding needs that must be provided.
  3. Difficult to fulfill needs: features or performance that is highly desired but is quite difficult for your business to develop and will require special efforts/investments of resources on your part.

The NUD's are inputs to the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) process done during the first phase of a DFSS-enabled product development process.

Resources Cited in Feature Article - 35% off
Book: Six Sigma for Technical Processes  Book: Six Sigma for Marketing ProcessesBook: DFSS in Technology & Product Development Book: Engineering Methods for Robust Product Design 
 
 
 
 
We appreciate your feedback and suggestions. Simply "reply-to" this email. Thank you!
 
Sincerely,
Carol Biesemeyer
Business Manager and Newsletter Editor
Product Development Systems & Solutions Inc.
About PDSS Inc.
Product Development Systems & Solutions (PDSS) Inc.  is a professional services firm dedicated to assisting companies that design and manufacture complex products.  We help our clients accelerate their organic growth and achieve sustainable competitive advantage through functional excellence in product development and product line management.
 
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