Standardize and Establish Voice of the Customer Process using DMAIC Methodology 
 
Leida V. Martínez Dávila 
Master in Manufacturing Competitiveness 
Carlos González, PhD. 
Industrial Engineering Department 
Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico 
Abstract  This research project was focused in PROBLEM STATEMENT 
the Voice of the Customer process robustness.  
During 2015, an access tool was created to 
Voice of the Customer process does not have a 
gather and track customer feedback data.  
clear procedure to creates a standardize survey and 
Currently, Voice of the Customer process does not 
analyze the data that has been collected.  In order 
have a clear procedure to create a standardize 
to understand the issues happening at the 
survey and analyze the data that has been collected.  
Engineering department an investigation project 
Not having a standard process creates discrepancies 
was developed.  This investigation was documented 
and confusion between different groups of what is 
using the DMAIC methodology.  This methodology 
required regarding voice of the customer. These 
have a lot of tools that are very helpful to document 
differences impede interpretation of data as a 
and analyze all the data regarding the process.  In 
whole, thus not allowed the Engineering 
the Define phase the tool used was the Project 
department to adequately improve interactions with 
Charter.  It was used to document the project title, 
the costumer.  The goal is to create a procedure 
area affected, problem statement and benefits of the 
aligned with all the Engineering department areas.  
project.  The tools used in the Measure phase were 
The procedure will have a template with the same 
the Thought Process Map, the SIPOC and the 
survey questions and will document the data 
Process Map.  During this phase it was identified 
analysis and negative comments process. A 
the current baseline as the basis for improvement.  
consistent data analysis process would facilitate 
This baseline was compared to the performance 
interpretation of customer feedback.  Customers 
metric at the conclusion of the project to determine 
will have the opportunity to see improvements 
objectively whether significant improvement have 
based on their feedbacks and a better final product.  
been made.  The actual process metrics were used 
In order to achieve this goal the DMAIC project 
in the Analyze phase to evaluate the process. The 
methodology will be used. 
Cause and Effect Matrix and the 7 Waste analysis 
were also performed during this phase.  These tools 
RESEARCH DESCRIPTION 
helped to identify the root causes of the problem, 
and the possible actions needed to resolve it.  The This research is about how effective is the 
major problem was that the voice of the customer Voice of the Customer process in the Engineering 
process was not documented properly and all the department.  In order to identify the areas of 
department areas had their own way to do it.  In the opportunity, the actual surveys were reviewed and 
Improve phase it was defined that an internal updated to have only one template aligned with the 
procedure will be created to document this process area needs.   The data analysis process will be 
and all the impacted areas will need to follow it. reviewed to identify the better way to do it and to 
The Control phase data demonstrates that the be document as a department process.  It is 
actions implemented were effective because all the important to have a robust data analysis process.  
engineering department areas have a VOC data This will help the department to track customer 
and a robust analysis of this data. positive and negative feedback.  This will help in 
Key Terms  DMAIC, Voice of the the improvement process and the customer will 
Customer.  
have the opportunity to see that management cares and constantly innovative to capture the changing 
about their opinion. requirements of the customers with time.  The voice 
of the customer is the term used to describe the 
 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES stated and unstated needs or requirements of the 
customer.  The voice of the customer can be 
The objective of this project is to acquire 
captured in a variety of ways like direct discussion 
consistent data analysis process through 
or interviews, surveys, focus groups, customer 
Engineering Test Services in order to facilitate 
specifications, observation, warranty data, field 
interpretation of customer feedback.  Customers 
reports and complaint logs.  This data is used to 
will have the opportunity to see improvements 
identify the quality attributes needed for a supplied 
based on their feedbacks and a better final product. 
component or material to incorporate it in the 
process or product [1]. 
RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS 
To become a leader and a “Best in Class” 
The research discussed in this article will company it is very important to listen to the 
contribute to the engineer department to robust and customer needs and perception.  Customer-
increase its Voice of the Customer process. In perceived quality is the leading driver of business 
addition, the research contributes to increase the success.  Having an effective voice of the customer 
customer satisfaction.  The goal of this project is to process will allow the company to connect and 
define the goals and key drivers of each project.  engage with customers at key points in the 
Having a clear understanding of the customer customer journey.  When the customers share their 
expectation is essential to maintain a high customer voice in real-time with the organization, they 
satisfaction level.  A good understanding means expect you to listen, act and report back to them.  
that you can properly plan the survey design and The key to creating an effective VOC process is to 
administration process to capture customer gather and use information in a timely way that 
feedback that provides meaningful data, which can helps you to improve the processes.  Organizations 
be analyzed and confidently presented to often have multiple touch points with the customer 
management and to the customer.  The engineering that occur all across the organization, including 
department will increase its capacity to send, sales, support, and warranty and accounting 
receive and analyze the voice of the customer.  This interactions. 
project seeks to increase customer satisfaction and 
maintain or increase the actual engineering projects.  DMAIC METHODOLOGY 
This will improve the company to get new 
DMAIC is a data-driven quality strategy used 
customers and help to get more projects.  It also 
to improve processes.  It is an integral part of a Six 
will help to gather new customers and projects.  
Sigma initiative, but in general can be implemented 
This will maintain our actual profits of 
as a standalone quality improvement procedure or 
approximately $350,000 per year and will increase 
as part of other process improvement initiatives 
it significantly. 
such as lean [2]. 
DMAIC (Lean Six Sigma) is also a 
LITERATURE REVIEW 
management system that results in a steady pipeline 
The voice of the customer is a process used to of projects that are ready for improvement. There 
capture the requirements and feedback from the are obstacles to smooth operations in any business, 
customer (internal or external) to provide the and Lean Six Sigma provides guidelines to help 
customers with the best in class service/product you select the right projects at the right time. Once 
quality.  This process is all about being proactive projects are selected, you and your improvement 
team can use DMAIC to further refine the projects clearly established in quantitative terms.  This 
and deliver quantifiable, sustainable results [3]. information is typically captured within a 
The DMAIC problem solving method is a project charter document.  Seek to clarify facts, 
roadmap that can be used for any projects or quality set objectives and form the project team.  
improvements that needs to be made. The term Define the following: 
DMAIC stands for the five main steps in the o A problem 
process; Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and o The customer(s) 
Control (see Figure 1).  o Voice of the customer (VOC) and Critical 
DMAIC is an acronym for a series of steps to Quality (CTQs) — what are the critical 
used to measure defects in business processes and process outputs? 
improve profitability. It is one of two key methods o The target process subject to DMAIC and 
used to implement Six Sigma, a quality other related business processes 
improvement program introduced in 1986 by o Project targets or goal statement 
Motorola, a U.S. technology and communications o Project boundaries or scope 
company. By identifying defects, a company can o A project charter is often created and 
eliminate errors and accurately determine quality. agreed upon during the Define step. 
Then, the company can use those findings to figure 
 Measure: The purpose of this step is to 
out a solution to a detected problem. Today, Six 
objectively establish current baselines as the 
Sigma methods are used across a broad range of 
basis for improvement. This is a data collection 
industries to improve both processes and 
step, the purpose of which is to establish 
profitability.  
process performance baselines.   The 
performance metric baseline from the Measure 
phase will be compared to the performance 
metric at the conclusion of the project to 
determine objectively whether significant 
improvement has been made.  The team 
decides on what should be measured and how 
to measure it.  It is usual for teams to invest a 
lot of effort into assessing the suitability of the 
proposed measurement systems.  Good data is 
at the heart of the DMAIC process: 
o Identify the gap between current and 
 required performance. 
Figure 1 
o Collect data to create a process 
DMAIC 
performance capability baseline for the 
Each step in the cyclical DMAIC Process is project metric, that is, the process Y(s) 
required to ensure the best possible results. The (there may be more than one output). 
process steps are: o Assess the measurement system (for 
 Define: The purpose of this step is to clearly example, a gauge study) for adequate 
articulate the business problem, goal, potential accuracy and precision. 
resources, project scope and high-level project o Establish a high level process flow 
timeline.  In Six Sigma it is imperative that the baseline. Additional detail can be filled in 
problem is specifically defined.  Saying that later. 
business is slowing down is a poorly defined 
problem.  Instead, the problem should be 
 Analyze: The data is analyzed using statistical like Six Thinking Hats and Random Word.  
tools to assess whether the problem is real (and Some projects can utilize complex analysis 
solvable) or random, which makes it tools like DOE (Design of Experiments), but 
unsolvable within the Six Sigma framework.  try to focus on obvious solutions if these are 
The purpose of this step is to identify, validate apparent.  However, the purpose of this step 
and select root cause for elimination.  A large can also be to find solutions without 
number of potential root causes of the project implementing them. 
problem are identified via root cause analysis.  o Create 
The top 3-4 potential root causes are selected o Focus on the simplest and easiest solutions 
using multi-voting or other consensus tool for o Test solutions using Plan-Do-Check-Act 
further validation.  A data collection plan is (PDCA) cycle 
created and data is collected to establish the o Based on PDCA results, attempt to 
relative contribution of each root causes to the anticipate any avoidable risks associated 
project metric.  This process is repeated until with the "improvement" using Failure 
"valid" root causes can be identified.  Within Mode and Effect Analysis 
Six Sigma, often complex analysis tools are o Create a detailed implementation plan 
used.  However, it is acceptable to use basic o Deploy improvements 
tools if these are appropriate.  Of the 
 Control: The purpose of this step is to sustain 
"validated" root causes, all or some can be: 
the gains.  Control planning, including data 
o List and prioritize potential causes of the 
collection and control mechanisms, is required 
problem 
to ensure that the solutions are sustainable and 
o Prioritize the root causes (key process 
deliver peak performance. It also ensures that 
inputs) to pursue in the Improve step 
early deviations from the target do not 
o Identify how the process inputs (Xs) affect 
materialize into process defects.  Monitor the 
the process outputs (Ys). Data are 
improvements to ensure continued and 
analyzed to understand the magnitude of 
sustainable success.  A Control chart can be 
contribution of each root cause, X, to the 
useful during the Control stage to assess the 
project metric, Y. Statistical tests using p-
stability of the improvements over time by 
values accompanied by Histograms, Pareto 
serving as a guide to continue monitoring the 
charts, and line plots are often used to do 
process and provide a response plan for each of 
this. 
the measures being monitored in case the 
o Detailed process maps can be created to 
process becomes unstable. 
help pin-point where in the process the 
root causes reside, and what might be 
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 
contributing to the occurrence. 
In order to achieve the goal of having an 
 Improve: If the problem is real, the Six Sigma 
effective Voice of the Customer process in the 
team identifies solutions to improve the 
Engineering department that helps to identify the 
process based on the data analysis.  The 
opportunity areas based on the customer needs the 
purpose of this step is to identify, test and 
DMAIC tools project methodology was used. 
implement a solution to the problem; in part or 
At the Define phase the following tools were 
in whole.  This depends on the situation. 
used: 
Identify creative solutions to eliminate the key 
 Project Charter: Is a statement of the scope, 
root causes in order to fix and prevent process 
objectives and participants in a project.  A 
problems.  Use brainstorming or techniques 
project charter describes what your project is 
and how you will approach it, and it lists the  Thought Process Map: Is a graphical tool 
names of all stakeholders.  When you start a used to communicate the thought process used 
project, you must define what needs to be in developing the strategy to solve a problem, 
accomplished and decide how the project is and how the process improvement results were 
going to proceed.  Each project begins with an obtained.  The Thought Map is a living 
idea, a vision, or a business opportunity.  That document that evolves from an initial state of 
is the starting point that must be associated recording knowledge, questions and actions to 
with your organization’s business objectives.  a tool used to communicate the thought process 
It is a critical component of the project used to develop the strategy to solve a problem.  
management initiation and planning phases, This tool helps to organize your thoughts 
and you will refer to it throughout the life of regarding what you know and what you do not 
the project.  It provides a preliminary know about your opportunity, and develop an 
delineation of roles and responsibilities, action plan [4].  There were documented the 
outlines the project objectives, identifies the tools used on each step of the DMAIC project 
main stakeholders, and defines the authority of and how they will help to understand the 
the project manager.  It serves as a reference of problem and identify the actions to solve it.  
authority for the future of the project.  The Figure 2 shows a Thought Map of this project. 
project charter below documents the project 
title, area affected, problem statement and 
benefits of the project. 
Table 1 
 Project Charter 
Element Project Information 
Project 
Standardize and establish VOC Process  
Title 
Area of 
Focus or Engineering Department  
Function: Figure 2 
Thought Process Map 
During 2015 an access tool was created to 
gather and track customer feedback data.  At the Measure phase the following tools were 
Currently Voice of the Customer process 
does not have a clear procedure to creates a used: 
standardize survey and analyze the data 
 SIPOC: Is a tool used by a team to identify all 
that has been collected.  Not having a 
Problem 
standard process creates discrepancies and relevant elements of a process improvement 
Statement 
confusion between different groups of what 
is required regarding voice of the customer. project before work begins.  It helps define a 
These differences impede interpretation of complex project that may not be well scoped, 
data as a whole, thus not allowing the 
Engineering department to adequately and is typically employed at the Measure phase 
improve interactions with the costumer. of the Six Sigma DMAIC methodology.  It is 
Consistent data analysis process through 
ETS would facilitate interpretation of similar and related to process mapping and 
Benefit to customer feedback.  Customers will have ‘in/out of scope’ tools, but provides additional 
Customers:  the opportunity to see improvements based 
on their feedbacks and a better final detail.  This tool summarizes the inputs and 
product.  outputs of one or more process.  The acronym 
SIPOC stands for Suppliers, Inputs, Process, 
Outputs, and Customers.  A SIPOC of the research, release evaluations, feedback forms 
project is shown in Figure 3. and even daily/weekly stand-up meetings.   
 The current VOC data was collected and 
analyzed.  The engineering department is 
divided in 12 areas. These areas are divided 
based on the processes that are manage on each 
area.  The Figure 5 shows that only 5 areas are 
using the VOC process.  Only 42% of the 
engineering department projects send customer 
satisfactions surveys.  The other 52% of the 
 
engineering department are not using the VOC 
Figure 3 
Process SIPOC process to evaluate their customer satisfaction.  
 The Figure 5 helps to understand the percent of 
 Process Map:  Is a detailed flow diagram of 
response by the customer and how satisfied 
the process using color coded symbols that 
they are with the job completed.   
drill further into the high level map generated 
on the SIPOC.  The purpose is to visually 
represent the process as it is in reality.  
Complete the current state map by walking and 
experiencing the process.  This is a valuable 
learning experience, the team will quickly gain 
insight about the actual flow.  The process flow 
map in Figure 4 shows the actual process.  
When the Improve phase is completed an 
updated flow map that will show the new 
process steps will be presented.  
Figure 5 
VOC Metrics 
 Cause and Effect Matrix:  This tool can be 
used to evaluate and document relationships 
between input and output variables.  This tool 
helps to prioritize process inputs by 
determining which ones have the greatest 
impact on the customer CTQs [4].  It is a great 
tool for prioritizing a long list of possible 
things you could do to improve a 
process during your DMAIC project.  The 
 matrix shown in Figure 6 demonstrates that the 
Figure 4 
Engineer assigned to complete the project is 
Process Flow Map 
the main contributor.  Because this project do 
At the Analyze phase the following tools were 
not have control to assign an engineer to a 
used: 
project, we will use the second main 
 VOC Process Metrics: VOC data can be 
contributor that is VOC data received thru the 
obtained on reactive and/or proactive way with 
surveys.  The actual process do not consider a 
customer surveys, customer interviews, market 
process to manage and analyze the survey 
results.  This process is not properly  7 Wastes:  A waste is any activity done during 
documented and each area use a different a process that consumes resources but does not 
survey with their own questions.  Once the add value, in the eyes of the customer.  This 
results are received, each manager creates a concept is used to segment waste into 
chart or table to present it on the staff categories to expose where improvement 
meetings.  The VOC data varies from manager opportunities exist [4].  Observed wastes will 
to manager, because of the different questions be segmented into categories that are aligned 
on the survey.  The Senior Manager do not with improvement tools.  Figure 7 illustrates 
have the method to do a general analysis of the the Waste Identification and Elimination for 
Engineering department.  In order to have a this project. 
robust analysis of the VOC data it is important 
At the Improve phase there were defined the 
to have one survey template for all the areas 
actions to be taken in order to resolve the problem 
with the same questions.  Once the survey is 
described in this investigation project.   From the 
align, then a data analysis process will be 
results obtained in the analysis phase it was 
implemented. 
determined that the voice of the customer process is 
not properly documented.  Based on the analysis, 
there were identify the root causes of the problem.  
These root causes are:   
(1) No controlled survey template,  
(2) No process to send the survey and follow up 
answers from customers,  
(3) No process to manage the results, and 
(4) No process to analyze and report the results.  
 
Figure 6 In order to resolve these issues identified 
C&E Matrix during the DMAIC process there were some actions 
implemented.  The actions to be implemented were 
all addressed thru the creation of a new procedure 
to document the Voice of the Customer process to 
be followed in the engineering department.  The 
document will be an internal procedure for the 
department and it will have a training aligned to it.  
The procedure and training will applied to all the 
Managers, Supervisors and Project Leads.  The 
owner of this procedure will be the Quality 
Engineer of the area.   
At the Control phase the VOC procedure and 
training were deployed.  The first metric that was 
tracked was that all the employees impacted with 
the new procedure will take the training.  As part of 
the deployment a survey was created for each area.  
The managers and supervisors will have access to 
 send the surveys to their customers.  But only the 
Figure 7 
Waste Identification and Elimination Quality Engineer will download the survey answers 
and manage it using the excel spreadsheet created.  
The results are being analyzed in a monthly basis to be taken needs to be attainable and to be 
and report on the staff meetings.  The Figure 8 completed on a specific timeframe.  Having a 
shows how the answer ratio from the customers robust Voice of the Customer process will 
increase from 76% to 91%, and the follow up demonstrate the customers that they were listen and 
process to answer the survey decrease significantly. that their feedback is important for the company. 
Other company departments are implementing the 
use of the VOC procedure in their area.   REFERENCES 
[1] iSixSigma. (2016, April 10). Voice of the Customer 
(VOC) [Online] Available: https://www.isixsigma.com/ 
dictionary/voice-of-the-customer-voc/. 
[2] C. Borror. (2016, April 10). The Define Measure Analyze 
Improve Control Process [Online]. Available: 
http://asq.org/learn-about-quality/six-sigma/overview/dmai 
c.html. 
[3] Go Lean Six Sigma. (2016, April 16). DMAIC – The 5 
Phases of Lean Six Sigma [Online]. Available: 
https://goleansixsigma.com/dmaic-five-basic-phases-of-
lean-six-sigma/. 
 
Figure 8 [4] Honeywell Inside. (2016, April 20). Tools & Templates 
VOC Metrics (DMAIC). [Online]. Available: https://in.honeywell.com/ 
BusinessFunction/sixsigma/Tools/Pages/Tools.aspx#. 
CONCLUSION 
Quality is important to the success of any 
process driven activity.  Whether the task consist of 
making a simple cup of coffee to start the day or 
executing complex software designs.  In order to 
achieve a good output of your process you need to 
establish SMART goals.  This goals needs to be 
defined based on your customers and their needs.    
The tool use to gather the customer needs 
information is the Voice of the Customer process.  
The first step to begin a project or task is your 
customer.  A robust voice of the customer process 
will lead the organization to establish the correct 
goals for the output of the product or process.  It is 
also important to maintain a good communication 
strategy with the customers to track their 
satisfaction after the product or process is 
delivered.  This is the most important part of the 
voice of the customer process.  The surveys needs 
to be specific and relevant to the process. It is 
important that the data to be collected is 
measurable.  Once the survey answer are received, 
it is important to have an analysis process that helps 
to identify the needs of the customers.  The actions