1)Quality Function Deployment or Quality by Design is a method used to align customer needs with product features and, subsequently, product specifications. In this discussion, let’s explore this concept for a common household product. Let’s start with a coffee maker as an example. What do you need your coffee maker to do? Name one key thing, such as it needs to keep the coffee hot for at least an hour. Turn that into a product feature. For example, it must have a hot plate or thermos feature to keep coffee hot and must have a timer with the ability to turn the hot plate on and off. Then, detail some other specifications that would also impact the product. In this example, there would need to be power used for the heating element, and the timer would need to connect to a circuit to control the power switch to the heating element.

Now, it’s your turn. What would you want a product you use often to be able to do and how would that translate into a feature(s)? Next, what specifications of the product would need to be defined, and what other features would it be linked to in order to work

2)Project Team discussion

“A true team is a group of people guided by a common purpose who have an appreciation of the talents each brings to the task and a clear understanding of how to apply those talents to accomplish it.” Peter B. Grazier

We have all had positive and negative experiences working on a team. Please share a positive experience you had working with a great team and what made it work well? Then, share a challenge you had working with a team (no names please) and what actions you took to try to address the challenge. What would you do differently now?

If you don’t have a good example that comes to mind, share an article that provides some of the best practices of high performing teams with the group.