#scoping out

@summertidesun

Plans for her late date with this Leon character, since her date with Maya had fallen through so abruptly when she vanished, meant making sure that the date she created was worth being so far behind when she’d purchased his time. And there was a boat that she was...curious about. One that sailed back and forth between the islands while the guests dined without being rushed.

It sounded like a nice way to start, at least.

She came onto the boat, explaining to the hosts that she wasn’t staying - merely wanted to look around and gauge the boat’s usefulness and then she’d be on her way rather than taking up their time - and let herself explore. It was a fine vessel, certainly.

Though up here in Northern Maine, everything is still covered in snow, down by Clifton area it’s starting to look like spring. So on Saturday we mapped out the trails on Little Chick hill, and did some repelling to figure out where we can climb once the temperature rises a few more degrees.

On Sunday, though I had planned to just drive home, we stopped in at a local gear shop, and the guy working told us that we had to check out Frankfort Quarry. He insisted it wasn’t that hard to climb, and said it might even still be open for ice climbing. 

Andrea was gathered at the back of the crowd trying to get a look at what was happening. The building in front of them was billowing black smoke up into the air. She stepped back and looked around. From back there she wasn't going to get any information. Her eyes fell on a possible solution to her problem, a fire escape on a nearby building. Walking over, she looked up and determine the the ladder was well out of her reach even in her heels. 

Step 1: What : Identify customers wants and needs Step 2 : Importance : Identify the voice of the customer Step 3 : How : Identify The Voice of the Company Step 4: Relationship between Voice of the Customer and Voice of the Company Step 5: Raw Score: Generate Priorities:  Step 6: Rank : Examine Priorities:

This is a simple example of using QFD as a decision tool. Instead of relying solely on the loudest customers, the most senior VP or the easiest thing to fix, you can instead incorporate all these voices into a single matrix.  The QFD houses can become more advanced by incorporating competitive information, specifications, and positive and negative relationships between the "How's." Adding each of these parts to the house takes extra time, but it can be worth it depending on the complexity and consequences of the project.