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NPIER Methodologies

VOC Model

Voice of the Customer (VOC) Model

Objective
Capture the needs/wants of the customers in order to identify and implement possible solutions.

What is the VOC Model?
Voice of the Customer is used to capture the needs/wants of the customer(s) – internal or external – around the process under investigation in order to identify and implement possible solutions. These needs and wants can be captured through various data collection methods (surveys, interviews, focus groups, suggestions, and observations).

The method should be applied through one or more of the data collection methods:

Surveys: Questions sent out to potential or existing customers. Surveys are cost effective but have a low response rate.
Interviews: Individual meetings with potential or existing customers where a set of questions are asked and answered. This can tackle complex issues but requires trained resources.
Focus Groups: A group of individuals are called together in one room and a discussion is held on the topic(s) that need to be addressed.
Suggestions: Feedback is received and treated as suggestions to improve an item or product. This does not look at the overall process, but rather singular issues.
Observations: Individuals provide feedback based on observations from the process.

How do I apply the VOC Model?
The VOC Model is comprised of seven broad stages - focus, collect, interpret, structure, quantify, verify, and deploy. The broadness allows the user of the model to choose which activities are most suitable for the current environment.

Focusing: Organize the strategic issues of the problem space by focusing on establishing the objective, scope, and boundaries.
Collection: Methods must be selected according to time and resource constraints. Interview guides, log files, and all recording resources should be arranged. The team should select the customer to survey, define the survey questions and tools, and collect and compile data.
Interpretation: Performed with the data compiled directly from the customers. The team should translate verbatim responses into a comprehensible and uniformly understood language.
Structure:: Must be applied to reduce the amount of information to a manageable set of data. The team should organize and summarize the data in a logical structure.
Quantification: Must be conducted to allow the team to understand which verbatim responses are more important in series. The team should determine the relative merit of each item.
Verification: Performed with the customers to validate their wants and needs as well as established codes and rankings.
Deployment: Implemented by developing and communicating a customer’s requirements to the team.