Dear JD,
I am a mechanical engineer who’s applied DFSS in the design and development of gas turbines (low/medium duty). I can understand your concern for creativity and innovation if we were to limit these to the Customer’s vision.
However, I would look at it from a different perspective to realize than in fact VOC does not imply limited innovation.
First of all, from a personal point of view and sentiments, as an engineer I find it very challenging designing by constraints. While most people find this to limit creativity, I believe that it requires a particular ability to find “unusual” non-standard solutions under the most challenging conditions. If this is not the best example of creativity I do not know what is !
Secondly, one often realizes that the Customer does not always know what it needed/wanted until someone makes evident the need. If you design and develop around the Customer’s “top” CTQ’s (i.e. the very general, high-level requirements/needs) you still have the freedom to introduce innovative solutions that the Customer might have not even considered as an alternative to the more obvious ones. Of course, the more detailed and specific is the the Customer’s CTQ, the more limited will be the innovation. But the point is that you can always begin at the top level (the very basic and “primtive” need) to then let your creativity lead to a new solution.
…these are just my thoughts on the subject.
Regards,
TP
