CTQ stands for Critical-To Quality in 6 Sigma. Customer requirements, which are identified as CTQs, are actually a handful of elements that are considered critical to the executive team in determining the success of the project/product/process. The Six Sigma approach originally created CTQ trees. You can use them in many situations, including when developing products, processes and services for internal customers.
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An example of this is “Improve customer services” which is too broad for us to implement. However, a CTQ Tree allows you to drill-down the general goal and identify specific and measurable requirements that can be used to improve performance. Lean Six Sigma training can help you determine Critical-to-Quality customer requirements. Let’s take a look at how to identify and manage QTC parameters.
What is Critical for Quality Trees?
The internal critical quality parameters (CTQs) that relate to the customer’s wants and needs are called Critical-To-Quality (CTQ). The Critical-To-Quality features (CTQ) are based on the customer’s (internal as well as external) requirements. These CTQs are the criteria for evaluating what good looks like, i.e. how well the project scope meets requirements. CTQ is a powerful tool that converts customer needs into meaningful, measurable and actionable metrics for individuals or groups.
CTQs answer the following question: How does my work relate with customer requirements and how can I tell when I have fulfilled them. CTQs help you to understand the customer’s requirements in a more specific way. CTQs are a bridge between the customer’s satisfaction and the internal process.
How do you identify CTQ parameters?
This figure shows how to identify CTQ using a simple example.

It is a step by step process to identify CTQs that meet critical customer requirements. You will notice the order in which the events are organized that help you identify QTCs. This is the seven-step process:
VoC Six Sigma: It was noted by the customer
CTQ Name: It was noted in the words the organization
CTQ Measure: As determined by the organization
CTQ Specification: As defined by the organization
Defect: As defined in the organization
Unit: It is an organizational/process metric
As determined by the company/process
How to create a CTQ Tree
Identify the most important customer needs
First, we need to identify the most critical needs that the product/service must meet. You should create a CTQ tree for each need you identify. This is the first step. We ask: “What is essential for this product? “. It is best to describe these needs in broad terms. If customers are not able to be directly asked about their needs, the project team can brainstorm them with representatives from customer service and sales who will also work with you.
Find quality drivers
It is important that you identify the quality drivers that must be in place to fulfill the requirements that were identified in the previous step. These are the key factors that customers need to believe that you deliver a high-quality product. It is important that we identify all the drivers that are important for customers. This is where tools such as KANO Analysis can be of great help. Using the KANO model, you can identify product features that will delight customers.
Identify your performance requirements
We must also identify the minimum performance requirements for each quality driver in order to provide quality products. It is important to remember that there are many things.