CTQ

A CTQ is a Critical to Quality product feature that must be maintained in order to meet customer expectations.  CTQ’s are useful in helping product designers and manufacturing teams know where to focus their efforts in designing robust products and processes.  Here are a few CTQ examples –

Product Level CTQ Examples

  • A cordless drill must deliver 235 inch-pounds of torque to drive a full range of decking screws.
  • A bathroom fan must be 95% reliable after 600 hours of continuous operation.
  • The door panels in a car must align within 2mm of each other at all locations.

CTQs are often defined based on marketing research.

Product level CTQ’s are often translated into component level CTQ’s (also referred to as QC features) on engineering drawings.