Final answer:
Creating customer service quality specifications involves a structured methodology that includes gathering information, finding expert advice, root cause analysis, identifying criteria and constraints, and generating concepts.
Step-by-step explanation:
When creating customer service quality specifications, it is imperative to employ a structured methodology. This methodology encompasses several steps that ensure a comprehensive development of specifications, aligned with the needs and expectations of customers and other stakeholders. Initially, it involves gathering information from customers and stakeholders to understand their requirements and expectations. Subsequently, finding expert information through direct consultations or secondary research such as books or online sources is critical to inform the specifications with industry best practices. Moreover, conducting a root cause analysis is essential to identify the underlying problems that the specifications aim to address.
To refine the specifications further, one must identify criteria and constraints which establish measurable values for evaluation and articulate necessary conditions for the design. Criteria help in comparing and contrasting different designs, and constraints make sure that all necessary conditions for a design are met. A detailed analysis of these criteria and constraints provides a clear-cut direction for the design process. Examples of criteria can include pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, use of renewable energy, and cost effectiveness over a period, whereas constraints might dictate not requiring new transportation infrastructure.
The final step is generating concepts for the design, wherein creativity coupled with discipline is vital. It's important to explore sufficient options and potential solutions to ensure a robust set of specifications. During this phase, ideas are sourced both internally and externally, and possibilities are systematically explored using processes like problem decomposition. This structured approach to concept generation is adapted and simplified from Product Design and Development by Eppinger and Ulrich.