Cost of poor quality (COPQ) are costs that would disappear if a product or process is perfect. Void of any waste or errors.
Six Sigma reduces costs and waste by determining the Cost of Poor Quality. Reducing poor quality is accomplished by:
- Understanding who your customers are and what is important to them
- Understanding customer feedback, called the Voice of the Customer, and determining the necessary requirements for your product
- Prioritizing issues related to your product
- Determining internal processes and what causes variation
- Determining what causes defects
- Developing ways to address the defects
- Developing metrics to standardize and measure the changes made in the process
