--- name: ctq-tree description: "Translates a customer need into specific, measurable requirements — need, then the drivers that make it satisfied, then a concrete measurable target for each — with any need still missing a real specification named plainly. Use when: You have real customer needs — ideally traced to a VOC evidence log or affinity diagram — and want to translate them into something a team can design, build, and measure against. You want to know exactly which needs are actually specified and which are still just good intentions with no measurable target. Not for: You don't have a real customer need yet, just a feature idea — start with VOC evidence, not a CTQ tree, or you'll be specifying something nobody asked for. You want the raw synthesis of quotes into themes — that's the VOC evidence log or affinity diagram; a CTQ tree assumes the need is already named." --- # Critical-to-quality (CTQ) tree Translates a customer need into specific, measurable requirements — need, then the drivers that make it satisfied, then a concrete measurable target for each — with any need still missing a real specification named plainly. Family: Voice of the customer · Format: .xlsx · Domain: core ## What it is A CTQ (critical-to-quality) tree closes the gap between 'customers want X' and something a team can actually build to and measure against. It's a three-level tree: a customer need at the top, the quality drivers that make that need satisfied or not underneath it, and one or more specific, measurable characteristics with a concrete target under each driver. 'Fast support' isn't a CTQ — 'time to first response, target under one hour' is. The tree also tracks its own coverage: any need with no measurable CTQ beneath it yet is named directly, not silently left incomplete. ## When to use it Use it when: - You have real customer needs — ideally traced to a VOC evidence log or affinity diagram — and want to translate them into something a team can design, build, and measure against. - You want to know exactly which needs are actually specified and which are still just good intentions with no measurable target. - You're about to hand a need to engineering, design, or messaging and want it stated as a concrete target, not a vague direction. Not when: - You don't have a real customer need yet, just a feature idea — start with VOC evidence, not a CTQ tree, or you'll be specifying something nobody asked for. - You want the raw synthesis of quotes into themes — that's the VOC evidence log or affinity diagram; a CTQ tree assumes the need is already named. - The 'measurable' target you're about to write is really just a restated aspiration ('better', 'faster', 'easier') — push for a real number or concrete criterion before treating it as a CTQ. ## How to fill it in - **scope** — Which customer population or segment do these needs come from? - **needs** — List each need, ideally traced to a specific VOC evidence-log theme or affinity-diagram cluster. Drivers and measurable CTQs get drafted beneath each one — don't fill those in at intake. - **coverage** — Computed for you: total needs, drivers, and measures, and which needs still have no measurable CTQ beneath them — nothing to enter here. - **narrative** — Drafted from the tree and any coverage gaps — which needs are well-specified, which still need more VOC work. - **nextSteps** — What will you do about a coverage gap or a specific need, ranked by impact and effort, owned and dated? A next step not tied to a named need is a coaching failure mode, not a real action. ## What good looks like The example below translates two evidence-backed needs from the VOC evidence log's onboarding-friction and pricing-confusion themes into concrete drivers and targets, and honestly leaves a third need with no drivers yet — because the evidence for it doesn't exist yet either, which the coverage check names directly instead of hiding. Full worked example, on-screen and as a downloadable .xlsx: https://www.katafacts.com/katas/ctq-tree ## Common mistakes - **Writing a driver or measure that's really just a restated aspiration.** — "High quality support" as a measure has no target and can't be built to — "time to first response, under one hour" can. A CTQ that isn't concrete enough to fail against isn't actually a CTQ. - **Treating a coverage gap (a need with no measurable CTQ) as good enough to ship.** — A need with no driver or measure beneath it is still just an intention, not a specification — the whole point of this tool is surfacing that gap honestly rather than letting a vague need pass as done. - **Writing needs that aren't traced to any real VOC evidence.** — A CTQ tree translates real customer needs into specifications — starting from an assumed need rather than evidence risks specifying something with real precision that nobody actually asked for. ## What it connects to Upstream: - **Affinity diagram** (`affinity-diagram`) — A theme with real weight behind it from an affinity-diagramming session is exactly the kind of need this tree exists to translate into something measurable. Downstream: - **Deal A3 — win-rate root cause analysis** (`deal-a3`) — Once a CTQ has a concrete target and the team isn't meeting it, an A3 is where you'd run root cause analysis on the gap. ## Where AI helps Judgement — stays with you: - Deciding whether a drafted driver or measure is actually right for the need, or reworking it during review - Deciding which coverage gap to close first Analysis — AI helps: - Drafting drivers and measurable targets from a stated need and its supporting evidence - Drafting the narrative from the tree and any coverage gaps Drudgery — automated: - Counting needs, drivers, and measures across the whole tree - Identifying which needs still have no measurable CTQ - Exporting to xlsx in the house format --- Critical-to-quality (CTQ) tree is licensed [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Attribution: Katafacts (katafacts.com). ## Using this skill Apply this method as part of whatever broader task, instructions, or deliverable you're already working on -- it's a method to use, not a standalone conversation to start. There is no generation tool for this catalogue yet, so draft the artifact's actual content yourself, following the fields above, the same way a person filling this out by hand would. The canonical guide page and a downloadable worked example (.xlsx) are at https://www.katafacts.com/katas/ctq-tree.