Measuring perceived process efficiency by employing customer satisfaction methodology

This paper presents a novel methodology by which lean principles can be measured and analysed in a product development context. The methodology is based on customer satisfaction index calculations and analyses quantitative data to measure the performance of the engineering processes from an engineer’s perspective. The quantitative data have been collected using an online questionnaire and been classified and analysed using partial least square(PLS) analysis. This paper presents the methodology, including the 18 lean principles identified, together with a case study performed at a large R&D company. The questionnaire was completed by 242 employees. The study shows that the quantitative analysis points out relevant areas for improvement that are also qualitatively verified. The PLS analysis provides a rich material that can be explored to identify strong correlations between lean principles and desired business performance indicators. The case study singled out factors named ‘product assurance practices’ and ‘process simplicity’ as major improvement areas with a high impact on business performance