Many successful organizations gather and integrate the Voice of the Customer (VOC) into the design and manufacture of their products. They actively design quality and customer perceived value into their products and services. These companies are utilizing a structured process to define their customer’s wants and needs and transforming them into specific product designs and process plans to produce products that satisfy the customer’s needs. The process or tool they are using is called Quality Function Deployment (QFD). Quality function deployment is important primarily because it helps businesses ensure that customer expectations are always met or exceeded. In addition, by incorporating customer feedback into every stage of product development, businesses can avoid escalating potential issues and optimize the quality of their products and services.

  • One of the most powerful uses of Quality Function Deployment is communication.
  • QFD methodology provides a defined set of matrices utilized to facilitate this progression.
  • The fourth and final stage of quality function deployment is quality control.
  • Th product planning phase begins with gathering customer feedback to develop the VOC.
  • The function removing debris from air flow, for example, has a corresponding “how much” cell where it is noted that the screen apertures have to be 1 mm maximum.

At the end of each phase, the control factors (listed on the top of each matrix) move to the left-hand side of a new matrix and a new set of control factors go on top. This helps identify additional opportunities or conflicts in areas such as design, product development, engineering, etc. Removing debris from air flow, for example, is one of the main functions of a hair dryer.

Phase 3: Process Planning

This step is performed to ensure that each of the requirements has at least one strong relationship with an engineering specification. The observing and survey methods rely on close-ended questions and the focus group method relies on open-ended questions. This step ends with the design team members analyzing data, with a motive of removing the unnecessary and redundant data. For example, Gym equipment, has two customers the purchaser who owns the gym and the consumers who are actually employing the equipment for a workout.
what is quality function deployment
In addition to traditional QFD, there are derived techniques and tools that enhance the process. Fuzzy QFD applies fuzzy logic to incorporate uncertainty and multiple-criteria decision analysis methods. Modular function deployment uses QFD to establish customer requirements and emphasize modularity in design. At the core of QFD is the House of Quality, an initial matrix that helps prioritize the most important attributes and qualities of a product or service.

Product Development

Fill in the rows—Start QFD2 by asking what the product must do and how much. The technical difficulty of meeting the need and achieving the target value.
what is quality function deployment
By incorporating customer feedback and requirements into the product development process, businesses can develop products and services that meet (or exceed) customer expectations. The diagram shown here will also help you understand the QFD methodology here. Each matrix in the four-step approach is related to the previous matrix.

Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a process and set of tools used to effectively define customer requirements and convert them into detailed engineering specifications and plans to produce the products that fulfill those requirements. QFD is used to translate customer requirements (or VOC) into measureable design targets and drive them from the assembly level down through the sub-assembly, component and production process levels. QFD methodology provides a defined set of matrices utilized to facilitate this progression. In the third phase of quality function deployment, businesses optimize their processes to ensure that the product or service meets customer requirements. Quality function deployment (QFD) is a quality management tool that can help you do that.

Each part of the diagram has a specific method of data generation and entry, this is out of the scope of this article. A point to remember here is that if no such parameter for the requirement is found by the designers, then the conclusion can be drawn that the team has not fully understood the requirement. Also, if the engineering parameter is not measurable (in real-world units), the requirement of the customer must be readdressed.

House of quality is a matrix which is the basis of product planning, and its diagram looks like a house. It is a realistic approach which analyzes the consumer desires and matches it with the technical attributes of a product, to optimally fulfil these requirements by utilizing the resources available with the organization. Strategic planning relies on effectively allocating resources and funds to meet the goals of the business. Quality Function Deployment allows improvements to be effectively prioritized based on the impact they will have on the different aspects of the product or service.

It is most effective when used throughout the entire product lifecycle, as its main purpose is to ensure a constant focus on the voice of the customer. You can’t “check it off” as completed since it is an ever-present ingredient every step of the way. Quality Function Deployment benefits companies primarily by ensuring they bring products to market function deployment that customers actually want, thanks to listening to customer preferences at the beginning of the design process. Then, mandating these needs and desires is met throughout every aspect of the design and development process. Technical requirements move to the left side of the house of quality matrix, and a new set of control factors are put on top.