Definition

A methodology for building the

Voice of the Customer into product
and service design.
The way to assure the design quality
while the product is still in the design
time.

What is QFD?
QFD is understanding the needs of the
customer and converting them into a set of
design and manufacturing requirements.
It is a design tool of TQM.
It is a systematic process for motivating
business to focus on its customers.
QFD helps companies design more
competitive products, in less time and with
less cost
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What is QFD? cont..

Defining requirements is its most common
use
It helps make the transition from reactive
to preventative manufacturing quality
control.
Helps to create a closed loop of ever
improving cost, quality, timeliness,
productivity, profitability, and market
share.
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QFD - Definition

VOICE OF THE
CUSTOMER

+
=

QFD

CUSTOMER
SATISFACTION

QFD Definition (Cont.)

[ASI, 2000]

Benefits
Some of the benefits of adopting QFD
have been documented as
Reduced time to market
Reduction in design changes
Decreased design and manufacturing
costs
Improved quality
Increased customer satisfaction

Why do we need QFD?

Primary goal is to overcome three major
problems:
disregard for the voice of the customer
loss of information
different individuals and functions working
to different requirements
Builds a knowledge base
Ties together various product development stages.
Overcomes differences amongst corporate
functions
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What Can We Learn From It?

Which Customer Requirements Are Most
Important?
What Are Our Strengths And Weaknesses?
Where Do We Focus Our Efforts?
Where Do We Position Ourselves?
Where Do We Need To Do The Most Work?
Where Must We Go To Meet Our Customers
Expectations?

QFD Team Work

Teams are multidisciplined and represent
all key functions.
Are used from initial identification of
requirements to deployment of
requirements.
Team members work toward a shared goal
of a customer defined product.

QFD Team Work cont..

the team reaches consensus on:
what to do
best way to do it
the order in which to accomplish it

Plan and measure many times but cut once

10

Participants in QFD
Cross-Functional
Team
Customers
Design Engineers
Sales
Sales Support
Manufacturing
Engineering
Finance
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QFD History
Introduced to Japan in 1966 by Yoji Akao
Used in 1970 by Mitsubishi's Kobe Shipyard
Toyota Autobody uses QFD to reduce cost of
producing vehicle bodies & to significantly
reduce development time..
1974 430,000 units per year at $71 per unit
Cost of $30,530,000, or 1.5 times annual
profit
Used QFD in Process Planning and
Production Planning
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QFD History cont..

Toyota cont...
QFD reduced production launch costs by
61% from Jan. 1977 to Apr. 1984
Product development time was reduced
by a third while quality increased.
1978 first book was written on QFD, in
1994 it was translated to English
QFD is now used widely in Japan

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The Four-phase Model

There is different approaches of QFD.

Four-phase model.

The most common approach found in the

literature.
Supported by the American Supplier Institute
(ASI).
It deploys costumers requirements into:
1. product planning.
2. parts planning.
3. process planning.
4. production planning.

The Four-phase Model

Four Phases to QFD

Phase I: Product Planning
Centered around the House of Quality
Defines the customers wants in relation
to the product
Phase II: Parts Deployment
Product engineering functions
design characteristics are transferred to
part characteristics
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Four Phases to QFD cont..

Phase III: Process Planning
Move from design to manufacturing
operations.
Process for improvement is developed
Involves floor level personnel
Phase IV: Production Planning
Employees on the floor contribute knowledge
Employee activities interact to achieve
customer expectations.
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The House of Quality

The most important part of QFD.
Most of QFD projects stop at the House of Quality.

It displays customers needs along the left

and development teams technical response
to meeting those wants and needs along the
top.
It is composed of several sections joined
together in various ways.
It is a repository of marketing and product
planning information.

The House of Quality

House of Quality Summary

Inputs:

Customer requirements
Technical requirements
Customer priorities
Market reality / competitive analysis
Organizations strengths & weaknesses

Outputs
Prioritized technical requirements
Measurable, testable goals

Inputs

Customer Requirements Documents

Customer Evaluations
Interviews
Brainstorming

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Voice of the Customer

Defining the voice is the most time
consuming step in QFD
Captured using Requirements Engineering
techniques.
A clear voice is essential .
Quality is defined by the customer using
their own terms.
QFD carries the voice to the factory floor.
Not all customer requirements can be easily
identified.
It can include a diverse number of people.

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Outputs
Customer Requirements
Importance Of Requirements
Ranking Of Competitors

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Possible Additional Outputs

Affinity Analysis
Goal For Next Release
Improvements Factor
Overall Importance
Sales Points
Other Types Of Matrices

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Applications of QFD
Its primary application has been for
planning and managing product
development.
More recently it has been applied to
different areas such as:
Health care, Animatronics, Aircraft
Engine Design, and Software
Development.

House of Quality Pros and Cons

Pros:

Generates specific technical requirements

Requirements are traceable
Follows a repeatable, quantitative process
Effectively translates Voice of the Customer
Records rationale for each technical requirement

Cons:

Time-consuming process for >10 requirements

Data storage, manipulation and maintenance costs
Very dependent on customer requirement gathering
Inflexible to changing requirements; must recalculate

Conclusion
A tool that assists the tracking of the
customers requirements through all
the phases of product development.
House of Quality pits the Voice of
the Customer against the Voice of
Designer.
It has been applied in several
different areas.