Chapter 12
Quality Function Deployment
(QFD)
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Chapter Objectives
• Brief overview of the historical background of
QFD and use of QFD as a planning tool
• Understand the benefits of QFD
• How to capture the voice of the customer and
organizing the information
• Understand the structured process of developing
House of Quality
• Understand the applications of QFD
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What is QFD?
Quality function deployment (QFD) is a team based planning
tool used to fulfil customer expectations.
It is a disciplined approach to product design, engineering, and
production and provides in-depth evaluation of a product.
It is employed to translate customer expectations, in terms of
specific requirements, into directions and actions that can be
deployed through:
Product planning
Part development
Process planning
Production planning
Service industries
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Benefits of QFD
Improves Customer Satisfaction
Reduces Implementation Time
Promotes Teamwork
Provides Documentation
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Voice of Customer
Figure 12-2 Types of Customer Information and How to Collect It
Reproduced with permission from James L. Brossert, Quality Function Deployment—A Practitioner’s Approach (Milwaukee, WI:
ASQC Quality Press, 1991).
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House of Quality
Figure 12-3 House of Quality
Reproduced with permission from James L. Brossert, Quality Function Deployment—A Practitioner’s Approach
(Milwaukee, WI: ASQC Quality Press, 1991).
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Building a House of Quality
1. Step 1—List Customer Requirements (WHATs)
2. Step 2—List Technical Descriptors (HOWs)
3. Step 3—Develop a Relationship Matrix Between
WHATs and HOWs
4. Step 4—Develop an Interrelationship Matrix Between
HOWs
5. Step 5—Competitive Assessments
6. Step 6—Develop Prioritized Customer Requirements
7. Step 7—Develop Prioritized Technical Descriptors
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Basic House of Quality Matrix
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Figure 12-4
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Refinement of Technical Descriptors
Figure 12-6
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QFD Example
Example of a handlebar stem for a mountain bike
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Summary
Quality function deployment—specifically, the house of quality—is an effective
management tool in which customer expectations are used to drive the design
process or to drive improvement in the service industries.
Some of the advantages and benefits of implementing QFD are:
An orderly way of obtaining information and presenting it.
Shorter product development cycle.
Considerably reduced start-up costs.
Fewer engineering changes.
Reduced chance of oversights during the design process.
An environment of teamwork.
Consensus decisions.
Everything is preserved in writing.
QFD forces the entire organization to constantly be aware of the customer
requirements. Every QFD chart is
a result of the original customer requirements that are not lost through
misinterpretation or lack of communication.
Marketing benefits because specific sales points that have been identified by
the customer can be stressed.
Most importantly, implementing QFD results in a satisfied customer.
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