QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT (QFD) 3

11
QUALITY
FUNCTION
DEPLOYMENT (QFD)
INTRODUCTION
Dr. Mizuno, professor emeritus of the Tokyo Institute of Technology, is
credited with initiating the quality function deployment (QD! system. The
first application of QD was at Mitsu"ishi, #ea$y Industries, %td., in the
&o"e 'hipyard, (apan, in )*+,. -fter four years of case study de$elopment,
refinement, and training, QD was successfully implemented in the
production of mini.$ans "y Toyota. /sing )*++ as a "ase, a ,01 reduction
in startup costs was reported in the launch of the new $an in 2cto"er )*+*, a
341 reduction "y 5o$em"er )*4,, and a cumulati$e 6)1 reduction "y -pril
)*47. Quality function deployment was first introduced in the /nited 'tates
in )*47 "y Dr. 8lausing of 9ero:. QD can "e applied to practically any
manufacturing or ser$ice industry. It has "ecome a standard practice "y most
leading organizations, who also require it of their suppliers.
Quality function deployment (QD! is a planning tool used to fulfill
customer e:pectations. It is a disciplined approach to product design,
engineering, and production and pro$ides in.depth e$aluation of a product.
-n organization that correctly implements QD can impro$e engineering
4 CHAPTER 11
knowledge, producti$ity, and quality and reduce costs, product de$elopment
time, and engineering changes.
Quality function deployment focuses on customer e:pectations or
requirements, often referred to as the $oice of the customer. It is employed
to translate customer e:pectations, in terms of specific requirements, into
directions and actions, in terms of engineering characteristics, that can "e
deployed through
;roduct planning
;art de$elopment
;rocess planning
;roduction planning
'er$ice
Quality function deployment is a team."ased management tool in
which the customer e:pectations are used to dri$e the product de$elopment
process. 8onflicting characteristics or requirements are identified early in the
QD process and can "e resol$ed "efore production.
2rganizations today use market research to decide on what to produce
to satisfy customer requirements. 'ome customer requirements ad$ersely
affect others, and customers often cannot e:plain their e:pectations.
8onfusion and misinterpretation are also a pro"lem while a product mo$es
from marketing to design to engineering to manufacturing. This acti$ity is
where the $oice of the customer "ecomes lost and the $oice of the
organization ad$ersely enters the product design. Instead of working on
what the customer e:pects, work is concentrated on fi:ing what the
customer does not want. In other words, it is not producti$e to impro$e
something the customer did not want initially. <y implementing QD, an
organization is guaranteed to implement the $oice of the customer in the
final product.
Quality function deployment helps identify new quality technology and
=o" functions to carry out operations. This tool pro$ides a historic reference
to enhance future technology and pre$ent design errors. QD is primarily a
set of graphically oriented planning matrices that are used as the "asis for
decisions affecting any phase of the product de$elopment cycle. >esults of
QD are measured "ased on the num"er of design and engineering changes,
time to market, cost, and quality. It is considered "y many e:perts to "e a
perfect "lueprint for concurrent engineering.
Quality function deployment ena"les the design phase to concentrate
on the customer requirements, there"y spending less time on redesign and
QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT (QFD) 5
modifications. The sa$ed time has "een estimated at one.third to one.half
of the time taken for redesign and modification using traditional means.
This sa$ing means reduced de$elopment cost and also additional income
"ecause the product enters the market sooner.
THE QFD TEAM
?hen an organization decides to implement QD, the pro=ect manager and
team mem"ers need to "e a"le to commit a significant amount of time to it,
especially in the early stages. The priorities, of the pro=ects need to "e
defined and told to all departments within the organization so team
mem"ers can "udget their time accordingly. -lso, the scope of the pro=ect
must also "e clearly defined so questions a"out why the team was formed
do not arise. 2ne of the most important tools in the QD process is
communication.
There are two types of teams@new product or impro$ing an e:isting
product. Teams are composed of mem"ers from marketing, design, quality,
finance, and production. The e:isting product team usually has fewer
mem"ers, "ecause the QD process will only need to "e modified. Time
and inter.team communication are two $ery important things that each
team must utilize to their fullest potential. /sing time effecti$ely is the
essential resource in getting the pro=ect done on schedule. /sing inter.team
communication to its fullest e:tent will alle$iate unforeseen pro"lems and
make the pro=ect run smoothly.
Team meetings are $ery important in the QD process. The team
leader needs to ensure that the meetings are run in the most efficient
manner and that the mem"ers are kept informed. The format needs to ha$e
some way of measuring how well the QD process is working at each
meeting and should "e fle:i"le, depending on certain situations. The
duration of the meeting will rely on where the teams mem"ers are coming
from and what needs to "e accomplished. These workshops may ha$e to
last for days if people are coming from around the world or for only hours
if e$.eryone is local. There are ad$antages to shorter meetings, and
sometimes a lot more can "e accomplished in a shorter meeting. 'horter
meetings allow information to "e collected "etween times that will ensure
that the right information is "eing entered into the QD matri:. -lso, they
help keep the team focused on a quality impro$ement goal.
6 CHAPTER 11
BENEFITS OF QFD
Quality function deployment was originally implemented to reduce start.up
costs. 2rganizations using QD ha$e reported a reduced product
de$elopment time. or e:ample, /.'. car manufacturers of the late )*40s to
early )**0s need an a$erage of fi$e years to put a product on the market,
from drawing "oard to showroom, whereas #onda can put a new product on
the market in two and a half years and Toyota does it in three years. <oth
organizations credit this reduced time to the use of QD. ;roduct quality
and, consequently, customer satisfaction impro$es with QD due to
numerous factors depicted in igure ))A).
Customer Driven
Quality function deployment looks past the usual customer response and
attempts to define the requirements in a set of "asic needs, which are
compared to all competiti$e information. -ll competitors are e$aluated
equally from customer and technical perspecti$es. This information can
then "e prioritized using a ;areto diagram. Management can then place
resources where they will "e the most "eneficial in impro$ing quality. -lso,
QD takes the e:perience and information that are a$aila"le within an
organization and puts them together as a structured format that is easy to
assimilate. This is important when an organization employee lea$es a
particular pro=ect and a new employee is hired.
Reduces Implementation Time
ewer engineering changes are needed when using QD, and, when used
properly, all conflicting design requirements can "e identified and addressed
prior to production. This results in a reduction in retooling, operator training,
and changes in traditional quality control measures. <y using QD, critical
items are identified and can "e monitored from product inception to
production. Toyota reports that the quality of their product has impro$ed "y
one third since the implementation of QD.
QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT (QFD) 7
8/'T2MB>
D>ICB5
>BD/8B'
IM;%BMB5T-TI25
TIMB
Documents rationale for design
Is easy to assimilate
-dds structure to the information
-dapts to changes (a li$ing document!
;ro$ides framework for sensiti$ity analysis
;>2CIDB'
D28/MB5T-TI25
;>2M2TB'
TB-M?2>&
8reates focus on customer requirements
/ses competiti$e information effecti$ely
;rioritizes resources
Identifies items that can "e acted upon
'tructures resident e:perienceDinformation
Decreases midstream design change
%imits post introduction pro"lems
-$oids future de$elopment redundancies
Identifies future application opportunities
'urfaces missing assumptions
<ased on concensus
8reates communication at interfaces
Identifies actions at interfaces
8reates glo"al $iew out of details
Figure 111 Benefits of QFD
>eproduced with permission from (ames %. <rossert, Quality Function DeploymentA
Practitioners Approach (Milwaukee, ?isc.E -'Q8 Quality ;ress, )**)!.
Promotes Teamwork
Quality function deployment forces a horizontal deployment of
communication channels. Inputs are required from all facets of an
organization from marketing to production to sales, thus ensuring that the
$oice of the customer is "eing met and that each department knows what the
other is doing. This acti$ity a$oids misinterpretation, opinions, and miscues.
In other words, the left hand always knows what the right hand is doing.
Bfficiency and producti$ity always increase with enhanced teamwork.
Provides Documentation
- data "ase for future design or process impro$ements is created. Data that
are historically scattered within operations, frequently lost and often
referenced out of conte:t, are now sa$ed in an orderly manner to ser$e
8 CHAPTER 11
future needs. This data "ase also ser$es as a training tool for new engineers.
Quality function deployment is also $ery fle:i"le when new information is
introduced or things ha$e to "e changed on the QD matri:.
THE VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER
<ecause QD concentrates on customer e:pectations and needs, a
considera"le amount of effort is put into research to determine customer
e:pectations. This process increases the initial planning stage of the pro=ect
definition phase in the de$elopment cycle. <ut the result is a total reduction
of the o$erall cycle time in "ringing to the market a product that satisfies
the customer.
The dri$ing force "ehind QD is that the customer dictates the
attri"utes of a product. 8ustomer satisfaction, like quality, is defined as
meeting or e:ceeding customer e:pectations. ?ords used "y the customers
to descri"e their e:pectations are often referred to as the $oice of the
customer. 'ources for determining customer e:pectations are focus groups,
sur$eys, complaints, consultants, standards, and federal regulations.
requently, customer e:pectations are $ague and general in nature. It is the
=o" of the QD team to "reak down these customer e:pectations into more
specific customer requirements. 8ustomer requirements must "e taken
literally and not incorrectly translated into what organization officials desire.
Quality function deployment "egins with marketing to determine what
e:actly the customer desires from a product. During the collection of
information, the QD team must continually ask and answer numerous
questions, such as
?hat does the customer really wantF
?hat are the customerGs e:pectationsF
-re the customerGs e:pectations used to dri$e the design processF
?hat can the design team do to achie$e customer satisfactionF
There are many different types of customer information and ways that
an organization can collect data, as shown in igure ))A,. The organization
can search (solicited! for the information, or the information can "e
$olunteered (unsolicited! to the organization. 'olicited and unsolicited
information can "e further categorized into measura"le (quantitati$e! or
su"=ecti$e (qualitati$e! data. urthermore, qualitati$e information can "e
found in a routine (structured! manner or haphazard (random! manner.
QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT (QFD) 9
Quantitati$e
'tructured
/nsolicited 'olicited
Qualitati$e
>andom
Trade Cisits
8ustomer Cisits
8onsultants
8omplaint >eports
2rganizations 'tandards
Ho$ernment >egulations
%awsuits
ocus Hroups
'ales orce
Training ;rograms
8on$entions
Trade (ournals
Trade 'hows
Cendors
'uppliers
-cademic
Bmployees
#ot %ines
'ur$eys
8ustomer Tests
Trade Trials
;referred 8ustomers
2M Testing
;roduct ;urchase 'ur$ey
8ustomer -udits
%agging %eading
Figure 11 T!pes of customer information and "ow to collect it
>eproduced with permission from (ames %. <rossert, Quality Function DeploymentA
Practitioners Approach (Milwaukee, ?isc.E -'Q8 Quality ;ress, )**)!.
8ustomer information, sources, and ways an organization can collect data
can "e "riefly stated as followsE
'olicited, measura"le, and routine data are typically found "y
customer sur$eys, market sur$eys, and trade trials, working
with preferred customers, analyzing products from other
manufacturers, and "uying "ack products from the field. This
information tells an organization how it is performing in the
current market.
/nsolicited, measura"le, and routine data tend to take the form of
customer complaints or lawsuits. This information is generally
dislikedI howe$er, it pro$ides $alua"le learning information.
'olicited, su"=ecti$e, and routine data are usually gathered from
focus groups. The o"=ect of these focus groups is to find out the
likes, dislikes, trends, and opinions a"out current and future
products.
1 CHAPTER 11
'olicited, su"=ecti$e, and haphazard data are usually gathered from
trade $isits, customers $isits, and independent consultants.
These types of data can "e $ery usefulI howe$er, they can also
"e misleading, depending on the quantity and frequency of
information.
/nsolicited, su"=ecti$e, and haphazard data are typically o"tained
from con$entions, $endors, suppliers, and employees. This
information is $ery $alua"le and often relates the true $oice of
the customer.
The goal of QD is not only to meet as many customer e:pectations
and needs as possi"le, "ut also to e:ceed customer e:pectations. Bach
QD team must make its product either more appealing than the e:isting
product or more appealing than the product of a competitor. This situation
implies that the team has to introduce an e:pectation or need in its product
that the customer is not e:pecting "ut would appreciate. or e:ample, cup
holders were put into automo"iles as an e:tra "onus, "ut customers liked
them so well that they are now e:pected in all new automo"iles.
OR!ANI"ATION OF INFORMATION
5ow that the customer e:pectations and needs ha$e "een identified and
researched, the QD team needs to process the information. 5umerous
methods include affinity diagrams, interrelationship diagrams, tree
diagrams, and cause.and.effect diagrams. These methods are ideal for
sorting large amounts of information. The affinity diagram, which is ideally
suited for most QD applications, is discussed ne:t.
#ffinit! Diagram
The affinity diagram is a tool that gathers a large amount of data and
su"sequently organizes the data into groupings "ased on their natural
interrelationships. -n affinity diagram should "e implemented when
Thoughts are too widely dispersed or numerous to organize.
5ew solutions are needed to circum$ent the more traditional ways
of pro"lem sol$ing.
'upport for a solution is essential for successful implementation.
This method should not "e used when the pro"lem is simple or a
quick solution is needed. The team needed to accomplish this goal
QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT (QFD) 11
effecti$ely should "e a multidisciplinary one that has the needed knowledge
to del$e into the $arious areas of the pro"lem. - team of si: to eight
mem"ers should "e adequate to assimilate all of the thoughts. 8onstructing
an affinity diagram requires four simple stepsE
). ;hrase the o"=ecti$e.
,. >ecord all responses.
3. Hroup the responses.
7. 2rganize groups in an affinity diagram.
The first step is to phrase the o"=ecti$e in a short and concise
statement. It is imperati$e that the statement "e as generalized and $ague
as possi"le.
The second step is to organize a "rainstorming session, in which
responses to this statement are indi$idually recorded on cards and listed on
a pad. It is sometimes helpful to write down a summary of the discussion
on the "ack of cards so that, in the future when the cards are re$iewed, the
session can "e "riefly e:plained.
5e:t, all the cards should "e sorted "y placing the cards that seem to
"e related into groups. Then, a card or word is chosen that "est descri"es
each related group, which "ecomes the heading for each group of
responses. inally, lines are placed around each group of responses and
related clusters are placed near each other with a connecting line.
HOUSE OF QUALITY
The primary planning tool used in QD is the house of quality. The house of
quality translates the $oice of the customer into design requirements that
meet specific target $alues and matches that against how an organization will
meet those requirements. Many managers and engineers consider the house
of quality to "e the primary chart in quality planning.
The structure of QD can "e thought of as a framework of a house,
as shown in igure ))A3.
1# CHAPTER 11
Technical Descriptors
(Coice of the organization!
;rioritized Technical
Descriptors
Interrelationship
"etween
Technical Descriptors
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Figure 11$ %ouse of &ualit!
>eproduced with permission from (ames %. <rossert, Quality Function DeploymentA
Practitioners Approach (Milwaukee, ?isc.E -'Q8 Quality ;ress, )**)!.
The parts of the house of quality are descri"ed as followsE
The e:terior walls of the house are the customer requirements. 2n
the left side is a listing of the $oice of the customer, or what the
customer e:pects in the product. 2n the right side are the
prioritized customer requirements, or planning matri:. %isted
are items such as customer "enchmarking, customer importance
rating, target $alue, scale.up factor, and sales point.
The ceiling, or second floor, of the house contains the technical
descriptors. 8onsistency of the product is pro$ided through
engineering characteristics, design constraints, and parameters.
The interior walls of the house are the relationships "etween
customer requirements and technical descriptors. 8ustomer
e:pectations (customer requirements! are translated into
engineering characteristics (technical descriptors!.
QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT (QFD) 13
The roof of the house is the interrelationship "etween technical
descriptors. Tradeoffs "etween similar andDor conflicting
technical descriptors are identified.
The foundation of the house is the prioritized technical descriptors.
Items such as the technical "enchmarking, degree of technical
difficulty, and target $alue are listed.
This is the "asic structure for the house of qualityI once this format is
understood, any other QD matrices are fairly straightforward.
BUILDIN! A HOUSE OF QUALITY
The matri: that has "een mentioned may appear to "e confusing at first, "ut
when it is looked at "y parts, the matri: is significantly simplified. - "asic
house of quality matri: is shown in igure ))A7. There is a considera"le
amount of information contained within this matri:. It is easier to
comprehend once each part is discussed in detail.
'tep 1()ist Customer Re&uirements *+%#Ts,
Quality function deployment starts with a list of goalsDo"=ecti$es. This list is
often referred as the ?#-Ts that a customer needs or e:pects in a particular
product. This list of primary customer requirements is usually $ague and $ery
general in nature. urther definition is accomplished "y defining a new, more
detailed list of secondary customer requirements required to support the
primary customer requirements. In other words, a primary customer
requirement may encompass numerous secondary customer requirements.
-lthough the items on the list of secondary customer requirements represent
greater detail than those on the list of primary customer requirements, they
are often not directly actiona"le "y the engineering staff and require yet
further definition. inally, the list of customer requirements is di$ided into a
hierarchy of primary, secondary, and tertiary customer requirements, as
shown in igure ))AJ. or e:ample, a primary customer requirement might
"e dependa"ility and the corresponding secondary customer requirements
could include relia"ility, longe$ity, and maintaina"ility.
14 CHAPTER 11
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Figure 11- Basic "ouse of &ualit! matri.
/0#1P)/ PR2B)/1
- company that manufactures "icycle components such as cranks, hu"s,
rims, etc., wants to e:pand their product line "y also producing
handle"ar stems for mountain "ikes. <egin the de$elopment process of
designing a handle"ar stem for a mountain "ike "y first listing the
QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT (QFD) 15
customer requirements or ?#-T the customer needs or e:pects in a
handle"ar stem.
Two primary customer requirements might "e aesthetics and
performance. 'econdary customers requirements under aesthetics might
"e reasona"le cost, aerodynamic look, nice finish and corrosion
resistant. -lthough reasona"le cost is not considered aesthetics, it will
"e placed under that category for the sake of this e:ample. 'econdary
customer requirements under performance might "e lightweight,
strength and dura"le. Many other customer requirements could "e
listed, howe$er, for simplicity only the aforementioned ones will "e
used. urthermore, it is not necessary to "reak down the customer
requirements to the tertiary le$el. These primary and secondary
customer requirements are shown in igure )).J.
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Figure 113 Refinement of customer re&uirements
'tep ()ist Tec"nical Descriptors *%2+s,
The goal of the house of quality is to design or change the design of a
product in a way that meets or e:ceeds the customer e:pectations. 5ow that
the customer needs and e:pectations ha$e "een e:pressed in terms of
customer requirements, the QD team must come up with engineering
characteristics or technical descriptors (#2?'! that will affect one or more
of the customer requirements. These technical descriptors make up the
ceiling, or second floor, of the house of quality. Bach engineering
16 CHAPTER 11
characteristic must directly affect a customer perception and "e e:pressed in
measura"le terms.
Implementation of the customer requirements is difficult until they are
translated into counterpart characteristics. 8ounterpart characteristics are an
e:pression of the $oice of the customer in technical language. Bach of the
customer requirements is "roken down into the ne:t le$el of detail "y listing
one or more primary technical descriptors for each of the tertiary customer
requirements. This process is similar to refining marketing specifications into
system.le$el engineering specifications. urther definition of the primary
technical descriptors is accomplished "y defining a list of secondary technical
descriptors that represent greater detail than those on the list of primary
technical descriptors. This is similar to the process of translating system.le$el
engineering specifications into part.le$el specifications. These secondary
technical descriptors can include part specifications and manufacturing
parameters that an engineer can act upon. 2ften the secondary technical
descriptors are still not directly actiona"le, requiring yet further definition.
This process of refinement is continued until e$ery item on the list is
actiona"le. inally, the list of technical descriptors is di$ided into a hierarchy
of primary, secondary and tertiary technical descriptors, as shown in igure
))A6.
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Figure 114 Refinement of tec"nical descriptors
This le$el of detail is necessary "ecause there is no way of ensuring
successful realization of a technical descriptor that the engineering staff does
not know how to accomplish. The process of refinement is further
complicated "y the fact that through each le$el of refinement, some technical
descriptors affect more than one customer requirement and can e$en
ad$ersely affect one another. or e:ample, a customer requirement for an
QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT (QFD) 17
automo"ile might "e a smooth ride. This is a rather $ague statementI
howe$er, it is important in the selling of an automo"ile. 8ounterpart
characteristics for a smooth ride could "e dampening, anti.roll, and sta"ility
requirements, which are the primary technical descriptors. <rainstorming
among the engineering staff is a suggested method for determining the
technical descriptors.
/0#1P)/ PR2B)/1
8ontinue the de$elopment process of designing a handle"ar stem for a
mountain "ike (see pre$ious B:ample! "y listing the technical
descriptors or #2? the company will design a handle"ar stem.
Two primary technical descriptors might "e material selection and
manufacturing process. 'econdary technical descriptors under material
selection might "e steel, aluminum and titanium. 'econdary technical
descriptors under manufacturing process might "e welding, die casting,
sand casting, forging and powder metallurgy. 5umerous other technical
descriptors could "e listed, such as finishing process and type of "olt, to
name a fewI howe$er, for simplicity only the aforementioned ones will
"e used. urthermore, it is not necessary to "reak down the technical
descriptors to the tertiary le$el. These primary and secondary technical
descriptors are shown in igure )).6.
'tep $(Develop a Relations"ip 1atri. 5etween +%#Ts and %2+s
The ne:t step in "uilding a house of quality is to compare the customer
requirements and technical descriptors and determine their respecti$e
relationships. Tracing the relationships "etween the customer requirements
and the technical descriptors can "ecome $ery confusing, "ecause each
customer requirement may affect more than one technical descriptor, and
$ice $ersa.
'tructuring #n )6'"aped Diagram
2ne way to reduce the confusion associated with determining the
relationships "etween customer requirements and technical descriptors is to
use an %.shaped matri:, as shown in igure ))A+. The % shape, which is a
two.dimensional relationship that shows the intersection of related pairs of
items, is constructed "y turning the list of technical descriptors
18 CHAPTER 11
perpendicular to the list of customer requirements. The %.shaped matri:
makes interpreting the comple: relations $ery easy and does not require a
significant amount of e:perience.
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(#2?s!
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Figure 117 'tructuring an )6s"aped diagram
/0#1P)/ PR2B)/1
8ontinue the de$elopment process of designing a handle"ar stem for a
mountain "ike (see pre$ious B:amples! "y structuring an %.shaped
diagram.
The % shape is constructed "y turning the list of technical descriptors (see
igure )).6! perpendicular to the list of customer requirements (see
igure )).J!. The %.shaped diagram for designing a handle"ar stem for
a mountain "ike is shown in igure )).+.
Relations"ip 1atri.
The inside of the house of quality, called the relationship matri:, is now
filled in "y the QD team. The relationship matri: is used to represent
graphically the degree of influence "etween each technical descriptor and
QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT (QFD) 19
each customer requirement. This step may take a long time, "ecause the
num"er of e$aluations is the product of the num"er of customer
requirements and num"er of technical descriptors. Doing this early in the
de$elopment process will shorten the de$elopment cycle and lessen the
need for future changes.
It is common to use sym"ols to represent the degree of relationship
"etween the customer requirements and technical descriptors. or e:ample,
- dou"le circle represents a strong relationship.
- single circle represents a medium relationship.
- triangle represents a weak relationship.
The "o: is left "lank if no relationship e:ists.
It can "ecome difficult to comprehend and interpret the matri: if too many
sym"ols are used. Bach degree of relationship "etween a customer
requirement and a technical descriptor is defined "y placing the respecti$e
sym"ol at the intersection of the customer requirement and technical
descriptor, as shown in igure ))A4. This method allows $ery comple:
relationships to "e depicted and interpreted with $ery little e:perience.
The sym"ols that are used to define the relationships are now
replaced with num"ersI for e:ample,
L *
L 3
L )
These weights will "e used later in determining trade.off situations for
conflicting characteristics and determining an a"solute weight at the "ottom
of the matri:.
-fter the relationship matri: has "een completed, it is e$aluated for
empty rows or columns. -n empty row indicates that a customer
requirement is not "eing addressed "y any of the technical descriptors. Thus,
the customer e:pectation is not "eing met. -dditional technical descriptors
must "e considered in order to satisfy that particular customer requirement.
-n empty column indicates that a particular technical descriptor does not
affect any of the customer requirements and, after careful scrutiny, may "e
remo$ed from the house of quality.
# CHAPTER 11
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Corrosion Resistant
Lightweight
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Technical Descriptors
(#2?s!
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Figure 118 #dding relations"ip matri. to t"e "ouse of &ualit!
/0#1P)/ PR2B)/1
8ontinue the de$elopment process of designing a handle"ar stem for a
mountain "ike (see pre$ious B:amples! "y adding the relationship matri:
to the house of quality.
The relationship matri: is constructed "y assigning sym"ols or num"ers
to represent the degree of influence "etween each technical descriptor and
each customer requirement. or instance, the relationship "etween the
customer requirement of lightweight and the technical descriptor of steel
would "e weak (K)! "ecause steel is hea$ier that aluminum and titanium.
8on$ersely, the relationship "etween the customer requirement of
reasona"le cost and the technical descriptor of steel would "e strong
(K*! "ecause steel is cheaper that aluminum and titanium. The
relationship matri: for designing a handle"ar stem for a mountain "ike is
shown in igure )).4. Bmpty spaces indicate that no relationship e:ists.
QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT (QFD) #1
'tep -(Develop an Interrelations"ip 1atri. 5etween %2+s
The roof of the house of quality, called the correlation matri:, is used to
identify any interrelationships "etween each of the technical descriptors. The
correlation matri: is a triangular ta"le attached to the technical descriptors,
as shown in igure ))A*. 'ym"ols are used to descri"e the strength of the
interrelationshipsI for e:ample,
- dou"le circle represents a strong positi$e relationship.
- single circle represents a positi$e relationship.
- single 9 represents a negati$e relationship.
- dou"le 9 represents a strong negati$e relationship.
The sym"ols descri"e the direction of the correlation. In other words, a
strong positi$e interrelationship would "e a nearly perfectly positi$e
correlation. - strong negati$e interrelationship would "e a nearly perfectly
negati$e correlation. This diagram allows the user to identify which technical
descriptors support one another and which are in conflict. 8onflicting
technical descriptors are e:tremely important "ecause they are frequently the
result of conflicting customer requirements and, consequently, represent
points at which tradeoffs must "e made. Tradeoffs that are not identified and
resol$ed will often lead to unfulfilled requirements, engineering changes,
increased costs, and poorer quality. 'ome of the tradeoffs may require high.
le$el managerial decisions, "ecause they cross functional area "oundaries.
B$en though difficult, early resolution of tradeoffs is essential to shorten
product de$elopment time.
-n e:ample of tradeoffs is in the design of a car, where the customer
requirements of high fuel economy and safety yield technical descriptors that
conflict. The added weight of stronger "umpers, air "ags, antilock "rakes,
and the soon.to.come federal side.impact standards will ultimately reduce
the fuel efficiency of the car. In the case of conflicting technical descriptors,
Taguchi methods (see 8hapter )7! can "e implemented or pure common
sense dictates.
## CHAPTER 11
;rimary
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'trong ;ositi$e
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Interrelationship "etween Technical
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>elationship "etween
8ustomer >equirements and
Technical Descriptors
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Technical Descriptors
(#2?s!
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Figure 119 #dding interrelations"ip matri. to t"e "ouse of &ualit!
/0#1P)/ PR2B)/1
8ontinue the de$elopment process of designing a handle"ar stem for a
mountain "ike (see pre$ious B:amples! "y adding the interrelationship
matri: to the house of quality.
The interrelationship matri: is constructed "y assigning sym"ols or
num"ers to represent the degree of correlation (positi$e or negati$e!
"etween each of the technical descriptors. or instance, the
interrelationship "etween the technical descriptors of titanium and sand
casting would "e would "e a strong negati$e (.*! correlation "ecause a
titanium part would ne$er "e sand cast. 8on$ersely, the
interrelationship "etween the technical descriptors of aluminum and die
casting would "e would "e a strong positi$e (.*! correlation "ecause
aluminum is usually die cast. The interrelationship matri: for designing
a handle"ar stem for a mountain "ike is shown in igure )).*. Bmpty
spaces indicate that no correlation e:ists, either positi$e or negati$e.
QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT (QFD) #3
'tep 3(Competitive #ssessments
The competiti$e assessments are a pair of weighted ta"les (or graphs! that
depict item for item how competiti$e products compare with current
organization products. The competiti$e assessment ta"les are separated into
two categories, customer assessment and technical assessment, as shown in
igures ))A)0 and ))A)), respecti$ely.
Customer Competitive #ssessment
The customer competiti$e assessment makes up a "lock of columns
corresponding to each customer requirement in the house of quality on the
right side of the relationship matri:, as shown in igure ))A)0. The
num"ers ) through J are listed in the competiti$e e$aluation column to
indicate a rating of ) for worst and J for "est. These rankings can also "e
plotted across from each customer requirement, using different sym"ols for
each product.
The customer competiti$e assessment is a good way to determine if the
customer requirements ha$e "een met and identify areas to concentrate on in
the ne:t design. The customer competiti$e assessment also contains an
appraisal of where an organization stands relati$e to its ma=or competitors
in terms of each customer requirement. <oth assessments are $ery
important, "ecause they gi$e the organization an understanding on where
its product stands in relationship to the market.
/0#1P)/ PR2B)/1
8ontinue the de$elopment process of designing a handle"ar stem for a
mountain "ike (see pre$ious B:amples! "y adding the customer
competiti$e assessment to the house of quality.
The customer competiti$e assessment is constructed "y assigning ratings
for each customer requirement from ) (worst! to J ("est! for the new
handle"ar stem and ma=or competitor -Gs and <Gs handle"ar stem The
customer competiti$e assessment for designing a handle"ar stem for a
mountain "ike is shown in igure )).)0.
#4 CHAPTER 11
;rimary
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'trong ;ositi$e
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5egati$e
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K*
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Interrelationship "etween Technical
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#2?s $s. #2?s
>elationship "etween
8ustomer >equirements and
Technical Descriptors
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Technical Descriptors
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Figure 111: #dding customer competitive assessment to t"e "ouse of &ualit!
Tec"nical Competitive #ssessment
The technical competiti$e assessment makes up a "lock of rows
corresponding to each technical descriptor in the house of quality "eneath
the relationship matri:, as shown in igure ))A)).
QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT (QFD) #5
;rimary
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Technical Descriptors
(#2?s!
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Figure 1111 #dding tec"nical competitive assessment to t"e "ouse of &ualit!
-fter respecti$e units ha$e "een esta"lished, the products are e$aluated for
each technical descriptor. 'imilar to the customer competiti$e assessment,
the test data are con$erted to the num"ers ) through J which are listed in
the competiti$e e$aluation row to indicate a rating, ) for worst and J for
"est. These rankings can then "e entered "elow each technical descriptor
using the same num"ers as used in the customer competiti$e assessment.
The technical competiti$e assessment is often useful in unco$ering
#6 CHAPTER 11
gaps in engineering =udgment. ?hen a technical descriptor directly relates to
a customer requirement, a comparison is made "etween the customerGs
competiti$e e$aluation and the o"=ecti$e measure ranking.
8ustomer requirements and technical descriptors that are strongly
related should also e:hi"it a strong relationship in their competiti$e
assessments. If an organizationGs technical assessment shows its product to
"e superior to the competition, then the customer assessment should show a
superior assessment. If the customer disagrees, then a mistake in engineering
=udgment has occurred and should "e corrected.
/0#1P)/ PR2B)/1
8ontinue the de$elopment process of designing a handle"ar stem for a
mountain "ike (see pre$ious B:amples! "y adding the technical
competiti$e assessment to the house of quality.
The technical competiti$e assessment is constructed "y assigning ratings
for each technical descriptor from ) (worst! to J ("est! for the new
handle"ar stem and ma=or competitor -Gs and <Gs handle"ar stem. The
technical competiti$e assessment for designing a handle"ar stem for a
mountain "ike is shown in igure )).)).
'tep 4(Develop Prioriti;ed Customer Re&uirements
The prioritized customer requirements make up a "lock of columns
corresponding to each customer requirement in the house of quality on the
right side of the customer competiti$e assessment as shown in igure ))A
),. These prioritized customer requirements contain columns for
importance to customer, target $alue, scale.up factor, sales point, and an
a"solute weight.
QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT (QFD) #7
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Technical Descriptors
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Figure 111 #dding prioriti;ed customer re&uirements to t"e "ouse of &ualit!
Importance to Customer
The QD team@or, prefera"ly, the focus group@ranks each customer
requirement "y assigning it a rating. 5um"ers ) through )0 are listed in the
importance to customer column to indicate a rating of ) for least important
and )0 for $ery important. In other words, the more important the customer
requirement, the higher the rating.
#8 CHAPTER 11
Importance ratings represent the relati$e importance of each customer
requirement in terms of each other. -ssigning ratings to customer
requirements is sometimes difficult, "ecause each mem"er of the QD team
might "elie$e different requirements should "e ranked higher. The
importance rating is useful for prioritizing efforts and making trade.off
decisions.
/0#1P)/ PR2B)/1
8ontinue the de$elopment process of designing a handle"ar stem for a
mountain "ike (see pre$ious B:amples! "y determining the importance
to customer of each customer requirement.
The importance to customer is determined "y rating each customer
requirement from ) (least important! to )0 ($ery important!. or
instance, if lightweight is important to the customer, then it could "e
assigned a $alue of +. 8on$ersely, if dura"ility is not $ery important to
the customer, then it could "e assigned a $alue of 3. The importance to
customer for designing a handle"ar stem for a mountain "ike is shown in
igure )).),.
Target <alue
The target.$alue column is on the same scale as the customer competiti$e
assessment () for worst, J for "est can "e used!. This column is where the
QD team decides whether they want to keep their product unchanged,
impro$e the product, or make the product "etter than the competition.
/0#1P)/ PR2B)/1
8ontinue the de$elopment process of designing a handle"ar stem for a
mountain "ike (see pre$ious B:amples! "y determining the target $alue
for each customer requirement.
The target $alue is determined "y e$aluating the assessment of each
customer requirement and setting a new assessment $alue which either
keeps the product as is, impro$es the product or e:ceeds the
competition or instance, if lightweight has a product rating of 3 and
the QD teams wishes to impro$e their product, then the target $alue
QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT (QFD) #9
could "e assigned a $alue of 7. The target $alue for designing a
handle"ar stem for a mountain "ike is shown in igure )).),.
'cale6up Factor
The scale.up factor is the ratio of the target $alue to the product rating
gi$en in the customer competiti$e assessment. The higher the num"er, the
more effort is needed. #ere, the important consideration is the le$el the
product is at now and what the target rating is and deciding whether the
difference is within reason. 'ometimes there is not a choice "ecause of
difficulties in accomplishing the target. 8onsequently, the target ratings
often need to "e reduced to more realistic $alues.
/0#1P)/ PR2B)/1
8ontinue the de$elopment process of designing a handle"ar stem for a
mountain "ike (see pre$ious B:amples! "y determining the scale.up
factor for each customer requirement.
The scale.up factor is determined "y di$iding the target $alue "y the
product rating gi$en in the customer competiti$e assessment. or
instance, if lightweight has a product rating of 3 and the target $alue is
7, then the scale.up factor is ).3 The scale.up factor for designing a
handle"ar stem for a mountain "ike is shown in igure )).),. 5ote that
the num"ers for scale.up factor are rounded off in igure )).),.
'ales Point
The sales point tells the QD team how well a customer requirement will
sell. The o"=ecti$e here is to promote the "est customer requirement and
any remaining customer requirements that will help in the sale of the
product. For e.ample= t"e sales point can 5e normali;ed to a value of
>: for t"e most sala5le customer re&uirement>
/0#1P)/ PR2B)/1
8ontinue the de$elopment process of designing a handle"ar stem for a
mountain "ike (see pre$ious B:amples! "y determining the sales point
for each customer requirement.
3 CHAPTER 11
The sales point is determined "y identifying the customer requirements
that will help the sale of the product. or instance, an aerodynamic look
could help the sale of the handle"ar stem so the sales point is gi$en a
$alue of ).J. If a customer requirement will not help the sale of the
product the sales point is gi$en a $alue of ). The sales point for
designing a handle"ar stem for a mountain "ike is shown in igure )).
),.
#5solute +eig"t and Percent
inally, the a"solute weight is calculated "y multiplying the importance to
customer, scale.up factor, and sales pointE
-"solute ?eight L (Importance to 8ustomer!('cale.up actor!('ales ;oint!
- sample calculation is included in igure ))A),. -fter summing all the
a"solute weights, a percent and rank for each customer requirement can "e
determined. The weight can then "e used as a guide for the planning phase
of the product de$elopment.
/0#1P)/ PR2B)/1
8ontinue the de$elopment process of designing a handle"ar stem for a
mountain "ike (see pre$ious B:amples! "y determining the a"solute
weight for each customer requirement.
The a"solute weight is determined "y multiplying the importance to
customer, scale.up factor and sales point for each customer requirement.
or instance, for reasona"le cost the a"solute weight is 4).3).J L )6.
The a"solute weight for designing a handle"ar stem for a mountain "ike
is shown in igure )).),. 5ote that the num"ers for a"solute weight
are rounded off in igure )).),.
'tep 7(Develop Prioriti;ed Tec"nical Descriptors
The prioritized technical descriptors make up a "lock of rows
corresponding to each technical descriptor in the house of quality "elow
the technical competiti$e assessment, as shown in igure ))A)3. These
QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT (QFD) 31
prioritized technical descriptors contain degree of technical difficulty, target
$alue, and a"solute and relati$e weights. The QD team identifies technical
descriptors that are most needed to fulfill customer requirements and need
impro$ement. These measures pro$ide specific o"=ecti$es that guide the
su"sequent design and pro$ide a means of o"=ecti$ely assessing progress and
minimizing su"=ecti$e opinions.
Degree of Difficult!
Many users of the house of quality add the degree of technical difficulty for
implementing each technical descriptor, which is e:pressed in the first row of
the prioritized technical descriptors. The degree of technical difficulty, when
used, helps to e$aluate the a"ility to implement certain quality impro$ements.
/0#1P)/ PR2B)/1
8ontinue the de$elopment process of designing a handle"ar stem for a
mountain "ike (see pre$ious B:amples! "y determining the degree of
difficulty for each technical descriptor.
The degree of difficulty is determined "y rating each technical descriptor
from ) (least difficult! to )0 ($ery difficult!. or instance, the degree of
difficulty for die casting is +, whereas, the degree of difficulty for sand
casting is 3 "ecause it is a much easier manufacturing process. The
degree of difficulty for designing a handle"ar stem for a mountain "ike is
shown in igure )).)3.
Target <alue
- target $alue for each technical descriptor is also included "elow the degree
of technical difficulty. This is an o"=ecti$e measure which defines $alues that
must "e o"tained to achie$e the technical descriptor. #ow much it takes to
meet or e:ceed the customerGs e:pectations is answered "y e$aluating all
the information entered into the house of quality and selecting target $alues.
3# CHAPTER 11
-"solute ?eight and ;ercent
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Figure 111$ #dding prioriti;ed tec"nical descriptors to t"e "ouse of &ualit!
/0#1P)/ PR2B)/1
QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT (QFD) 33
8ontinue the de$elopment process of designing a handle"ar stem for a
mountain "ike (see pre$ious B:amples! "y determining the target $alue
for each technical descriptor.
The target $alue for each technical descriptor is determined in the same
way that the target $alue was determined for each customer requirement
(see appropriate B:ample!. The target $alue for designing a handle"ar
stem for a mountain "ike is shown in igure )).)3.
#5solute +eig"t and Percent
The last two rows of the prioritized technical descriptors are the a"solute
weight and relati$e weight. - popular and easy method for determining the
weights is to assign numerical $alues to sym"ols in the relationship matri:
sym"ols, as shown pre$iously in igure ))A4. The a"solute weight for the
jth technical descriptor is then gi$en "y
a
j L
R c
ij i
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where aj L row $ector of a"solute weights for the technical descriptors
(j L ),..., m!
Rij L weights assigned to the relationship matri: (i L ) ,..., n,
j L ),..., m!
ci L column $ector of importance to customer for the customer
requirements (i L ),..., n!
m L num"er of technical descriptors
n L num"er of customer requirements
/0#1P)/ PR2B)/1
8ontinue the de$elopment process of designing a handle"ar stem for a
mountain "ike (see pre$ious B:amples! "y determining the a"solute
weight for each technical descriptor.
The a"solute weight for each technical descriptor is determined "y
taking the dot product of the column in the relationship matri: and the
column for importance to customer. or instance, for aluminum the
a"solute weight is *4 K )J K *J K *, K *+ K 3J K 33 L ,,+.
The a"solute weight for designing a handle"ar stem for a mountain "ike
34 CHAPTER 11
is shown in igure )).)3. The greater $alues of a"solute weight indicate
that the handle"ar stem should "e an aluminum die casting.
Relative +eig"t and Percent
In a similar manner, the relati$e weight for the jth technical descriptor is
then gi$en "y replacing the degree of importance for the customer
requirements with the a"solute weight for customer requirements. It is
b
j L
R d
ij i
i
n
=

)
where bj L row $ector of relati$e weights for the technical descriptors
(j L ),..., m!
di L column $ector of a"solute weights for the customer require.
ments (i L ),..., n!
#igher a"solute and relati$e ratings identify areas where engineering efforts
need to "e concentrated. The primary difference "etween these weights is
that the relati$e weight also includes information on customer scale.up
factor and sales point.
These weights show the impact of the technical characteristics on the
customer requirements. They can "e organized into a ;areto diagram to
show which technical characteristics are important in meeting customer
requirements. -long with the degree of technical difficulty, decisions can "e
made concerning where to allocate resources for quality impro$ement.
Bach QD team can customize the house of quality to suit their
particular needs. or e:ample, columns for the num"er of ser$ice complaints
may "e added.
/0#1P)/ PR2B)/1
8ontinue the de$elopment process of designing a handle"ar stem for a
mountain "ike (see pre$ious B:amples! "y determining the relati$e
weight for each technical descriptor.
The relati$e weight for each technical descriptor is determined "y taking
the dot product of the column in the relationship matri: and the column
for a"solute weight in the prioritized customer requirements. or
QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT (QFD) 35
instance, for die casting the relati$e weight is 3)6 K *4 K *J K 3,
K 0)4 K 3J K *3 L ,)3. The relati$e weight for designing a
handle"ar stem for a mountain "ike is shown in igure )).)3. The
greater $alues of relati$e weight also indicate that the handle"ar stem
should "e an aluminum die casting.
QFD PROCESS
The QD matri: (house of quality! is the "asis for all future matrices
needed for the QD method. -lthough each house of quality chart now
contains a large amount of information, it is still necessary to refine the
technical descriptors further until an actiona"le le$el of detail is achie$ed.
2ften, more than one matri: will "e needed depending on the comple:ity of
the pro=ect. The process is accomplished "y creating a new chart in which
the #2?s (technical descriptors! of the pre$ious chart "ecome the ?#-Ts
(customer requirements! of the new chart, as shown in igure ))A)7. This
process continues until each o"=ecti$e is refined to an actiona"le le$el. The
#2? M/8# (prioritized technical descriptors! $alues are usually carried
along to the ne:t chart to facilitate communication. This action ensures that
the target $alues are not lost during the QD process. If the target $alues are
changed, then the product is not meeting the customer requirements and not
listening to the $oice of the customer which defeats the purpose of QD.
-n e:ample of the complete QD process from the "eginning to the
end is shown in the flow diagram in igure ))A)J. The first chart in the
flow diagram is for the product.planning phase. or each of the customer
requirements, a set of design requirements is determined, which, if satisfied,
will result in achie$ing customer requirements. The ne:t chart in the flow
diagram is for part de$elopment. Design requirements from the first chart are
carried to the ne:t chart to esta"lish part.quality characteristics. The term
part.quality characteristics is applied to any elements that can aid in
measuring the e$olution of quality. This chart "reaks down the design
requirements into specific part details. 2nce the part.quality characteristics
ha$e "een defined, key process operations can "e defined in the process.
planning phase. The ne:t step is process planning where key process
operations are determined from part.quality characteristics. inally,
production requirements are determined from the key process operation.
36 CHAPTER 11
?
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Figure 111- Refinement of t"e QFD c"art
5umerous other house of quality planning charts can "e used to
impro$e quality and customer satisfaction. 'ome of these are the followingE
The demanded quality chart uses analysis of competitors to esta"lish
selling points.
The quality control process chart shows the nature of measurement
and correcti$e actions when a pro"lem arises.
The relia"ility deployment chart is done to ensure a product will
perform as desired. Tests are done, such as failure mode and
effect analysis (MB-!, to determine the failure modes for each
part.
The technology deployment chart searches for the ad$anced or,
more importantly, the proper technologies for the operations.
The use of these charts is dependent upon the type of product and scope of
the pro=ect.
QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT (QFD) 37
Design >equirements
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Figure 1113 T"e QFD process
-n e:ample of the QD approach can "e found in the corrosion
pro"lems with (apanese cars of the )*60s and )*+0s that resulted in large
warranty e:penses. The Toyota >ust QD 'tudy resulted in a $irtual
elimination of corrosion warranty e:penses. The customer requirement of
years of dura"ility was achie$ed, in part, "y the design requirement of no
$isi"le rust in three years. It was determined that this could "e o"tained "y
ensuring part.quality characteristics, which include a minimum paint film
"uild and ma:imum surface.treatment crystal size. The key process operation
that pro$ides these part.quality characteristics consists of a three.coat
process, which includes a dip tank. The production requirements are the
process parameters within the key process operations, which must "e
38 CHAPTER 11
controlled in order to achie$e the required part.quality characteristics and
customer requirements.
CONCLUSION
Quality function deployment@specifically, the house of quality@is an
effecti$e management tool in which customer e:pectations are used to dri$e
the design process. 'ome of the ad$antages and "enefits of implementing
QD are
-n orderly way of o"taining information and presenting it.
'horter product de$elopment cycle.
8onsidera"ly reduced start.up costs.
ewer engineering changes.
>educed chance of o$ersights during the design process.
-n en$ironment of teamwork.
8onsensus decisions.
;reser$es e$erything in writing.
QD forces the entire organization to constantly "e aware of the customer
requirements. B$ery QD chart is a result of the original customer
requirements which are not lost through misinterpretation or lack of
communication. Marketing "enefits "ecause specific sales points, that ha$e
"een identified "y the customer, can "e stressed. Most importantly,
implementing QD results in a satisfied customer.
E$ERCISES
). ?orking indi$idually or in a team, list four or more primary customer
requirements for one or more of the following items. -lso, refine the
primary customer requirements to a second le$el.
(a! Mountain "ike
("! >acing "ike
(c! ;izza
(d! Te:t"ook
(e! -utomatic teller machine
(f! -utomo"ile cruise control
(g! 8offee maker
(h! 8omputer mouse
(i! >echargea"le drillDdri$er
QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT (QFD) 39
(=! /ni$ersity academic department
,. ?orking indi$idually or in a team, list si: or more primary technical
descriptors for one or more of the items you used in B:ercise ). Make an
attempt to address all the customer requirements from B:ercise ) and
refine the secondary technical descriptors to a second le$el.
3. ?orking indi$idually or in a team, form an %.shaped matri: and
complete the relationship matri:, including weights, for one or more of
the items you used in B:ercises ) and ,.
7. ?orking indi$idually or in a team, complete the interrelationship matri:
for one or more of the items you used in B:ercise ,.
J. ?orking indi$idually or in a team, compare two similar products "ased
on the customer assessment of the customer requirements you used in
B:ercise ). 8hoose one of the products to "e your organizationGs
product.
6. ?orking indi$idually or in a team, compare two similar products "ased
on technical assessment of the technical descriptors you used in B:ercise
,. 8hoose one of the products to "e your organizationGs product.
+. 8omplete the scale.up column and a"solute weight column for the
prioritized customer requirements in igure ))A),.
4. 8omplete the a"solute weight row and relati$e weight row for the
prioritized technical descriptors in igure ))A)3.
*. ?orking indi$idually or in a team, complete the house of quality and
comment on the results for one or more of the items you used in
B:ercises ) through 6.