Quality Function Deployment

House of Quality

Quality Function Deployment

Developed in Japan in the late 1960s by Professors Shigeru Mizuno and Yoji Akao Stress on Understanding Customer Requirements Comprehensive Quality System for Customer Satisfaction

Quality and Customer Satisfaction

Quality as meeting/exceeding Customer expectation
"Time was when a man could order a pair of shoes directly from the cobbler. By measuring the foot himself and personally handling all aspects of manufacturing, the cobbler could assure the customer would be satisfied,
Dr. Yoji Akao, one of the founders of QFD

Two key drivers of an organizations long-term competitive success are

the extent to which its new products or services meet customers needs, and having the organizational capabilities to develop and deliver such new products and services

Tools for helping translate customer desires directly into product service attributes

Quality Function Deployment

QFD links the needs of the customer (end user) with design, development, engineering, manufacturing, and service functions.
QFD empowers organizations to exceed normal expectations and provide a level of unanticipated excitement that generates value.

How do we capture our Customers' Requirements?

One on one customer interviews

Focus groups
In-context customer visits

Quality Function Deployment (QFD)

House of Quality
Correlation matrix Design requirements Importance

Customer requirements

Relationship matrix

Competitive assessment

Importance weight
Specifications or target values

House of Quality Details

Four Houses of Quality

Customer requirements Technical requirements Component requirements Process deployment requirements

VOICE OF CUSTOMER
Prioritizing Requirements
Importance to the Customer Our Current Product Competitor One Competitor Two Our Future Product Improvement Factor Overall Importance Percent Importance

Quality Function Deployment

Once a team has identified the customers' wants, QFD is used for two fundamental reasons:
To improve the communication of customer wants throughout the organization To improve the completeness of specifications and to make them traceable directly to customer wants and needs

QFD Example
Goal: Develop a system to ensure that diabetes patients receive preventive exams

Customer needs

Knowledge that it is time for an office visit Knowledge of why follow-up is needed Convenient to schedule Known appointment length Appointment on time

Convenient

Technical responses

Why knowledge

Time knowledge

QFD Example

Appointment time Initial notification Subsequent notification Information on need Time to schedule Appointment length range On-time appointment

Appointment length

QFD Example
Importance: Patient desire Cost Competitive advantage
Time knowledge 5

Appointment length range

Why knowledge
Convenient Appointment length Appointment time

3
4 3 4

On-time appointment

Subsequent notification

Information on need

Initial notification

Time to schedule

QFD Example
Appointment length range
Subsequent notification

Initial notification

Time knowledge
Why knowledge Convenient Appointment length Appointment time

5 3 4 3 4

On-time appointment

Information on need

Time to schedule

Relationships: Strong = 5 Medium = 3 Weak = 1

QFD Example
Appointment length range On-time appointment

Subsequent notification

Information on need

Initial notification

Time knowledge
Why knowledge Convenient Appointment length Appointment time

5 3 4 3 4

3
5 3

Time to schedule

Replace icons with numbers Relationships: Strong = 5 Medium = 3 Weak = 1

5 3

3 5

QFD Example
Multiply by importance and sum
Appointment length range On-time appointment Subsequent notification Information on need Initial notification

Time knowledge

Why knowledge
Convenient Appointment length Appointment time

3 4 3 4
25 15

5
5 5 15 20 3

Time to schedule

3 27

5 29

QFD Example
Relationships: + = Strong positive = Strong negative Technical correlations +
Subsequent notification Information on need Initial notification Time to schedule

+
Appointment length range
On-time appointment

Time knowledge Why knowledge Convenient

5 3 4

3 5 5

Appointment length
Appointment time

3
4 25 15 15 20

5
3 27

3
5 29

QFD Example
Target: 100 diabetics/month; 85% compliance
Subsequent notification Information on need Initial notification Time to schedule

Appointment length range

On-time appointment

Time knowledge Why knowledge Convenient

5 3 4

3 5 5

Appointment length
Appointment time

3
4 25 15 15 20

5
3 27

3
5 29

Distinguishing Characteristics
QFD is a quality system that implements elements of Systems Thinking and Psychology of customer needs
QFD is the only comprehensive quality system that satisfy the customer throughout the development and business process -- end to end QFD is quite different in that it seeks out both "spoken" and "unspoken" customer requirements and maximizes "positive" quality (such as ease of use, fun, luxury) that creates value QFD is a quality system for strategic competitiveness

BENEFITS
Improves Customer Satisfaction Reduces Development Time Improves Team Work Reduces Cost Quick New Product Release Documentation Critical Quality Features Right Technology