Quality Function Deployment

Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a structured method in which customer requirements are translated into appropriate technical requirements for each stage of product development and production. The Quality Function Deployment process is often referred to as listening to the voice of the customer. So Quality function deployment (QFD) is a powerful tool to plan products, define their requirements or technical characteristics and plan subsequent details to achieve the product.

To thrive in business, designing products and services that excite the customer and creating new markets is a critical strategy.  And while growth can be achieved in many different ways--selling through different channels, selling more to existing customers, acquisitions, geographic expansion--nothing energizes a company more than creating new products or upgrading existing products to create customer delight.

In other words Quality Function Deployment is a methodology for building the "Voice of the Customer" into product and service design.  It is a team tool which captures customer requirements and translates those needs into characteristics about a product or service. Quality Function Deployment uses some principles from Concurrent Engineering in that cross functional teams are involved in all phases of product development.  Each of the four phases in a Quality Function Deployment process uses a matrix to translate customer requirements from initial planning stages through production control.

Let’s understand the importance of Quality Function Deployment process. Technology development and applied research are often performed on a separate track from product development to avoid significant risks and time until a technology is ready to be deployed for development. Technology development encompasses pure research, applied research, and the development of technology so that it can be applied in a product with acceptable risk in an acceptable period of time. It also encompasses investigation of technology developed by other organizations and characterization of this technology to the point that it is understood well enough that a decision can be made on whether to use it in the development of a new product.

A lot of attention is focused on planning and managing product development. Not as much attention on managing R&D or technology development. The Aberdeen Group Boston estimates that "85% of invention in corporate inventions whither on the vine."

Quality function deployment (QFD) is a powerful tool to plan products, define their requirements or technical characteristics and plan subsequent details to achieve the product. In traditional quality function deployment, customer needs are determined for a proposed product. With technology development, the collective knowledge of customer needs is assembled for a product line. If the company has multiple product lines, this planning is done for each product line. These customer needs are organized into a technology development planning matrix. The technology development planning matrix (example shown below) is used to identify which technology development projects to undertake based on customer needs. The technology development projects are evaluated and prioritized and then scheduled to balance with available resources using this matrix. A QFD process involves:

• Phase 1 Product Planning
• Phase 2 Product Design
• Phase 3 Process Planning
• Phase 4 Process Control