Quality Functional

Deployment (QFD)
Using Teamwork for the Customer

Chapter 12
Kipp Reynolds
February 28, 2007
Introduction to QFD

• Dr. Mizuno (Professor Emeritus) of Tokyo Institute of Technology, is

credited with initiating QFD.
• First application of QFD by Mitsubishi in Japan, 1972
• Successfully implemented for mini vans by Toyota. QFD resulted in
20% reduction in startup costs in 1979, then 38% in 1982, then 61%
reduction by 1984
• Can be applied to any manufacturing or service industry
• QFD is a planning tool used to fulfil customer expectations.
• It helps to improve engineering knowledge, productivity, quality.
Reduce cost and product development time.
• Focus on customer requirements--- Voice of Customer
QFD as Planning tool

• Translates customer requirement to directions and actions in terms

of engineering and technical characterstics-
Product planning
Part planning
Process planning
Production planning
Service industries
QFD as team based management tool

• With the help of customer requirement, product is designed

• Organizations do market research to decide what to produce
• Helps identify new technology and job functions
• Helps to concentrate on customer requirements, thereby saving the
cost and time on redesign and modification by traditional way
• 2 types of team: New product designing and improvement in existing
product
• Cross functional team includes members from marketing, design,
quality, finance and production
• Team should focus on better communication and time
• Team should see proper implementation of QFD.
Benefits of QFD

• Improves customer satisfaction

• Reduces implementation time
• Promotes team work
• Provides documentation
 QFD – Definition
• “Planning tool used to fulfill customer expectation”

• Team Based
• Cross Functional

• Voice of the Customer

• Expectations
• Requirements

Source: Besterfiled et al, (2003). Total Quality Management. 3 rd

Ed
 QFD – Uses

• Product Planning
• Part Development
• Process Planning
• Production Planning
• Service Industries

Source: Besterfiled et al, (2003). Total Quality Management. 3 rd

Ed
 QFD – Benefits
• Improved Customer Satisfaction
• Identifies Basic Needs (Customer Requirements)
• Focus on areas where most improvement is needed
• Reduces Implementation Time
• Decrease design changes
• Promote Teamwork
• Provides Documentation
• Data for future designs

• Figure 12-1 pp. 318

Source: Besterfiled et al, (2003). Total Quality Management. 3 rd

Ed
 QFD – Information Sources
• Customer Information comes from a combination of
three pairs of sources
• Solicited or Unsolicited
• Quantitative or Qualitative
• Structured or Random

• Figure 12-2 pp. 320

• Use an Affinity Diagram (Chp. 17)

• Organizes information into logical groups

Source: Besterfiled et al, (2003). Total Quality Management. 3 rd

Ed
 QFD – Construction of the House
• QFD is also called the “House of Quality”
• Because it looks like a house
• Walls
• Roof
• Ceiling
• Floor
• Interior
• Like any house construction, following the plans (steps) correctly will
result in a good strong house (Quality).

Source: Besterfiled et al, (2003). Total Quality Management. 3 rd

Ed
House of Quality Matrix
 QFD – Plans (Steps)
• Sevens Steps to Constructing the
House of Quality
1. List Customer Requirements (WHATs)
2. List Technical Descriptors (HOWs)
3. Develop a Relationship Matrix between WHATs and HOWs
4. Develop the Interrelationship Matrix between HOWs
5. Competitive Assessment
6. Develop Prioritized Customer Requirements
7. Develop Prioritized Technical Descriptors

Source: Besterfiled et al, (2003). Total Quality Management. 3 rd

Ed
 QFD – Step 1
• List Customer Requirements (WHATs)
• What are they
• Customer Expectations or Requirements
• Primary (Broad)
• Secondary (Narrow)
• Tertiary (Very Specific) (May not be necessary)

• Why is it important
• Basis for everything which comes after
• Miss this and product/service will not be successful

Source: Besterfiled et al, (2003). Total Quality Management. 3 rd

Ed
 QFD – Step 2
• List Technical Descriptors (HOWs)
• What are they
• Characteristics which affect the WHATs
• Primary (Broad)
• Secondary (Narrow)
• Tertiary (Very Specific) (May not be necessary)

• Why is it important
• Translates the Customer Language in Technical Language

Source: Besterfiled et al, (2003). Total Quality Management. 3 rd

Ed
Example

• WHATs for product – chocolate could be :

• Appetizing appearance
• Good texture
• Flavors
• Low price
• Healthy and Low fats
• Good taste
• HOWs for the product – chocolate are :
• Color
• Weight
• Size/Dimension
• Packaging
• Choice of flavors
• Quantity of milk
• Sugar content
 QFD – Step 3
• Develop a Relationship Matrix between WHATs and
HOWs
• What is it
• Strength of relationship between specific WHATs and HOWs
• +9 Strong (Symbol: ●)
• +3 Medium (Symbol: ○)
• +1 Weak (Symbol: Δ)
• 0 Not Applicable (No Symbol)

• Why is it important
• Determine trade-offs between conflicting characteristics
• Determines absolute weight at the bottom of the house

Source: Besterfiled et al, (2003). Total Quality Management. 3 rd

Ed
 QFD – Step 4
• Develop the Interrelationship Matrix between
HOWs (Correlation Matrix)
• What is it
• Strength of relationship between specific WHATs and HOWs
• +9 Strong Positive (Symbol: ●)
• +3 Positive (Symbol: ○)
• -3 Negative (Symbol: X)
• -9 Strong Negative (Symbol: *)

• Why is it important
• Determine which HOWs support each other and which are in
conflict
• Identify points where trade-offs must be made

Source: Besterfiled et al, (2003). Total Quality Management. 3 rd

Ed
 QFD – Step 5
• Competitive Assessment
• What is it
• How you rank on the WHATs compared to your
competitors
• How you rank on the HOWs compared to your
competitors
• Each is on a scale 1 (worst) – 5 (best)
• Must be congruence between WHATs and HOWs

• Why is it important
• Determine if customer requirements are being met
• Focus on areas of needed improvement

Source: Besterfiled et al, (2003). Total Quality Management. 3 rd

Ed
 QFD – Step 6
• Develop Prioritized Customer Requirements
• What is it
• Provides Absolute Numeric values to WHATs
• Importance to the customer
• Each is on a scale of 1 (least) – 10 (most)
• Target Value
• Each is on a scale 1 (worst) – 5 (best)
• Scale-up Factor
• How much improvement is necessary to get to the Target Value
(Calc)
• Sales Point
• Each is on a scale of 1.0 (lowest) – 2.0 (highest)
• Absolute Weight
• Calculation

Source: Besterfiled et al, (2003). Total Quality Management. 3 rd

Ed
 QFD – Step 6
• Develop Prioritized Customer Requirements (Cont.)
• Where does the data come from
• Customer
• Focus Groups

• Why is it important
• Determines guide for the planning phase of product
development

Source: Besterfiled et al, (2003). Total Quality Management. 3 rd

Ed
 QFD – Step 7
• Develop Prioritized Technical Descriptors
• What is it
• Provides objectives for subsequent designs and means to
objectively assess progress and minimize subjective opinions
on the HOWs.
• Degree of Difficulty
• Each is on a scale of 1 (least) – 10 (most)
• Target Value
• Each is on a scale 1 (worst) – 5 (best)
• Absolute Weight
• Calculation
• Relative Weight
• Calculation

Source: Besterfiled et al, (2003). Total Quality Management. 3 rd

Ed
 QFD – Process
• Develop Prioritized Technical Descriptors (Cont.)
• Why is it important
• Higher weight values point to areas where efforts need
focusing
• Absolute Weight
• n
aj= i=1 ∑Rijci (Error in Book pp 341; m should be j)

• Relative Weight
n
• bj= i=1 ∑Rijdi

Source: Besterfiled et al, (2003). Total Quality Management. 3 rd

Ed
 QFD – Conclusion
• Orderly way to obtain and present information
• Shorter product development cycle
• Considerably reduced start-up costs
• Fewer engineering changes
• Reduced chance of oversight in design process
• Environment of teamwork
• Consensus decisions
• Everything is preserved in writing

Source: Besterfiled et al, (2003). Total Quality Management. 3 rd

Ed