Quality function deployment

Quality function deployment (QFD) was originally developed in Japan by Yoji Akao in 1966 when the author combined his work in quality assurance and quality control points with function deployment used in Value Engineering. Mr. Akao described QFD as a “method to transform user demands into design quality, to deploy the functions forming quality, and to deploy methods for achieving the design quality into subsystems and component parts, and ultimately to specific elements of the manufacturing process.” [cite book |last= Akao |first= Yoji|title= The Customer Driven Approach to Quality Planning and Deployment |origyear=1994|publisher= Asian Productivity Organization |location=Minato, Tokyo 107 Japan |isbn= 92-833-1121-3|pages=339 |chapter=Development History of Quality Function Deployment]

QFD is designed to help planners focus on characteristics of a new or existing product or service from the viewpoints of market segments, company, or technology-development needs. The technique yields graphs and matrices.

QFD has been used by several corporations and organizations.

The technique

# Identify customer needs and wants as voice of the customer (VOC)
# Identify the engineering characteristics of products or services that meets VOC
# Setting development targets and test methods for the products or services

QFD helps transform customer needs (the voice of the customer [VOC] ) into engineering characteristics (and appropriate test methods) for a product or service, prioritizing each product or service characteristic while simultaneously setting development targets for product or service.

Areas of application

standard which focuses on customer satisfaction.

Results of QFD have been applied in Japan and elsewhere into deploying the high-impact controllable factors in Strategic planning and Strategic management (also known as Hoshin Kanri, Hoshin Planning, [ [http://www.qualitydigest.com/may97/html/hoshin.html Strategic Planning With Hoshin ] ] or Policy Deployment).

Acquiring market needs by listening to the Voice of Customer (VOC), sorting the needs, and numerically prioritizing them (using techniques such as the Analytic Hierarchy Process) are the early tasks in QFD. Traditionally, going to the Gemba (the "real place" where value is created for the customer) is where these customer needs are evidenced and compiled.

While many books and articles on "how to do QFD" are available, there is a relative paucity of example matrices available. QFD matrices become highly proprietary due to the high density of product or service information found therein.

Notable U.S. companies using QFD techniques include the U.S. automobile manufacturers (GM, Ford, Daimler Chrysler) and their suppliers, IBM, Raytheon,General Electric,Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and many others.Fact|date=November 2007

History

While originally developed for manufacturing industries, interest in the use of QFD-based ideas in software development commenced with work by R. J. Thackeray and G. Van Treeck, ["QFD for Embedded Systems and Software Product Development," in GOAL/QPC 6th Annual Conference Proceedings (Boston: GOAL/QPC, 1989)] for example in Object-oriented programming [*Walter Lamia. 1995. “Integrating QFD with Object-oriented Software Design Methodologies.” Presented at the 7th Symposium on QFD.] and use case driven software development. [Richard Denney. 2005. Succeeding with Use Cases: Working Smart to Deliver Quality, Addison-Wesley Object Technology Series, Addison-Wesley Professional, ISBN 0321316436]

Since its early use in the United States, QFD met with initial enthusiasm then plummeting popularity when it was discovered that much time could be wasted if poor group decision making techniques were employed.Fact|date=November 2007 Organizational culture/corporate culture has an effect on the ability to change organizational human processes and on the sustainability of the changes. In particular, in organizations exhibiting strong cultural norms and rich sets of tacit assumptions that prevent objective discussion of historical courses of action, QFD may be resisted due to its ability to expose tacit assumptions and unspoken rules.Fact|date=November 2007 It has been suggested that a learning organization can more easily overcome these issues due to the more transparent nature of the organizational culture and to the readiness of the membership to discuss relevant cultural norms.Fact|date=November 2007

Techniques and tools based on QFD

House of Quality

House of Quality appeared in 1972 in the design of an oil tanker by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. [ [http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=88307 HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW, The House of Quality by John R. Hauser and Don Clausing, May-June 1988] ] Fact|date=November 2007 Akao has reiterated numerous times that a House of Quality is not QFD, it is just an example of one tool. [ [http://www.qfdi.org/what_is_qfd/faqs_about_qfd.htm#What%20is%20the%20House%20of%20Quality%20Why%20it%20isnt%20a%20QFD QFD FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions about QFD ] ]

A Flash tutorial exists showing the build process of the traditional QFD "House of Quality" (HOQ). [http://www.gsm.mq.edu.au/cmit/qfd-hoq-tutorial.swf] (Although this example may violate QFD principles, the basic sequence of HOQ building are illustrative.) There are also free QFD templates available that walk users through the process of creating a House of Quality. [ [http://www.qfdonline.com/templates/qfd-and-house-of-quality-templates/ QFD Online - Free House of Quality (QFD) Templates for Excel ] ]

Other tools extend the analysis beyond quality to cost, technology, reliability, function, parts, technology, manufacturing, and service deployments.

In addition, the same technique can extend the method into the constituent product subsystems, configuration items, assemblies, and parts. From these detail level components, fabrication and assembly process QFD charts can be developed to support statistical process control techniques.

Pugh concept selection

Pugh Concept Selection can be used in coordination with QFD to select a promising product or service configuration from among listed alternatives.

Modular Function Deployment

Modular Function Deployment uses QFD to establish customer requirements and to identify important design requirements with a special emphasis on modularity.

Relationship to other techniques

This technique somewhat resembles Management by objectives (MBO), but adds a significant element in the goal setting process, called "catchball". Use of these Hoshin techniques by U.S. companies such as Hewlett Packard have been successful in focusing and aligning company resources to follow stated strategic goals throughout an organizational hierarchy.

Since the early introduction of QFD, the technique has been developed to shorten the time span and reduce the required group efforts (such as Richard Zultner's Blitz QFD).

Notes and references

*Lou Cohen. 1995. Quality Function Deployment. Prentice Hall PTR, ISBN 0201633302.