Quality Function Deployment

(Q F D)

What is QFD?

• QFD is Quality Function Deployment

• A method of transferring customer needs and requirements into technical specifications for new product and service development.

Brief History• Dr. Yoji Akao and Shigeru Mizuno• First implemented at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Kobe

Shipyard in 1972

• Toyota strongly influenced adoption of QFD in North America

• Adopted By Ford and GM in 1980s

– Between 1977-1984 achieved a 61% reduction in product development cost, a 33% reduction in product development cycle, and virtual elimination of rust related warranty problems.

Quality Function Deployment• Identify customer wants• Identify how the good/service will satisfy

customer wants• Relate customer wants to product hows• Identify relationships between the firm’s

hows• Develop importance ratings• Evaluate competing products

QFD House of Quality

Idea Generation Stage

• Provides basis for entry into market• Sources of ideas

– Market need (60-80%); engineering & operations (20%); technology; competitors; inventions; employees

• Follows from marketing strategy– Identifies, defines, & selects best market

opportunities

Customer Requirements Stage• Identifies & positions key product benefits

– Stated in core benefits proposition (CBP)– Example: Long lasting with more power

(Sears’ Die Hard Battery)

• Identifies detailed list of product attributes desired by customer – Focus groups or

1-on-1 interviews

House of Quality

Customer Requirements

Product Characteristics

Functional Specification Stage• Defines product in terms of how the

product would meet desired attributes

• Identifies product’s engineering characteristics– Example: printer noise (dB)

• Prioritizes engineering characteristics• May rate product compared to competitors’

House of QualityHouse of Quality

Customer Requirements

Product Characteristics

Product Specification Stage• Determines how product will be made• Gives product’s physical specifications

– Example: Dimensions, material etc.• Defined by engineering

drawing• Done often on computer

– Computer-Aided Design (CAD)

House of QualityHouse of Quality

ProductCharacteristics

Component Specifications

Quality Function Deployment

• Product design process using cross-functional teams– Marketing, engineering, manufacturing

• Translates customer preferences into specific product characteristics

• Involves creating 4 tabular ‘Matrices’ or ‘Houses’– Breakdown product design into increasing levels of

detail

Benefits Of Adopting QFD

• Reduced time to market • Reduction in design changes • Decreased design and manufacturing costs • Improved quality • Increased customer satisfaction

Application Of QFD

Some of the application of QFD are:• Production/Manufacturing• Maintenance • Design courses and curriculum• Design of performance measures• Aerospace• Military needs

QFD SummaryQFD Summary• Orderly Way Of Obtaining Information & Presenting It• Shorter Product Development Cycle• Considerably Reduced Start-Up Costs• Fewer Engineering Changes• Reduced Chance Of Oversights During Design Process• Environment Of Teamwork• Consensus Decisions• Preserves Everything In Writing