Quality Function Deployment
QFD is a planning tool that allows the flow down of high-level customer needs and wants through to design parameters and then to process variables critical to fulfilling the high-level needs. By following the QFD methodology, relationships are explored between quality characteristics expressed by customers and substitute quality requirements expressed in engineering terms. In the context of DFSS, we call these requirements "Critical-To" characteristics. These critical-to characteristics can be expanded along the dimensions of speed (critical to delivery, CTD), quality (CTQ), cost (CTC) as well as other dimensions. In the QFD methodology, customers define their wants and needs using their own expressions, which rarely carry any actionable technical terminology. The voice of the customer can be affinitized into a list of needs and wants which can be used as input to a relationship matrix, which is called QFD's House of Quality (HOQ).
Quality Function Deployment (QFD) links the needs of the customer (end user) with design, development, engineering, manufacturing, and service functions. As a quality system that implements elements of Systems Thinking with elements of psychology and knowledge, QFD provides a system of comprehensive development process for:
- Understanding customer needs
- What 'value' means to the customer
- Understanding how customers become interested, choose, and are satisfied
- Analyzing how do we know the needs of the customer
- Deciding what features to include in your product or service offerings
- Determining what level of performance to deliver
Six Sigma Professionals, Inc. is uniquely capable of deploying the Quality Function Deployment methodology to your development program fully, across your organizations. We partner with our clients to ensure the ultimate success of implementing this powerful planning approach to the program planning and development processes.
To know more, contact us @:info@sixsigmapi.com or (734) 765-5229.
