Quality Function Deployment

Abstract

Abstract Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a structured approach to defining customer needs or requirements and translating them into specific plans to produce products to meet those needs. The “voice of the customer” is the term commonly used to describe these stated and unstated customer needs, delights and wants. This understanding of the customer needs is then summarized in a planning matrix called house of quality (HOQ). These matrices are used to translate higher level “whats” or needs into lower level “hows”—functional requirements, design parameters and process variables over four phases to satisfy the voice of the customer (VOC). QFD is methodology that broadens or extends quality responsibility throughout a product, service or process development.