Quality Function Deployment Technique Research Articles

A proposed Framework for Software Process Improvement: Extending CMMI-DEV model Using Six Sigma and Quality Function Deployment Techniques

Software Process Improvement (SPI) has become the key to the survival of many software development organizations. Many international SPI models/standards, such as; ISO, Capability Maturity Model Integrated (CMMI), SPICE, Trillium…etc, are developed for SPI. Numerous software development companies have chosen to utilize CMMI to access and improve their current software development process, because CMMI is one of the most widespread and acknowledged SPI models. Unfortunately, CMMI does not provide a systematic way of determining to improve the process. That is, CMMI defines what to but leaving how to do to organizations. Thus, it is desirable to have a means to guide the companies in the development of action plans and appropriate tools for SPI. These actions should be based on the software process requirements from relevant sources. Therefore, this research proposes a SPI-CMMI framework that provides an overall process improvement strategy to be implemented in any software development organization more effectively and comprehensively. The proposed model based on applying assessment and improvement procedures through adopting the CMMI-DEV 1.3 model using six sigma approach and Quality Function Deployment (QFD) technique.

Design and Construction of Sago Rasper (As Business Process Re-Engineering of Sago Flour)

The forest area of Sago in Indonesia is about 1.25 million hectares with a seedling density of 1,480 per hectare. Only about 40 percent of the area is productive with the starch productivity of 7 tons per hectare per year, because of the number of sago crops that are harvestable but not harvested so that they are damaged. This happens because the business and the raw material sources are at a great distance. Therefore, there is a need for business process re-engineering of sago to be more efficient and effective. By redesigning the sago rasper to fit into the truck and can be laid out with other tools. The method used in this research was parameter measurement technique of Quality Function Deployment (QFD), validity and reliability test, morphological chart then designed by using SolidWork software. There were 5 attributes used in QFD: safe, high productivity, strong, durable, and price. Eventually, virtual design of sago extraction tool in accordance with customer requirements and expert machining was designed and constructed. The benefits of the research for Sago flour business process are machine optimization, reduced labor, shorter production time and higher productivity.

Prevention of water leakage in the shallow well jet pump through the application of total quality function deployment technique

Engineers and managers have been adopting quality function deployment (QFD) technique to translate the voice of customers into technical parameters and values for improving the quality of products. During the recent years, certain difficulties of applying QFD in practice have been reported. In order to overcome these difficulties, the researchers have been evolving advanced models of QFD. In the research being reported here, one of such advanced models namely total quality function deployment (TQFD) was applied in a manufacturing company to prevent water leakage in a type of pump called shallow well jet pump. The solutions evolved were implemented by releasing the work instructions in this company. This experience indicated that TQFD is a suitable technique for translating the voice of customers into technical languages in a manufacturing company in which employees possess inadequate expertise to develop House of Quality of QFD technique.

Prevention of water leakage in the shallow well jet pump through the application of total quality function deployment technique

Engineers and managers have been adopting quality function deployment (QFD) technique to translate the voice of customers into technical parameters and values for improving the quality of products. During the recent years, certain difficulties of applying QFD in practice have been reported. In order to overcome these difficulties, the researchers have been evolving advanced models of QFD. In the research being reported here, one of such advanced models namely total quality function deployment (TQFD) was applied in a manufacturing company to prevent water leakage in a type of pump called shallow well jet pump. The solutions evolved were implemented by releasing the work instructions in this company. This experience indicated that TQFD is a suitable technique for translating the voice of customers into technical languages in a manufacturing company in which employees possess inadequate expertise to develop House of Quality of QFD technique.

Analysis and prioritisation of eco drivers in supply chain

Green supply chain management (GSCM) is a powerful tool to differentiate one company from the others and it can greatly influence the success of any plant. This paper aims to identify the management, technological, organisational, external and stakeholder's cooperation. These factors influence the adoption of eco-design and integrate into the green supply chain management. The drivers and sub-factors are ranked using fuzzy quality function deployment (FQFD), rough quality function deployment (RQFD) and fuzzy technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (fuzzy TOPSIS). In the proposed model, 15 fundamental requirements of the customers are identified and 15 main factors of eco-design are derived to satisfy the overall requirements. Fuzzy TOPSIS selects the alternative that is closest to the positive ideal solution and farthest from negative ideal solution.

Strategic logistics outsourcing: upstream-downstream supply chain comparison

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop a new integrated approach for the strategic logistics outsourcing process through identifying the logistics independent success factors (ISFs) and linking them with the firm’s strategic objectives and logistics requirements. Then, the new integrated approach will be used to compare the outsourcing processes for the upstream and downstream supply chain members. Studies of logistics outsourcing reveal the strategic importance of this process and the increasing need for new strategic approach.Design/methodology/approachThe design is based on mixed methodology and integrated approach. The fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory technique has contributed to the construction of interdependent relationships, development of impact-relationship maps (IRMs) and identifying ISFs. The fuzzy quality function deployment technique was used to link the strategic objectives, logistics requirements and the ISFs to evaluate and select logistics service providers (LSPs) strategically. Finally, two case studies (upstream and downstream supply chains) are used to demonstrate the new approach effectiveness and to highlight the differences/similarities between the two streams.FindingsIn addition to the new strategic logistics outsourcing approach, this study analysed the impact relationships of the LSPs’ framework factors and constructed their maps. In all, 21 ISFs have been identified: 8 logistics key performance indicators, 7 logistics services and activities and 6 logistics resources and capabilities. The two streams’ comparison relived several differences in terms of strategic objectives, logistics requirements and ISFs.Research limitations/implicationsThe new approach for strategic logistics outsourcing can help firms to perform a better multi-stakeholder multi-criteria strategic outsourcing process. In addition, the upstream–downstream supply chain comparison increases our understanding how different supply chain members perform different outsourcing processes.Originality/valueThis is one of the pioneering studies that compares the supply chain upstream–downstream perspectives to highlight logistics outsourcing similarities and differences. To the best of author’s knowledge, this is one of the first logistics outsourcing studies that identifies ISFs for strategic logistics outsourcing, provides the first IRMs for the strategic logistics factors and develops a new integrated approach for strategic logistics outsourcing

Quality function deployment application for improving quality of education in business schools

ABSTRACTThere is an increasing competition between universities globally to attract students. At this point, to compete, it is imperative for the universities to improve the quality of education provided for their stakeholders, including students, parents, and employers. For improving the quality of education, first of all, the universities should make efforts to understand stakeholder expectations, by analyzing their needs and wants. For this purpose, the authors incorporated the quality function deployment technique with fuzzy analytical network process. Due to the vagueness present in the evaluation of relative importance of the criteria for higher education, fuzzy set theory is integrated.

Sağlık Sektöründe Kalite Fonksiyon Yayılımı ile Süreç İyileştirme

Although hospitals are important facilities for human health, they are not the places that people usually want to be in. It is necessary to create an environment that will make people feel like they are at home rather than at the hospital in order to break this feeling. In order to provide this environment in hospitals, patient-oriented service approach should be taken and appropriate processes should be designed. In this context, the opinions of the patients should be taken into account. In this research, the patient expectations regarding the blood collection process in a private hospital were evaluated. The current situation of the hospital, the relationships between expectations and requirements, and the competitors are taken into account and a quality function deployment technique is used.

An integrated fuzzy QFD and TOPSIS methodology for choosing the ideal gas fuel at WWTPs

Increase of population, development of industry, environmental problems and continuous energy consumption in the world render renewable energy resources crucial. This paper focuses on multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) models for energy saving and using energy resources efficiently in order to maintain sustainable operations at wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). An integrated fuzzy quality function deployment (FQFD) framework and technique for order preferences by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS) selection algorithm is proposed. Fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) is used to determine importance weights of attributes in MCDM model to avoid inconsistent results of crisp QFD analyses caused by the variability of human judgment. Fuzzy analytical network process (FANP) is used to consider both symmetrical and asymmetrical relationships between customer requirements (CRs) and engineering characteristics (ECs) for constituting internal and external correlation matrices in the house of quality (HOQ). The comprehensive weight vector of ECs is used as the weights of the selection criteria in the TOPSIS side of the integrated methodology. The proposed MCDM methodology is used for the goal of choosing the ideal gas fuel at WWTPs. Regarding to the results of application of the proposed MCDM model at a WWTP in Turkey, the most important EC regarding to the goal is hydrocarbons with the weight value of 0.32, while gas processing system with 0.21 is the second and impurities with 0.19 is the third EC. Biogas is chosen as the ideal gas fuel. In addition, natural gas is the second, liquefied natural gas is the third, compressed natural gas is the fourth and landfill gas is the fifth gas fuels in turn at the WWTP in Turkey.

Fuzzy model on selecting processes in Business Process Reengineering

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a methodology to assist enterprise decision makers (DMs) to select from a number of processes during Business Process Reengineering (BPR) according to organizational objectives. Indeed, after the identification and classification of process and illustration of the organizational objectives and criteria, the effect of each process on each objective and criterion is calculated to select the most appropriate processes for reengineering purposes. Design/methodology/approach The proposed methodology uses fuzzy quality function deployment (QFD) technique to convert the qualitative data (DM’s opinion) to quantitative ones and then calculates the effects of each process on the organizational objectives and criteria. Then, by using the result of fuzzy QFD, the amount of satisfaction of each process according to each criterion is calculated. By combining this data with other effective variables in BPR projects such as “cost” and “time,” a multi-objective goal programming (GP) model is formulated and solved to identify the most appropriate business processes. Findings In fact, a quantitative model is presented in which fuzzy QFD and GP methods are combined to help DMs to adopt an appropriate strategy for implementing BPR projects successfully by selecting proper processes for reengineering purposes. In addition, the presented model uses both qualitative and quantitative data and turns them into quantitative ones. An example is also provided to show how the model works. Research limitations/implications Following this investigation, other researchers could able to complete the model with more dynamic and local variables to enhance the accuracy of the model. Practical implications The introduced model will support organizations and managers to select appropriate processes for BPR; so in practice, the mentioned projects will be more efficient and successful. Originality/value The paper study is essential for organizations, because the presented decision-making model is based on fuzzy QFD and GP methods that enable the enterprises to select the business processes during the BPR projects easily. In this paper, a GP model is presented to create a balance between organizational satisfaction level and cost and time of implementing BPR projects considering organizational constraints. The proposed model was applied to a real case and the authors showed that it is an easy-to-use, valid, and powerful tool for implementing BPR projects.

Internal customer satisfaction improvement with QFD technique

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to employ quality function deployment (QFD) method for translating internal customer needs and expectations into appropriate service specifications to perform existing process assessments in relation to quality characteristics for increasing internal customer satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach – The integration of SERVQUAL into QFD has been used to set the success factors to improve quality in the textile industry. One of the largest textile companies in Turkey provided the sample. A SERVQUAL-type of questionnaire was used and a total of 32,938 questionnaires were distributed both manually and online, 24,551 usable were received, comprising a response rate of 77.31 percent. Findings – Findings of the QFD application suggest internal customer focus as having the highest weight score of almost 12 percent improvement. In addition, improvements in technical requirements of politeness and process communication have a 9 percent impact each on internal customer satisfaction criteria. Research limitations/implications – QFD technique is able to provide companies with a better understanding of internal customer expectations and translate these into appropriate service specifications and perform existing process assessment. Originality/value – This paper is a first attempt that applies this integrative approach to a different type of industry, thus offering practical and applied information for professionals engaged in academia and as practitioners.

Improvement of Vehicle Service System by the Application of Lean Six Sigma

This research aims to improve the efficiency of vehicle service system in Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University. The study adopted the lean six sigma methods with DMAIC process and New Service Development by following 5D steps which are Discover, Define, Design, Develop and Deploy. In this process, the Lean Six Sigma or DMAIC is implemented and considered as the main tool which is used together with the development of service innovation in order to equip the tools with fully developed characters. The occurred problems and its root causes were discovered and defined by using SERVQUAL questionnaires to evaluate customer satisfaction levels to 20 service dimensions. Innovative solutions were generated by using the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and lean techniques. The action plan includes: 1) developing a vehicle reservation system which can be done via intranet, 2) redesigning the back-end procedure by applying the ECRS principle and developing the manual, 3) improving the quality control and assessment system, 4) developing a new working standard for customers and drivers. After the implementation of this new system, the car users were satisfied with the service as the score (1-5 Likert scale) increased by 30% from 3.35 as the medium level to 4.37 as the good level. The time of check back system is decreased by 87% from 15.5 minutes to 2 minutes

A Quality Function Deployment-Based Model for Cutting Fluid Selection

Cutting fluid is applied for numerous reasons while machining a workpiece, like increasing tool life, minimizing workpiece thermal deformation, enhancing surface finish, flushing away chips from cutting surface, and so on. Hence, choosing a proper cutting fluid for a specific machining application becomes important for enhanced efficiency and effectiveness of a manufacturing process. Cutting fluid selection is a complex procedure as the decision depends on many complicated interactions, including work material’s machinability, rigorousness of operation, cutting tool material, metallurgical, chemical, and human compatibility, reliability and stability of fluid, and cost. In this paper, a decision making model is developed based on quality function deployment technique with a view to respond to the complex character of cutting fluid selection problem and facilitate judicious selection of cutting fluid from a comprehensive list of available alternatives. In the first example, HD-CUTSOL is recognized as the most suitable cutting fluid for drilling holes in titanium alloy with tungsten carbide tool and in the second example, for performing honing operation on stainless steel alloy with cubic boron nitride tool, CF5 emerges out as the best honing fluid. Implementation of this model would result in cost reduction through decreased manpower requirement, enhanced workforce efficiency, and efficient information exploitation.

A QFD-Based Evaluation Method for Business Models of Product Service Systems

Organizations have been approaching Product Service Systems (PSS) in unoptimized business model fashions. This is partially because there is ineffective evaluation of PSS business models. Therefore, a more sufficient evaluation method might advance the evaluation of PSS business models and assist organizations that are considering a servitisation strategy. In this paper, we develop a value oriented method by using the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) technique to employ correlations derived from the design information of PSS business models to evaluate these PSS business models. We describe the method applying steps and its practical application in a real life case study. This method improves the formulation of an evaluation step within a design process of PSS business models based on correlations of different dimensions of the PSS value and PSS business models; it allows a balance between the customer value and organization value that are delivered by PSS business models to be made quantitatively. Finally, it fosters the effective utilization of the design information accumulated in the earlier part of the design process to quantitatively evaluate whether a PSS business model is optimized for providing appropriate values for customers and organizations.

Applying Quality Function Deployment Model in Burn Unit Service Improvement

Quality function deployment (QFD) is one of the most effective quality design tools. This study applies QFD technique to improve the quality of the burn unit services in Ghotbedin Hospital in Shiraz, Iran. First, the patients' expectations of burn unit services and their priorities were determined through Delphi method. Thereafter, burn unit service specifications were determined through Delphi method. Further, the relationships between the patients' expectations and service specifications and also the relationships between service specifications were determined through an expert group's opinion. Last, the final importance scores of service specifications were calculated through simple additive weighting method. The findings show that burn unit patients have 40 expectations in six different areas. These expectations are in 16 priority levels. Burn units also have 45 service specifications in six different areas. There are four-level relationships between the patients' expectations and service specifications and four-level relationships between service specifications. The most important burn unit service specifications have been identified in this study. The QFD model developed in the study can be a general guideline for QFD planners and executives.

An improved grey quality function deployment approach using the grey TRIZ technique

Quality function deployment (QFD) can simultaneously consider both product functions and consumer needs during the product design and manufacturing stages. Traditional QFD often relies on market research or customer questionnaires to collect customer opinions in order to establish customer requirements. However, market research results (or those of customer questionnaires) usually contain a good deal of uncertain and incomplete information. Moreover, there is a practical problem in implementing QFD as experts in specific fields are often rare and difficult to find. In order to resolve these issues, this study integrated interval grey numbers, QFD and TRIZ techniques to develop an improved grey quality function deployment (GQFD) method. GQFD can assist product developers in identifying important engineering characteristics and can provide suggestions for possible improvements in engineering characteristics. Furthermore, this study developed a new grey ranking method to determine the ranking order of interval grey numbers. Finally, a real-world case study in Taiwan was used to explain the research process of the GQFD method and validate the practicality of the proposed method.

Development of a QFD-based expert system for CNC turning centre selection

Computer numerical control (CNC) machine tools are automated devices capable of generating complicated and intricate product shapes in shorter time. Selection of the best CNC machine tool is a critical, complex and time-consuming task due to availability of a wide range of alternatives and conflicting nature of several evaluation criteria. Although, the past researchers had attempted to select the appropriate machining centres using different knowledge-based systems, mathematical models and multi-criteria decision-making methods, none of those approaches has given due importance to the voice of customers. The aforesaid limitation can be overcome using quality function deployment (QFD) technique, which is a systematic approach for integrating customers’ needs and designing the product to meet those needs first time and every time. In this paper, the adopted QFD-based methodology helps in selecting CNC turning centres for a manufacturing organization, providing due importance to the voice of customers to meet their requirements. An expert system based on QFD technique is developed in Visual BASIC 6.0 to automate the CNC turning centre selection procedure for different production plans. Three illustrative examples are demonstrated to explain the real-time applicability of the developed expert system.

Green hospital design: integrating quality function deployment and end-user demands

There is a rapidly growing awareness amongst the public of facilities where the design incorporates green construction principles. This paper aims to study the quality function deployment (QFD) concept and technique when implemented in the construction industry with a particular focus on supporting green hospital design by identifying the end-user factors (concerns) that affect the design. This research develops QFD tools for green hospital designs known as the House of Quality Green Design (HOQGD). Data were collected using a questionnaire survey distributed to public and private hospital end-users in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Findings revealed that end-users perceived “safety mechanisms during emergency” as being of the utmost importance and also the feature they were most satisfied with. The other demanded qualities were at an average degree of satisfaction; however, the end-users considered that green hospital design must make efforts to maximize the use of natural light and ventilation while considering the building orientation; materials should be free from toxicity and be environmentally friendly; the landscape should be strategically designed and the facilities should increase the sense of a healing environment, and water efficient equipment should be installed. Accordingly, these were prioritized and incorporated in the developed HOQGD to inform green hospital design for both public and private facilities.

A software prototype for material handling equipment selection for construction sites

Abstract Nowadays, every industry is experiencing demographic, economic and technological shifts, which have made innovation indispensable for them. The innovation in the construction industry can be evidenced through availability of a diverse range of new material handling equipments (MHEs) in the market having varying advanced features. An MHE is a critical investment made by a construction company that may significantly affect its future performance, competitiveness and sustainability. Therefore, selecting the best MHE with the desirable characteristics from a vast array of available alternatives is one of the most onerous tasks as often being faced by the construction engineers. In this paper, a software prototype based on quality function deployment (QFD) technique is designed and developed in Visual BASIC 6.0 for selecting two most suitable bulk-type MHEs, i.e. excavator and wheel loader for specific applications at a construction site. It is integrated with QFD method to provide due importance to the spoken and unspoken needs of the customers/construction engineers. It automates the entire MHE selection process and also performs sensitivity analysis study to investigate the effect of changing criterion weight on the alternative MHEs' ranking pattern. Its potentiality and applicability in solving bulk-type MHE selection problems is demonstrated in detail.

Advanced models of quality function deployment: a literature review

In this paper, a literature review conducted to study the characteristics of advanced models of quality function deployment (QFD) that have appeared in the literature arena is reported. QFD technique emerged in Japan in the 1970s. QFD has been proving to be a powerful tool that can be used for translating the voice of customers into technical languages. Yet from the beginning of this century, researchers began to point out the need to refine, modify and improve the features of QFD technique. In order to fulfil this need, few researchers brought out several advanced models of QFD. While conducting the literature review reported in this paper, six types of such advanced models of QFD were identified in the literature arena and their characteristics were studied. The result of this study revealed that the procedural and computational complexities are least in the case of an advanced model called total quality function deployment (TQFD). TQFD technique replaces the complex computations involved in applying conventional QFD technique with simple ratings. Besides the formation of teams to translate the voice of customers into work instructions ensures the quick reactions to the customers’ desires in the actual field of implementation. In this background, at end of this paper, it is suggested to adopt TQFD for implementation in traditional organizations in which the prevalence of adequate education for adopting complex procedures is found to be least.