Quality Function Deployment

In the cut-throat 1990s the key to survival for a business is a knowledge of customer needs. At the same time the utilisation of Quality Management principles are required for efficiency, productivity and the elimination of waste. Clearly, there is a need for a quantitative tool that can directly use the "voice of the customer". Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a simple yet visually powerful planning tool for ensuring that customer demands are accurately translated into relevant technical requirements and actions throughout each stage of product development. This working paper will discuss the development of QFD and the use of statistical techniques within the QFD framework