Tool 91: House of Quality

AKA

Requirements QFD Matrix

Classification

Evaluating/Selecting (ES)

Tool description

The house of quality matrix is an important tool for translating customer requirements and expectations into appropriate design and product characteristics. Starting with marketing and engineering, a house of quality matrix will ensure that characteristics are considered and acted on at every stage of product development. It is considered a must for integrated product development teams (IPDT) in that it forces cross-functional communications and teamwork in the planning, engineering, and manufacturing activities and aligns them to achieve quality and customer satisfaction.

Typical application

• To provide an interlocking matrix that reflects customer needs and wants and necessary design features to be included in a product in order to gain maximum product acceptance.

• To translate customer requirements and expectations into quantitative, technical language.

• To minimize potential problems and engineering change orders by carefully mapping out functional requirements as they relate to the voice of the customer.

Problem-solving phase

→	Select and define problem or opportunity
	Identify and analyze causes or potential change
→	Develop and plan possible solutions or change
	Implement and evaluate solution or change
	Measure and report solution or change results
	Recognize and reward team efforts

Typically used by

	Research/statistics
	Creativity/innovation
3	Engineering
	Project management
	Manufacturing
2	Marketing/sales
	Administration/documentation
	Servicing/support
1	Customer/quality metrics
4	Change management

links to other tools

before

• Benchmarking

• Interview technique

• Circles of knowledge

• Audience analysis

• Information Needs Analysis

after

• Comparison Matrix

• Problem specification

• Consensus decision

• Weighted Voting

• Force field analysis (FFA)

Notes and key points

The house of quality matrix is the first of many matrices linked together to carry the customer requirements through to manufacturing. The process known as quality function deployment (QFD) translates customer requirements (the whats) into technical requirments (the hows). The hows in turn become the wahts for linking matrices to capture requirements in greater and greater detail.

Step-by-step procedure

• STEP 1 To develop a house of quality for a particular product, great care must be taken to assemble a cross-functional team that reflects representation from each required discipline of the organization.

• STEP 2 The first action of the team requires a data collection process that acquires customer requirements and expectations and benchmark data for a competitive analysis. See example Multi-Purpose Personal Copier.

• STEP 3 The team facilitator draws the basic house of quality on flip charts. Since the development of the house will take serveral team sessions, work needs to be completed in a structured, systematic way.

• STEP 4 All customer requirements (whats) and their associated importance to the customer ratings are listed in the matrix.

• STEP 5 Next, the team determines the technical requirements (hows) and the target values. The matrix is being completed as decisions are made.

• STEP 6 The benchmark data, customer perception of competitors (A+B) and this organization, are analyzed and recorded in the matrix.

• STEP 7 Technical evaluation data from competitors (A+B) and this organization's capability are analyzed, evaluated, and recoreded in the matrix.

• STEP 8 The team is now ready to perform the following tasks as shown in the example:

  • Correlate the technical requirements.

  • Verify relationships between customer requirements and technical requirements pairs.

  • Calculate importance weighting. See example in notes and key points.

  • Rate, by team consensus, organizational difficulty.

• STEP 9 Finally, the team facilitator, after having drafted the complete house of quality matrix, asks the team to check information and calculations.

• STEP 10 The house of quality matrix is finalized and distributed to all representatives. This matrix will also provide the input data for the next matrix to be developed.

Example of tool application