Lean Transformation Consultancy Private Limited
Bangalore Karnataka India
Business Management Consultancy Services
QFD: Quality Function Deployment
Frontloading the New Product Development to Develop Hit Product
Prof. Yoji Akao defines QFD as "a method for converting qualitative user demands into quantitative parameters, deploying the functions that shape quality, and implementing methods to achieve design quality in subsystems, components, and ultimately specific elements of the manufacturing process."
The three phases for Quality Function Deployment:
The significance of QFD lies in its role in establishing quality management within product development, shifting the focus of TQM from process-oriented QA to design-oriented QA, and providing engineers with a powerful tool for creating customer-focused products.
QFD in TQM is a method designed to streamline the development of new products, making the process efficient, cost-effective, and quicker. Organizations aiming to compete for the Deming Prize must showcase the effective use of QFD in their product development and launch, as envisioned by Yoji Akao in his global quality model.
QFD Objectives:
-
Prioritize spoken & unspoken wows, needs and wants of customers, termed as Customer Requirements (CRs)
-
Translate CRs into quality elements and technical design specifications
-
Aligning people, process and technology to the CRs to conceptualize, design, develop, manufacture and deliver a HIT Product: Gives competitors run for their money
Cross-Functional Team Members:
Cross functional team drawn from the various as indicated below are must for QFD:
-
Product development
-
Project management
-
Marketing and sales
-
R&D
-
Product & process design
-
Manufacturing
-
Sales and Service
-
Quality
-
Testing
-
Validation
(This is an indicative list)
The importance of QFD:
Each year, nearly 30,000 new products hit the market, but 95% of them fail, according to Prof. Clayton Christensen of Harvard Business School. This high failure rate is often due to insufficient market research, which results in products that don't align with customer needs.
QFD is the best-known method to align your product with your customer needs.
How to avoid the product failure?
While many new products fail, these failures aren’t just random bad luck. They often stem from identifiable mistakes, which means they can be addressed with the right strategy. By aligning products with market needs, thoroughly testing and refining, carefully planning launches, and staying focused on customers, companies can greatly improve their chances of success. Businesses that follow these principles are far more likely to see their products succeed rather than join the ranks of the “failed products” museum.