Key factors in the successful application of quality function deployment (QFD)

In the product design and development process, quality function deployment (QFD) provides a comprehensive, systematic approach to ensure that new products meet or exceed customer expectations. This paper reports on the results of a survey of more than 400 companies in the United States and Japan using QFD. The objective of the study was to understand the key factors that result in the successful application of QFD. The research questions investigated in this study were developed both inductively from QFD case studies in the United States and Japan and deductively from the literature. Regression analysis estimates the effects of organizational characteristics, data sources, and QFD tools and techniques on QFD improvements in the product and process. The results show that QFD is most likely to have a positive impact when there is management support for QFD and new customer data specifically collected for the QFD study are used. The benefits of QFD are independent of the tools and techniques used as part of the QFD study.