Quality Function Deployment (QFD)
A structured approach that converts the voice of the customer into clear, measurable engineering and design specifications.
Key Points
- Captures and prioritizes customer needs (voice of the customer) before design work begins.
- Uses the House of Quality to map customer needs to technical characteristics and target metrics.
- Supports trade-off analysis and prioritization so engineering effort aligns with what customers value most.
- Creates traceability from needs to design, verification, and test criteria through cross-functional collaboration.
Example
An agile team building a wearable fitness tracker gathers customer needs such as "battery lasts a week," "accurate heart rate," and "swim-proof." They use QFD to translate these needs into technical specs: minimum 7-day battery life, heart-rate error under 5%, and water resistance to 50 meters. These specs inform backlog items and acceptance criteria, guiding design choices and trade-offs (e.g., display brightness vs. battery capacity).
PMP Example Question
An agile team wants a technique that links prioritized customer outcomes to specific system parameters and target metrics, enabling trade-off decisions during design. Which method should they use?
- Kano analysis
- Quality Function Deployment (QFD)
- MoSCoW prioritization
- Value stream mapping
Correct Answer: B — Quality Function Deployment
Explanation: QFD translates customer needs into technical characteristics and targets (often via the House of Quality), supporting objective trade-offs. The other options prioritize or analyze value/flow but do not map needs to engineering specs.
