What is Six Sigma Quality Function Deployment (QFD)?

What is Six Sigma Quality Function Deployment (QFD)? Download Free Excel QFD Template

In Six Sigma DMAIC, Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a methodology and tool used in the Define stage. QFD is used to:

1. Collect customer’s requirements/desires as specified by the customers in their own words
2. Prioritize these desires
3. Translate them into engineering/process requirements
4. Establish targets to meet the requirements.

QFD is also termed as:

• Voice of the Customer
• House of Quality
• Customer-Driven Engineering
• Matrix Product Planning

QFD is a customer driven product or service planning process. It is a methodology for translating customer requirements into company requirements at each stage from Concept Definition (R&D) to Process Engineering and Production and into the marketplace. The QFD matrix is a tool to translate CCRs (Critical To Customers) into CTQs (Critical to Quality).
QFD collects the voice of the customer (VOC) in their own lingo and incorporates this VOC into the companies cross-functional team’s project management of the integrated development process. The QFD process establishes customer objectives and measures and records them on a series of matrices.