Steps that should be followed to construct a house of quality are as follows
Step-1: Voice of the customer
This step includes determining and identifying the customer’s needs. The main objective of this step is to translate the needs of every customer into engineering specifications.
Customers buy products that have the desired characteristics, and manufacturers offer the desired characteristics. There should be a proper alignment between the needs of the customers and the offerings of the manufacturer.
After determining the most important features, their translation into particular specifications is carried out. Each aspect, such as heights, torques, weights, etc., of the desired item must be defined. For example, customers might prefer the weight of a particular mobile phone to not exceed 150 grams.
Data from market research can be used, and new studies can be conducted to gather necessary information. For example, an automobile manufacturer may find out the needs of customers for mileage of certain miles per litre of fuel.
Step-2: Regulatory requirements
This step involves the identification of regulatory standards and requirements by the management. After the requirements are identified, it is important to incorporate them into the product design for fulfilling the necessary requirements.
For example, an automobile manufacturer needs to adhere to the emission norms of the government while satisfying the needs of customers.
Step-3: Planning matrix
This step involves comparing how well the team meets the requirements stated by customers as compared to its competitors. The matrix shows the priority of each requirement that the team and competitors are fulfilling. On the basis of the requirements fulfilled by each company, it is given a rating from 1 to 5. Customer ratings are combined with the weighted performance to produce a performance measure.
The main objective of the matrix is to connect customer requirements with the performance measures designed to improve the product. For example, an automobile manufacturer can compare the mileage of his/her car models with the mileages of the similar car models of his/her competitors.
Step-4: Relationships between customer requirements and performance measures
After establishing the matrix, we need to determine the relationship between customer requirements and performance measures. These relationships are expressed in terms of strong, medium or weak relationships.
Step-5: Setting design targets and benchmarks
In this step, customer requirements are prioritized. A priority is a quality characteristic that signifies that the organization delivers more value to the customer by incorporating the quality characteristics in the products.
