Improving the Integration of Customer and Company Requirements through QFD for Solution Design and Supplier Selection
Praneeth Galhena, Kongkiti Phusavat

Department of Industrial Engineering, Kasetsart University, Thailand.

Abstract

Continuous changing technology and customer requirements are challenging companies to be competitive in order to be ahead of business. QFD was identified as a tool that support companies identify customer requirements and convert them to design or product requirements, yet there are drawbacks in the model which makes it sophisticated and undesirable for certain business environments. The objective of the current research is to revise the traditional QFD by addressing its drawbacks and enabling stakeholder requirement identification, prioritization, technical requirement identification and supplier selection through a reliable decision making process, where the end goal is to encourage workplace learning by allowing the company employees to indulge in the revised QFD process and satisfy the stakeholder requirements by providing the best product, service or solution. The roadmap to achieving this target is proposed through an extended methodology that integrates the revised QFD, AHP and focus group discussion. AHP was identified as an ideal technique that can support requirement prioritization decision making by minimizing the subjectivity of individual decision making. This research has utilized an access control case illustration to validate the proposed framework stepwise. The findings were able to highlight the differences between the traditional and revised QFD. Furthermore, future works have been encouraged to improve the methodology, benefits and further development of modernized QFD. In conclusion, the main implication of this research is, utilization of the revised QFD framework for stakeholder requirement identification, solution design and supplier selection can enhance workplace learning, leading to a productive organization.

Keywords: QFD- AHP- Stakeholder Requirements- Workplace Learning- Supplier Selection

Topic: Information Industry and Management