| This thesis develops a quantitative quality function deployment (QFD) method and integrates it with the methodologies of value engineering and risk analysis. Numerical parameters and scales allow measurement of product development and onward adjustment as the process unfolds. In QFD, customer requirements are usually defined in terms of design characteristics. In the method developed here, customer requirements are related to product functions. The use of value engineering then allows costs to be quantified. The analysis of design uncertainties allows the determination of risk factors. By introducing the new concepts of customer satisfaction value and an integrated evaluation index, an appropriate balance between customer and enterprise satisfaction can be attained in the final product. The new QFD method provides a quantitative approach based on cost and risk for evaluating how well customer requirements are taken into account in the development of a product. |
