On integrating Kano's model dynamics into QFD for multiple product design

Abstract

The design for Six Sigma (DFSS) framework places a strong emphasis on the need to conform to the customer needs or voices early in the design phase. The key problem, in the context of a rapidly changing environment due to influx of new technology and innovation, is that things may become obsolete much faster than ever. What now delights the customer will become an expected need in the near future. Such dynamics is, unfortunately, very often overlooked and has not been adequately addressed in the literature. To fill in this niche, this paper proposes a methodology to advance the use of the quality function deployment (QFD), as one of the widely accepted tools in products or services design process, with respect to Kano's model dynamics. Specifically, based on the information from Kano questionnaire, it provides a quantitative approach to observe and follow the change over time. Not only can it show how fast a certain Kano's category changes over time, but it can also forecast the future needs, which is useful to tackle the customer preference's change during product creation process. Afterwards, the forecasted customer needs can be used within an optimization framework for multiple product design. An illustrative example is provided to give some practical insights. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.