Data Driven Decisions

Chapter 28House of Quality

A House of Quality (HOQ) is a diagram used in engineering and product design to capture the voice of the customer and translate it into specific technical requirements for a product. The diagram is typically arranged in the shape of a “house,” with a large rectangular shape at the top representing the customer needs and a series of smaller shapes below representing the technical requirements that must be met to satisfy those needs.

The HOQ diagram typically includes several key elements, including:

• Customer Requirements: A list of customer needs or wants, typically collected through market research or direct customer feedback.
• Technical Requirements: A list of specific technical requirements that must be met to satisfy each customer need. These requirements may include product features, performance metrics, or other specifications.
• Relationship Matrix: A matrix that shows the relationship between each customer need and each technical requirement, indicating which technical requirements are most critical for satisfying each customer need.
• Competitive Assessment: An analysis of how well competing products or services currently meet each customer need and how well the proposed product or service is likely to compare.

By using a HOQ diagram, engineers and product designers can ensure that the design of their product is focused on meeting the specific needs and wants of their customers and that technical requirements are aligned with those needs. This ...