A fuzzy QFD program modelling approach using the method of imprecision

Abstract

The use of quality function deployment (QFD) to aid decision making in product planning has gained extensive international attention, but current QFD approaches are unable to cope with complex product planning (CPP) characterized by involving multiple engineering characteristics (ECs) associated with significant uncertainty. To tackle this difficulty, in this paper, fuzzy set theory is embedded into a QFD framework and a novel fuzzy QFD program modelling approach to CPP is proposed to optimize the values of ECs by taking the design uncertainty and financial considerations into account. In the proposed methodology, fuzzy set theory is used to account for design uncertainty, and the method of imprecision (MoI) is employed to perform multiple-attribute synthesis to generate a family of synthesis strategies by varying the value of s, which indicates the different compensation levels among ECs. The proposed methodology will allow QFD practitioners to control the distribution of their development budget by presetting the value of s to determine the compensation levels among ECs. An illustrative example of the quality improvement of the design of a motor car is provided to demonstrate the application and performance of the modelling approach.

Keywords:

• Complex product planning (CPP)
• Quality function deployment (QFD)
• Fuzzy set theory
• Method of imprecision (MoI)
• Optimization

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the constructive comments of the two referees on an earlier version of this paper. This research was supported in part by grant number G-YX71 from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.