Design and Improving of Quality Function Deployment Using Fuzzy Analytic Network Process and Goal Programming

In both the quality improvement and the design of a product, primarily the engineering characteristics affecting product performance are identified and improved to optimize customer needs (CNs). Especially, the limited resources, increased market competition and product complexity require a customer-driven quality management and product development system to achieve higher customer satisfaction. Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and its House of Quality (HOQ) are used as powerful tools for improving product design and quality, and procuring a customer-driven quality system. In this study, an integrated framework based on fuzzy-QFD and a goal programming model was proposed to determine the technical requirements (TRs) to be considered in designing a product. The coefficients of the mathematical model were obtained from a fuzzy analytic network process (ANP) approach. Furthermore, the proposed analytic procedure should take into account the multi-objective nature of the problem, and thus, incorporate other goals such as cost, extendibility, technological feasibility and competitiveness of TRs. Finally, the model, a zero–one goal programming methodology, includes the important levels of TRs deriven using the fuzzy ANP, cost budget, feasibility level, extendibility level, and competitiveness level as system constraints to determine the TRs to be considered in designing the product. An application for YEKTA washing machine powder in PAKNAM Company (Tehran, Iran) producing detergent products was presented to illustrate the proposed framework.