Skip to main content
Log in

A quantitative approach for setting technical targets based on impact analysis in software quality function deployment (SQFD)

  • Published:
Software Quality Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Target setting in software quality function deployment (SQFD) is very important since it is directly related to development of high quality products with high customer satisfaction. However target setting is usually done subjectively in practice, which is not scientific. Two quantitative approaches for setting target values: benchmarking and primitive linear regression have been developed and applied in the past to overcome this problem (Akao and Yoji, 1990). But these approaches cannot be used to assess the impact of unachieved targets on satisfaction of customers for customer requirements. In addition, both of them are based on linear regression and not very practical in many applications.

In this paper, we present an innovative quantitative method of setting technical targets in SQFD to enable analysis of impact of unachieved target values on customer satisfaction. It is based on assessment of impact of technical attributes on satisfaction of customer requirements. In addition both linear and non linear regression techniques are utilized in our method, which certainly improves the existing quantitative methods which are based on only linear regression.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Akao, Yoji, 1990. Quality Function Deployment: Integrating Customer Requirements into Product Design, Cambridge, MA, Productivity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grewal, B.S., 2000. Higher Engineering Mathematics, Khanna Publishers, Delhi, India.

    Google Scholar 

  • George Herzwurm, Werner Mellis, and Dirk Stelzer, 1995. Customer-oriented planning of case-tools using quality function deployment (QFD). in Software Quality Management III: Vol. 1 Quality Management, edited by M. Ross, C. A. Brebbia, G. Staples, and J. Stapleton, Southampton, Boston, pp. 429–440.

  • Haag, S., Raja M.K., and Schkade L.L. 1996. Quality function deployment usage in software development, Communications of the ACM, 39(1), 41–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • http://www.searchengineshowdown.com.

  • John T. Roscoe, 1969. Fundamental research statistics for the behavioral sciences, Rinheartmand Winston Inc.

  • Lou Cohen, 1997. Quality function deployment: How to make QFD work for you, Addison Wesley Publishing Company.

  • Lou Cohen, 1988. Quality function deployment: an application perspective from digital equipment corporation. National Productivity Rev., 7(3): 197–207.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moseley, J., and Worley, J. 1991. Quality function to gather customer requirements for products that support software engineering improvement. Transactions of the third Symposium on Quality Function Deployment, ASI and GOAL QPC, Novi, Michigan.

  • Albright, S., Winston W., and Zappe C. 1999. Data analysis and decision making with microsoft excel, Brooks Cole.

  • Shaikh, K.I. 1991. Thrill your customers, transactions of the third symposium on quality function deployment, ASI and GOAL QPC, Novi, Michigan.

  • Sharkey, A.I. 1991. Generalized Approach to adapting QFD for software. transactions of the third symposium on quality function deployment, ASI and GOAL QPC, Novi, Michigan.

  • Thompson, D.M., and Fallah, M.H. 1989. QFD—A systematic approach to problem definition, Transactions of the First Symposium on Quality Function Deployment, ASI, pp. 279–285, Novi, Michigan.

  • Mizuno, Shigeru and Akao Yoji 1994. The customer-driven approach to quality planning and deployment, Quality Resources Publisher.

  • Xiaoqing Frank Liu, 2001. Transformation and analysis of customer requirements and target setting for technical attributes in quality function deployment, Final Project Report to the Toshiba Corporation.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Frank Liu.

Additional information

Frank Liu is currently an associate professor and a director of the McDonnel Douglass Foundation software engineering laboratory in the University of Missouri-Rolla. He has been working on requirements engineering, software quality management, and knowledge based software engineering since 1992. He has published about 50 papers in peer-reviewed journals and conferences in the above areas and several other software engineering application areas. He participates in research projects with a total amount of funds of more than four millions dollars as a PI or Co-PI sponsored by the National Science Foundation, Sandia National Laboratory, U.S. Air Force, University of Missouri Research Board, and Toshiba Corporation. He has served as a program committee member for many conferences. He was a program committee vice chair for the 2000 International Conference on Software Engineering and Knowledge Engineering.

Kunio Noguchi is a senior quality expert in the software engineering center in the Toshiba Corporation. He has published several papers in the area of quality management systems.

Anuj Dhungana was a M.S. graduate student in the computer science department at the Texas Tech University when he performed this research.

V.V.N.S.N. Srirangam A. was a M.S. graduate student in the computer science department at the Texas Tech University when he performed this research.

Praveen Inuganti was a M.S. graduate student in the computer science department at the University of Missouri-Rolla when he performed this research.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Liu, F., Noguchi, K., Dhungana, A. et al. A quantitative approach for setting technical targets based on impact analysis in software quality function deployment (SQFD). Software Qual J 14, 113–134 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11219-006-7598-y

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11219-006-7598-y

Keywords

Navigation