The application of QFD to computer-system architecture

Quality function deployment (QFD) is a process by which a cross-functional team of empowered employees correlate the relationships between customer requirements and product features. This information is captured in a matrix called the “house of quality”. The process of creating a computer system architecture maps existing, emerging and developable technologies into internal and external product requirements. The result is an architectural product definition for a new computer system. The requirements considered are a super-set of those used in the traditional QFD process. This paper shows how the methodologies and tools developed for QFD can be extended for use in developing new computer system architectures. It describes the two distinct views of a product, the technical view which focuses on technologies, and the marketing view which focuses on product features. Both views are developed from an “industry technology road map”, a “product technology road map”, and a “competitors technology matrix”. They can be captured in the QFD house of quality