• QFD implementation is custom-tailored to the company's development process.

• Customer gemba study is carefully designed and included in the customer data acquisition.

• A cross functional team is assembled and all team members are well trained in Modern QFD and are guided by a qualified project leader such as QFD Black Belt®, QFD Master Black Belt®, QFD Red Belt®.

• The team is trained to distinguish customer needs and product features and identify unspoken needs.

• Sound prioritization, math, and deployments are used.

• QFD project efforts are aligned with the corporate business goals / strategy, and if necessary, linked with other innovation methods to attain the project goals.

• The management is also trained with the QFD Gold Belt® and can render support.

• After completing several projects under the guidance of a qualified QFD Belt® trainer, the team is able to carry on future QFD projects on their own.

• The project is led by a book-learned facilitator / trainer.

• Relying on a software to guide through QFD process.

• Jumping into making a House of Quality matrix (HOQ), without several prior analytic steps.

• The 4-phase model QFD method is forced instead of a tailored approach.

• Customer verbatims and data are directly transferred into engineering specifications; customer needs and features are co-mingled.

• The team set needs priority, rather than the customers.

• Ordinal math (such as ratings of 1-5) is used in needs prioritization, resulting in less precision.

• Unnecessary deployments and tools are forced, while the steps that are critical to project success are skipped.

• All data are entered into a single matrix that grows too large to be useful; and as a result, the team cannot complete the QFD analysis in time for product launch.

• Consultants do all the work; no sustainable QFD takes root in the company.

• Lack of support from management.

Some of the best QFD application examples from the Transactions from the Symposium on QFD

2016

• "QFD and the Systems Engineering Way of Working"

• "Soft Systems Method Integration With Sustainable Energy Systems Development Using ISO 16355"

• "Sustainability Function Deployment (QFD) Applied to Increase Environmental and Social Economic Value Added of Products, Service, and Projects"

• "ISO 16355 - Keeping Up with Global Best Practice"

• "Using AHP In QFD - The Impact of the New ISO 16355 Standard"

2014 Symposium Transaction

• "New Kano Model — How to Really Excite Your Customers"

• "Driving Your QFD with ISO 16355"

2013 Symposium Transactions

• "Quality Function Deployment for New Product Development: Transforming Waste to Worth"

• “QFD for Membership Organizations — Practicing What We Teach"

• "Top technology is not all we need for a successful business: QFD logic, methods and tools —Dutch experience"

2012 Symposium Transactions

• "Elementary QFD: Using QFD to Assess and Evaluate the Learning Environment of a Private School Library and to Systematically Engage an ISACS Review"

• "QFD and Politics (A Sure Way To Start An Argument)"

2011 Symposium Transactions

• "The QFD Process at Medtronic — Creating the Next Generation of Insulin Pumps and Sensors"

• "Using QFD to Design a Multi-Disciplinary Clinic"

2010 Symposium Transactions

• "DREAM/QFD to Re-design Staff Service Excellence at Rutland Regional Hospital Systems"

• "QFD to Re-design New Physician Orientation and Induction: Connecting New Physicians into a Healthcare Community"

• "Integrating QFD into Phase-Gates Product Design"

• “Complex IT Systems Design Using Both Traditional QFD and Blitz QFD®"

• "Developing a Church Growth Strategy through QFD, AHP, and Balanced Scorecard Strategy Mapping"

2009 Symposium Transactions

• "Why We Drink Beer: Using QFD, Kansei, and AHP to Understand How Consumers Identify with Brands"

• "Globalizing Gemba Visits for Multinationals"

• "The Use of QFD to Develop a New Food Offering with a Cross-functional Team—from Consumer Behavior to Formulation and Production"

2008 Symposium Transactions

• "Predicting Future Health Insurance Scenarios using Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)"

• "Using QFD to Understand, Prioritize, and Develop Solutions to Address the Future Needs of Customers"

2007 Symposium Transactions

• "Context Sensitive Solutions: The Application of QFD for Developing Public Transportation Projects in the U.S."

• "Using QFD to Involve All Employees in the Corporate Innovation Process"

2006 Symposium Transactions

• "Using a Spec Document, the Customer Voice Table, and a QFD Matrix to Generate a CTQ (Critical to Quality) List"

• "Finding Customer Delights Using QFD"

• "Lifestyle QFD: Incorporating Emotional Appeal in Product Development"

• "Challenges in Rapid Deployment of New Services in Healthcare"

Good QFD training will teach you the state-of-the-art global best practices and tools, and more efficient and sound deployments, including those that are now described by the ISO 16355 for new product development and innovation.

Good QFD training will teach you the differences between QFD for manufactured and assembled products, service and business process, food and chemical products, software, and small business. It will show you how to position your new product according to customer, competition, and corporate strategy.

A good QFD trainer knows how to custom-tailor QFD to your industry, product type, and organization. With custom-tailoring, QFD will be integrated into your product development process, whether you follow Design for Six Sigma, Design Thinking, Stage-Gate®, Concurrent Engineering, or other product development approaches.

QFD training, that uses bare-bones approaches or gives the impression that the House of Quality or the 4-phase matrix analysis are all you need, may be inadequate or outdated, and it is often unsustainable.