The implementation of simultaneous engineering in the stage of product concept development: A process orientated improvement of quality function deployment

Quality Function Deployment (QFD) has been introduced as a method of implementing Simultaneous Engineering. In spite of its achievements so far, QFD does not sufficiently link engineering to marketing and marketing science. The QFD procedure takes neither the development of market orientated or constructional product concepts, nor the coordination of both into account, although they play an important role in product definition. In order to overcome this and other deficiencies of the traditional QFD method, the author develops the process model of ‘Integrated Concept Development’ (ICoDe). It is proposed to fill the gap between marketing science and engineering by consequently relating market orientated concept development and testing to the House of Quality concept of QFD. The ICoDe process is described by referring to a ‘simulated’ application example of a wind turbines concept development.