CHAPTER 11
House of Quality—An Integrated View
of Fruit and Vegetable Quality
ANNE C. BECH
INTRODUCTION
HOUSE of Quality is the most important element of Quality Function
Deployment (QFD)—the first set of matrices—in which customer or
consumer needs and wants are translated into quality characteristics
(measurable technical attributes) (Hauser and Clausing, 1988). By the
use of QFD and the House of Quality, the objective for product devel-
opment is defined in a terminology that is understandable by the devel-
opers and based directly on customer needs. In order to understand how
House of Quality can be used, we have to consider the goal of product
development and what QFD is.
The long-term goal of product development for seed producers, fruit
and vegetable growers, food companies, retailers and other companies,
is to obtain long-term competitive advantages. According to Day and
Wensley (1988), this goal can be achieved in two ways. Manufacturers
can either make products that consumers perceive to be better than com-
peting products, or they can make them at relatively lower cost than their
competitors. Both of these aspects are included in QFD in the mentioned
order. In the case of the introduction of a new product, it is crucial that
the consumer perceives it to have a greater value than existing products.
QFD is an abstract concept that can be described as a market-oriented
(proactive), integrated product development process. The starting point
is in the consumer’s (the customer’s) needs, and the aim is to build qual-
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