Integrating Evaluation Grid Method and Fuzzy Quality Function Deployment to New Product Development

The success of a new product is usually determined not by whether it includes high-end technology, but by whether it meets consumer expectations, especially key Kansei demands. This article aims to evaluate attractive factors (Kansei words) and convert them to design elements to make products stand out in the global competition. The evaluation grid method (EGM) is an important research method of Miryoku engineering. The method can build qualitative relations among consumers’ attractive factors and design elements. The quality function deployment (QFD) is a quantitative method which converts customer requirements into engineering characteristics using the House of Quality Matrix. The QFD together with the concept of fuzziness can objectively measure questionnaires made by experts. Accordingly, this paper proposes a systematic approach that integrates the EGM together with the fuzzy QFD for the development of new products. The fuzzy Kano model combined with the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is developed to determine the priority of the development of attractive factors. This empirical study uses minicars as an example to verify the feasibility and validity of the approach. The results are expected to help designers to increase design efficiency and improve consumer satisfaction of new products.