Innovative new product development: a study of selected QFD case studies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the use of quality function deployment (QFD) may contribute to developing innovative products. Its point of departure is the author's earlier research that investigated the application of QFD to product development in companies operating in Brazil. Design/methodology/approach – A case study approach with companies from different industries is employed in this paper. A questionnaire was used to gather data from four companies by checking some aspects of QFD projects with regard to innovation. Typical QFD projects with respect to product typology (platform or derivative) and their level of complexity are also analysed. Findings – The main results indicated that QFD may assist in developing innovative products, but is limited to additions to existing lines, product repositioning, and product improvement. Research limitations/implications – One constraint was the limited number of companies and projects analysed so that replications among other samples are needed to validate current findings. Originality/value – Although QFD is extensively explored in the literature, this paper is one of the few published studies that report and discuss the relationship between QFD and innovation.