Prioritizing technical requirements in QFD by integrating grey relational analysis method and analytic network process approach

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuanmin Mi ◽  
Weiguo Xia

Purpose – No matter in product design stage or product quality improvement stage, the product technical requirements (PTRs) impacting on product performance are mainly identified and improved to optimize customer needs (CNs) as greatly as possible. The purpose of this paper is to use a new approach to accurately and properly prioritize PTRs in Quality Function Deployment (QFD). Design/methodology/approach – Considering the relationship between CNs and PTRs in QFD hard to quantitatively measure and lack of adequate information, the grey relational analysis (GRA) is applied. Besides, owing to the inherent inner dependencies of CNs as well as QFD, the analytic network process (ANP) which is an effective tool to take into account the inner dependencies with network is utilized. Finally, an integrated framework based on GRA method and ANP approach is proposed to determine the importance degrees of PTRs in designing a product. Findings – The calculation results of the application show that the proposed framework by integrating GRA and ANP is able to determine the importance degrees of PTRs in design a product well. Practical implications – In the application part the authors can see the proposed framework can be applied to PVC window systems. Owing to that traditional QFD method has been widely used in many fields such as manufacturing industry and service industry, actually the proposed framework has great potential application in the real word. Originality/value – This paper succeeds in proposing a new framework by integrating GRA and ANP to determine the importance degrees of PTRs in QFD.

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (9) ◽  
pp. 1551-1567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandeep Kumar ◽  
J.J. Thakkar

Purpose Schedule and cost overrun analysis for a typical research & development (R&D) project is necessary to identify and mitigate the non-feasible alternatives at the design stage. Typically, this should include an analysis of technological and economic factors of R&D project. This paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach This research proposes an integrated analytic network process (ANP) and reusable system dynamics (SD) model for a quick and strategically consistent decision making. The technological and economic factors of R&D project were first identified and compiled through a systematic literature review. An ANP model was first developed for calculating Risk Priority Index (RPI) for set of technological and economic factors. The computed RPI are considered as an input to SD models. Two SD models (technological and economic) are developed to undertake a detailed investigation on effect of individual factor on schedule and cost overrun. The approach is exemplified for a case of government R&D project in India. Findings ANP identifies “Testing & qualification facility” and “Raw material availability” as the highest RPI factors. A detailed sensitivity analysis of SD models suggests that technological factors such as “Design Changes,” “Hidden Activities,” and “Lack of Expertise” and economic factors such as “Project delays,” “Unexpected incidents” and “Conflicts” have the highest influence on schedule and cost overrun. Practical implications The outcomes of this research can help managers to estimate the severity of various technological and economic factors on cost and schedule overrun and develop an adequate risk mitigation contingency plan. Originality/value In case of R&D projects where systems are being developed for the first time, changes are inevitable, and hence schedule and cost management plays a very important role in its success. This paper proposes an integrated reusable approach of ANP and SD for analyzing the influence of technological and economic factors on schedule and cost overrun of R&D project.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lan Xu ◽  
Yu Zhang

PurposeSmart senior care industry in China currently faces a series of practical difficulties such as an imbalance in the demand and supply structure, service products unable to cater to the actual needs of the elderly and a low degree of marketization. This study therefore proposes using grey relational analysis and the Fuzzy-quality function development (QFD) quality improvement method to help solve these problems.Design/methodology/approachThe proposed method converts the fuzzy requirements of the elderly into the technical characteristics of technologically augmented senior care service products. It then, uses the QFD relationship matrix, combined with grey relational analysis, to analyze the relationship between the needs of elderly and the converted technical characteristics, and subsequently identifies key technical characteristics.FindingsResults show that an improvement in the smart senior care service platform according to the differences of the elderly's preferences can significantly improve users' satisfaction with the service in addition to enhancing market competitiveness of the technologically assisted senior care service products.Originality/valueA novel method to improve the need of smart senior care is proposed by considering age difference. The proposed grey relational analysis and Fuzzy-QFD quality improvement method can help improve the service quality of the smart senior care service platform.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sifeng Liu

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to construct some negative grey relational analysis models to measure the relationship between reverse sequences.Design/methodology/approachThe definition of reverse sequence has been given at first based on analysis of relative position and change trend of sequences. Then, several different negative grey relational analysis models, such as the negative grey similarity relational analysis model, the negative grey absolute relational analysis model, the negative grey relative relational analysis model, the negative grey comprehensive relational analysis model and the negative Deng’s grey relational analysis model have been put forward based on the corresponding common grey relational analysis models. The properties of the new models have been studied.FindingsThe negative grey relational analysis models proposed in this paper can solve the problem of relationship measurement of reverse sequences effectively. All the new negative grey relational degree satisfying the requirements of normalization and reversibility.Practical implicationsThe proposed negative grey relational analysis models can be used to measure the relationship between reverse sequences. As a living example, the reverse incentive effect of winning Fields Medal on the research output of winners is measured based on the research output data of the medalists and the contenders using the proposed negative grey relational analysis model.Originality/valueThe definition of reverse sequence and the negative grey similarity relational analysis model, the negative grey absolute relational analysis model, the negative grey relative relational analysis model, the negative grey comprehensive relational analysis model and the negative Deng’s grey relational analysis model are first proposed in this paper.


2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 232-249
Author(s):  
Yow-jyy Joyce Lee ◽  
Lawrence W. Lan

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a formative assessment framework to expose individual student's cognitive learning difficulties in English public speaking. The paper aims to provide student feedback and information during the teaching and learning process. A grey student-construct (S-C) chart is developed to represent the students’ cognitive mapping of the speech difficulties in relation to their overall speech conceptualization. This grey S-C chart can facilitate the instructors to ameliorate the classroom teaching and learning performance in English public speaking. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 26 students in a class of English Speech and Rhetoric participate in the experiment – each student views the online video segments of a great speaker's speech, and then decides what segments would best support the speaking skill constructs and also reflects on his/her own difficulties in the same constructs. The grey relational analysis (GRA) method is used to analyze the empirical data. The individual student's construct localization grey relation grade values are calculated to rank the grey relation for both students and constructs. Accordingly, a grey S-C matrix is constructed and a grey S-C chart can thus be developed. Findings – The grey S-C chart manifestly displays the cognitive difficulties in sequences of both students and constructs. Practical implications – According to the grey S-C chart, the instructors may modify teaching strategies to enhance the overall classroom performance. The students may adjust learning strategies to eliminate their specific difficulties. Offering individualized advanced and remedial practices to those largely deviating from the norm is also possible. Originality/value – The study is the first of its kind to apply the GRA method to expose individual student's cognitive learning difficulties in English public speaking. The grey S-C chart is novel in education literature, which can reveal individual student's learning difficulty patterns.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Engin Duran ◽  
Burcu Uzgur Duran ◽  
Diyar Akay ◽  
Fatih Emre Boran

Purpose It is of great importance for economy policy makers to comprehend the relationship between macroeconomic indicators and domestic savings, and to find out which indicator is more determinative on the dynamics of domestic savings. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the degree of relationship between Turkey’s domestic savings and selected macroeconomic indicators. Design/methodology/approach To examine the relationship, grey relational analysis (GRA) is applied together with the entropy method to determine the weight of the indicators according to the information level they provide. The analysis covers the data of the period from 1990 to 2014. In practice, however, the data set is used by dividing into two separate periods including before and after the 2001 crisis. Findings The results indicate that the unemployment rate and the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita growth stand out with a relatively high degree of relationship for the period before 2001. When examining the post-2001 period, current balance ratio and GDP growth are ascertained as indicators which have a high degree of relationship with domestic savings. Practical implications These indicators have different aspects affecting both public and private savings. Therefore, it may be beneficial to concentrate on these indicators when designing a policy in order to increase the domestic saving rate. Originality/value There are many econometric models used for investigating Turkey’s macroeconomic indicators and domestic savings causality. But before now, any study which investigates relationship between macroeconomic indicators and domestic savings by GRA could not be encountered. Using one of the newest developed theories (the grey systems theory) for this subject is the significance of this research.


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