A House of Quality Matrix is a diagram, whose structure resembles that of a house, which aids in determining how a product is living up to customer needs. Although quite intricate, it is capable of storing a lot of information and comparing large amounts of data.

Typical Uses

It is best to use house of quality matrix when you are planning on making improvements to an existing product or would like to analyze a products ability to meet customer needs and compare to competition.

Best Practices

• Identify a product. Choose a product you want to focus your House of Quality Matrix on.
• Choose a template. Choose a SmartDraw template to use for your matrix.
• Obtain customer opinion. Whether through surveys, opinion polls, or interviews, in order to create this matrix you must know what your customers want. Make sure that you know what they expect or want from your product and how important each aspect is to them.
• Fill in the required information. The section on the far left of the matrix is reserved for customer needs, what the product should satisfy. On the far right should be what the competition provides. Along the top should be a list of the product's capabilities meant to fulfill customer needs. In the bottom section should be the targets, the things your company must acquire for the product, long term goals, and your standing amongst the competition.
• Fill out the matrix. The middle section is where you can show how much your product is meeting the needs of your customer. Choose three symbols to use to fill in the middle section. The symbols should represent that an aspect of your product meets the customer's requirement well, average, or poorly. Use them to fill out the middle section. Then fill out the top section using the same symbols you already developed to show conflict among product requirements.
• Create a key. Create a key that tells what each of your symbols stand for.
• Draw Conclusions. Use your matrix to decide what your product needs and what improvements would be would the investment. Also use it to set goals and plan for the future.