Impact of QFD utilization in the development of a nondestructive damage detection system for aerospace structures

The impact of the use of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) in the development of a nondestructive damage detection algorithm and the associated products for an aerospace structure is evaluated. An overview of QFD, a description of how QFD is utilized to develop the products, and an evaluation of the impact of QFD utilization on the project is provided. The products developed here include elements of the Project Management, a nondestructive damage localization and severity estimation mechanism with specified characteristics, a specifically designed report, and a software package containing the algorithm. It is shown that the impact of QFD utilization is to improve the quality of the research and development process by increasing the performance and reliability of the process and ensuring its conformance. It is also shown that the major impact of QFD utilization on the products is to ensure product conformance with user–demanded quality.