Dimensions of Quality

http://lssacademy.com/2008/05/28/8-dimensions-of-quality
 Dimension 1:
Performance
• Performance: a product’s primary
operating characteristics. Using an
automobile as an example, these would
include such things as acceleration,
braking distance, steering, and handling.
It involves “fitness for use” – a phrase
that indicates that the product & service
is ready for the customer’s use at the time
of sale.
• Does the product or service do
what it is supposed to do, within
its defined tolerances?
Dimension 2:
Features
• Features: are secondary characteristics
of the product. A car may have power
options, a CD deck, antilock brakes, and
reclining seats.
• Does the product or services possess all
of the features specified, or required for
its intended purpose?
• While this dimension may seem
obvious, performance specifications
rarely define the features required in a
product. Thus, it’s important that
suppliers designing product or services
from performance specifications are
familiar with its intended uses, and
maintain close relationships with the
end-users.
Dimension 3:
Reliability
• Reliability: the probability of a
product’s surviving over a specified
period of time under stated conditions
of use. A car’s ability to start on cold
days and frequency of failures are
reliability factors. Freedom from failure
over time.
• Will the product consistently
perform within specifications?
• Reliability may be closely related to
performance. For instance, a product
specification may define parameters for
up-time, or acceptable failure rates.
• Reliability is a major contributor to
brand or company image, and is
considered a fundamental dimension
of quality by most end-users.
 Dimension 4:
Conformance
• Conformance: the degree to which
physical and performance
characteristics of a product match pre-
established standards. A car’s fit and
finish and freedom from noises and
squeaks can reflect this.
• Does the product or service conform to
the specification?
• If it’s developed based on a
performance specification, does it
perform as specified? If it’s developed
based on a design specification, does it
possess all of the features defined?
Dimension 5:
Durability
• Durability: the amount of use one gets
from a product before it physically
deteriorates or until replacement is
preferable.
• For a car this might include corrosion
resistance and the long wear of
upholstery fabric.
• How long will the product
perform or last, and under what
conditions?
• Durability is closely related to
warranty. Requirements for product
durability are often included within
procurement contracts and
specifications.
• For instance, fighter aircraft procured
to operate from aircraft carriers include
design criteria intended to improve
their durability in the demanding naval
environment.
 Dimension 6:
Serviceability
• Serviceability: the speed, courtesy,
and competence of repair work. An
automobile owner might be concerned
with access to spare parts, the number
of miles between major maintenance
services, and the expense of service.
• Is the product relatively easy to
maintain and repair?
• As end users become more focused on
Total Cost of Ownership than simple
procurement costs, serviceability (as
well as reliability) is becoming an
increasingly important dimension of
quality and criteria for product
selection.
Dimension 7:
Aesthetics
• Aesthetics: how a product looks, feels,
sounds, tastes, or smells. A car’s color,
instrument panel design, control
placement, and “feel of the road”, for
example, may make it aesthetically
pleasing.
• The way a product looks is important
to end-users. The aesthetic properties
of a product contribute to a company’s
or brand’s identity. Faults or defects in
a product that diminish its aesthetic
properties, even those that do not
reduce or alter other dimensions of
quality, are often cause for rejection.
 Dimension 8:
Perceived Quality
• Perceived quality: subjective
assessment of quality resulting from
image, advertising, or brand names.
For a car, this might be shaped by
magazine reviews and manufacturers’
brochures.
• Perception is reality. The product or
service may possess adequate or even
superior dimensions of quality, but still
fall victim to negative customer or
public perceptions.
• As an example, a high quality product
may get the reputation for being low
quality based on poor service by
installation or field technicians. If the
product is not installed or maintained
properly, and fails as a result, the
failure is often associated with the
product’s quality rather than the quality
of the service it receives.
When designing, developing or
manufacturing a product (or
delivering a service) the
interactions between the
dimensions of quality must be
understood and taken into account.