ERVQUAL is an instrument developed by Zeithaml, Parasuraman and Berry, and is an approach for measuring service quality in order to compare customers' expectations before a service encounter and their perceptions of the actual service delivered. On the other hand, Dr. Yoji Akao, originally developed quality function deployment (QFD) in Japan in 1966.1 QFD is the concept that every design, manaufacutring process, and marketing are carried out in such a way that they meet the expressed needs of the customer. A main (QFD) tool is known as “House of Quality” (HOQ). This paper aims to outline the purpose and usage of both tools: HOQ and SERVQUAL.

1. DATE: 28TH DECEMBER 2010
HOQ and SERVQUAL
Total Quality Management
By: Marryam Salman Khan © 2018

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Introduction
SERVQUAL is an instrument developed by Zeithaml, Parasuraman and Berry, and is an approach
for measuring service quality in order to compare customers' expectations before a service encounter
and their perceptions of the actual service delivered. On the other hand, Dr. Yoji Akao, originally
developed quality function deployment (QFD) in Japan in 1966.1
QFD is the concept that every
design, manaufacutring process, and marketing are carried out in such a way that they meet the
expressed needs of the customer. A main (QFD) tool is known as “House of Quality” (HOQ).
This paper aims to outline the purpose and usage of both tools: HOQ and SERVQUAL.
Findings2
- HOQ:
QFD is used to find out a companys technical requirements. This is followed by noting the
characteristics of each component used and needed. In turn, this leads to process operations and
as a result a quality plan is created. On the same basis the House of Quality is used and designed.
House of Quality appeared in 1972 in the design of an oil tanker by Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries and later on by Toyota.3
The development of this tool is mainly due to the reason that
it can be used to analyze a single component of very complex systems.
The House of Quality is a conceptual map, which provides means to the planning and
coordination of product improvement development. This method brings the customer needs in
the focus to design or to redesign the product and service. The tool is used in the form of a table,
that connects the Voice of the Customer and the Voice of the Engineer using dots. The House of
Quality is used by multidisciplinary teams to translate a set of customer requirements using
market research and benchmarking data, into an appropriate number of prioritized engineering
targets to be met by a new product design.
1
http://www.qfdi.org/what_is_qfd/who_is_dr_akao.htm
2
http://www.qfdi.org/what_is_qfd/faqs_about_qfd.htm#What%20is%20the%20House%20of%20Quality%20Why
%20it%20isnt%20a%20QFD
3
http://www.nd.edu/~atovar/ame30362f08/QFD.htm

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There are six main steps used to develop the house of Quality
Step 1:
Identify Customer requirements and transform them into measurable design targets. Here it is
important to note that customers are not necessarily external always and can be internal such as
junior level employees, suppliers and even manufacturing sector personnel.
Step 2:
One customers have been identified, what they want can be identified as well. The external
customer can expect reliability, guarantee, long-life and attractive aesthetics in there product.
The internal customer such as the manufacturing unit would want to produce the same product
using easy operations and low cost. Whereas marketing personnel need that product to be easily
distributed. All these perspectives have to be taken into consideration. In this step a lot of other
steps need to be taken. Accurate marketing research must be conducted, brainstorming between
managers of various departments, budget planning, cost analysis and plans on testing the product

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have to be created. This is the Planning matrix which illustrates customer perceptions observed
in market research.
Step 3:
Once the requirements are listed, their priorities have to be set. Sometimes not all the customer
demands can be met and some customers will have to compromise (could be external or
internal).
Some requirements are compulsory while some are optional. Based on this logic, priorities of
goals are created.
Step 4:
This step includes benchmarking. The product or service at hand is compared to competitors and
market research on how the customers perceive the competitors product must also be noted. And
the requirements mentioned above are rated:
For each requirement:
1: does not meet

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2: slightly
3: somewhat
4: mostly
5: completely
Step 5:
Here we translate customer requirement into the engineering requirements. A Technical
correlation matrix is used to identify where technical requirements support or impede each other
in the product design.
Step 6:
This step we answer four main points: How the competition meets the engineering requirements
and we establish the value to be obtained with the new product. Furthermore, this way we are
able to establish technical difficulty and obtain technical importance.

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- Servqual
The original concept of Servqual used 10 determinants of service quality. It is important to know
them as the 5 generic dimensions of Servqual is based on them and customers always use 10
dimensions to form the expectation and perceptions of service quality.
1. Access: The ease and convenience of accessing a service. For example, Internet access
and 24 hour operating lines.
2. Communication: Listening to the needs and wants of a customer and keeping customers
informed with the use of a language that they understand. For example, having a
suggestion/complaint system and providing pamphlets and brochures in multiple
languages to let them know of the different services the firm provides.
3. Competence: Employees having the knowledge and skills to provide the services
required.
4. Courtesy: Respect, politeness, use of formal language and smiling when delivering
service.
5. Credibility: The reputation of the firm in the community and how much trust in entrusted
in the employees by the customer.
6. Reliability: Having an organized system in the firm that allows accurate billing and
accurate records of actions taking place. Moreover this includes delivering the service
promised and doing it confidently and accurate from the first time.
7. Responsiveness: This depends on how quickly can employees resolve problems and how
willing and ready are they to provide the service needed.
8. Security: Providing physical safety, confidentiality in matters and financial security

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9. Tangibles: The physical aspects of the service such as equipment, facilities and even staff
appearance.
10. Understanding the customer: Recognizing individual customer needs and trying to fulfil
them.
Servqual instrument has been a method used to measure consumers’ perceptions of service
quality with the use of a quessionaire. After research, the 10 determinants of quality were refined
to five generic dimensions:
1. Tangibles: The physical facilities and equipment available, how the facilities are easy to
use, the appearance of the staff, how easy it is to use materials for communication.
2. Reliability: The performance of the promised service in terms of accuracy and
dependability.
3. Responsiveness: Prompt services for customers including resolving problems and or
emergency situations.
4. Assurance: How courteous staff are in their ability to inspire trust and confidence.
5. Empathy: This refers to how well the employee can understand the customer and how
well can individual needs be identified and fulfilled.
Servqual is an abbreviated terminology for Service Quality and the equation it uses is
P(erceptions) – E(xpectations).
The tool assesses a service across a range of different service characteristics. Once the method is
used a gap is created that can be analysed to help managers see where to target and prioritise
improvement efforts for the best effect.

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Based on the 5 generic dimensions of service quality a list of 44 questions can be generated.
The first 22 questions deals with understanding what the customer expects.
1. They should have up-to-date equipment.
2. Their physical facilities should be visually appealing.
3. Their employees should be well dressed and appear neat.
4. The appearance of the physical facilities of these firms should be in keeping with the type of
services provided.
5. When these firms promise to do something by a certain time, they should do so.
6. When customers have problems, these firms should be sympathetic and reassuring.
7. These firms should be dependable.
8. They should provide their services at the time they promise to do so.
9. They should keep their records accurately.
10. Employees of such firms should tell you exactly when services are performed.
11. It is realistic for customers to expect prompt service from employees of these firms.
12. Their employees should always be willing to help customers.
13. Employees of such firms should never be too busy to respond to your requests.
14. Customers should be able to trust employees of these firms.
15. Customers should be able to feel safe in their transactions with these firms' employees.
16. Their employees should be polite.
17. Their employees should get adequate support from these firms to do their jobs well.
18. These firms should be expected to give customers individual attention.
19. Employees of these firms can be expected to give customers personal attention.
20. It is realistic to expect these employees to know what the needs of their customers are.
21. It is realistic to expect these firms to have their customers' best interests at heart.
22. They firms are expected to have operating hours convenient to all their customers.
The next 22 questions are the same as the above questions but are linked to a specific firm (‘X’).
1. X has modern-looking equipment.

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2. X’s physical facilities are visually appealing.
3. X’s employees are well presented.
4. Materials associated with the service (such as pamphlets or statements) are visually appealing
at X.
5. When X promises to something by a certain time, it does so.
6. When you have a problem, X shows a sincere interest in solving it.
7. X performs the service right the first time.
8. X provides its services at the time it promises to do so.
9. X insists on error-free records.
10. Employees in X tell you exactly when services will be performed.
11. Employees in X give you prompt service.
12. Employees in X are always willing to help you.
13. Employees in X are never too busy to respond to your requests.
14. The behaviour of employees in X instils confidence in you.
15. You feel safe in your transactions with X.
16. Employees in X are consistently courteous with you.
17. Employees in X have the knowledge to answer your questions.
18. X gives you individual attention.
19. X has operating hours convenient to all its customers.
20. X has employees who give you personal attention.
21. X has your best interests at heart.
22. Employees of X understand your specific needs.
It is important to note the following logics behind the questions:
Items 1-4 are regarding the dimension tangibles
Items 5-9 are regarding the dimension reliability
Items 10-13 are regarding the dimension responsiveness. Having a high score in these questions
is considered negative.
Items 14-17 are regarding the dimension assurance
Items 18-22 are regarding the dimension empathy. Having a high score in these questions is
considered negative.

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Analysis and Interpretation
What makes HOQ a implementable tool is the fact that it can be used for a problem or
even a subset of a problem. Manufacturing companies are striving to compete on design products
created with quality and that not only are technically elegant and manufacturable but also reflect
customers' desires and tastes. For optimal results, all units of business should work together
starting from product design to sales. This way an interfunctional team is created.
Using the HOQ, once all relevant facts are on the grid, the team makes its choices. The process
has clarified opportunities, stimulated negotiation, and helped set an agenda. And of course, the
format is flexible.
On the following site: http://www.qfdonline.com/templates/3f2504e0-4f89-11d3-9a0c-
0305e82c2899/ one can excess HOQ templates and begin filling them. Depending on how many
components have to be analyzed or how many customers to be taken into perspective an empty
house of quality template may look very simple to very complex models.
Once a servqual tool is carried out gaps are indicated. The lowest gap can be concluded
to mean a specific service for the customers was granted. All the gap scores can be summed to
create one average gap score. Once such a score is achieved, management should go back to the
dimensions of service quality and point out which attributes they would have to work on. Even
though the surveys conducted may result in closing Gap 5, its results can stretch out to eradicate
all the Gaps.

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Biography
http://www.qfdi.org/what_is_qfd/who_is_dr_akao.htm
http://www.qfdi.org/what_is_qfd/faqs_about_qfd.htm#What%20is%20the%20House%20of%20
Quality%20Why%20it%20isnt%20a%20QFD
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3e/A1_House_of_Quality.png
Berry L., Parasuraman A. & Zeithaml V. (1988), The Service-Quality Puzzle, Business
Horizons, Sep-Oct, pp 35-43.
Parasuraman A., Zeithaml V. & Berry L. (1985), A conceptual model of service quality and its
implications for future research, Journal of Marketing, Vol 49, pp 41-50.