3. House of Quality (HOQ) for video game consoles (-3 hours; 25 points)

Carefully study the HOQ process developed in class (Lectures 8,9). While studying the HOQ process, review

the 1-page "Car Door" HOQ handout. It is also highly recommended that you read the following two

chapters in U&E, PD&D: "Identifying Customer Needs" and "Product Specifications".

Note: you are permitted to use the Internet to obtain information relevant to solving this problem. You must

clearly cite all sources used, and indicate the information you obtained from each source.

As part of its growth strategy (in the late 1990s), the software giant decides to enter the gaming

industry/market with a product (tentatively) called "EXbox". To this end, you, as part of the R&D/product

development group, are asked to perform the following tasks, and then present the results in the form of a

carefully structured and written report:

1. Identify the competitors in the video game console market in the 1990s, and the key game

console products associated with each competitor? Dissect one of these competitor's video-

game consoles using the Function Analysis System Technique (FAST), and present the results

in a FAST diagram. (Be sure clearly to explain your process and its implementation.)

2.

Using your FAST diagram and additional internet research if necessary, make a list of the key

consumer needs and product specifications for a generic video game console.

3. Provide a stepwise process for developing a HOQ for any product, and then implement this process

to create the HOQ for the proposed "Exbox" game console.

4. As part of your HOQ, benchmark the proposed "Exbox" game console against 2 competing products

(remember you are working in the late 1990s), both with respect to customer needs and with respect

to technical metrics.

5. Develop a list of target specifications for customer needs, and a list of target technical specifications

for the proposed "Exbox" game console in the late 1990s.