DEVELOPMENT OF A STRATEGIC RESEARCH PLAN FOR AN ACADEMIC DEPARTMENT THROUGH THE USE OF QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT

Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a popular approach for formalizing the process of listening to ''the voice of the customer,'' and assigning responsibilities to members of an organization in an effort to respond effectively to customer needs. QFD is being used by the Department of Industrial Engineering at Mississippi State University to help identify key customers for departmental research efforts, to identify and track the research needs of those customers, to fashion a comprehensive strategic plan for departmental research activities based on customer needs, to deploy various research functions and responsibilities to specific faculty members or groups, and to track research performance relative to goals. This approach appears to be an excellent means of formalizing the process of strategic research planning.