A QFD-based approach for the development of smart product-service systems

The paper proposes a novel method for the development of smart product-service systems (Smart-PSSs) by focusing on the analysis of customer requirements and the selection of those features that can practically enhance the smart capabilities of the offering. To achieve such a goal, a quality function deployment (QFD) based method is presented to specifically address the development of Smart-PSS solutions. The novel approach, named quality function deployment for smart-product service systems (QFD for Smart-PSS), relies on the deployment of smart characteristics and components besides the conventional product and service features. Such an approach allows a better granularity of the assessment and deployment of the system features by well defining the smart components in PSS. To preliminarily verify the applicability of the method, a case study concerning the development of a Smart-PSS solution for the elevators of a building is proposed. The results achieved show the potential benefits that the proposed approach can have both in the case of novel solutions and when an existing system has to be augmented. The method is at the initial stage of development and while this study can augment knowledge on the development of Smart-PSS, further research work is needed to extend its validation.