Curriculum and Course Design: A New Approach Using Quality Function Deployment

In this article, the authors describe a method for assuring the quality of curriculum design based on techniques that have been used in industrial settings for over 30 years. Quality Function Deployment assures that the needs of the customer are considered at all levels of product design and a graphical matrix called the House of Quality serves as an aid in achieving its objectives. We provide an example showing how to apply these principles and techniques to business curriculum and course design in the academic domain of Management Information Systems. The resulting curricula will be more likely to address the needs of the employers of business school graduates and the resulting documentation will be valuable in guiding subsequent curriculum redesigns as the needs of business evolve.