| Session Title: Adapting the Quality Function Deployment Technique (QFD) to Improve Data Collection, Management, and Analysis |
| Demonstration Session 798 to be held in Sebastian Section I1 on Saturday, Nov 14, 11:50 AM to 12:35 PM |
| Sponsored by the Government Evaluation TIG |
| Presenter(s): |
| Arthur Jeffery, Camber Corporation, ajeffery@camber.com |
| Ingrid Mellone, Camber Corporation, imellone@camber.com |
| Abstract: This session demonstrates the adaptation of the quality function deployment (QFD) technique found in production management to evaluation data management. Client needs and evaluation objectives must be traceable and properly represented throughout the design, planning, implementation, analysis and interpretation process. This QFD adaptation provides a recursive, matrix-based process with which to organize evaluation objectives and break them down into specific data collection and analysis requirements. The demonstration will show how the sequential matrices were developed and used in a national-level evaluation for a large federal agency. The advantage of this technique over other data management approaches is that it: 1) helps retains the specified needs of the client throughout the evaluation process, 2) is self-documenting, enabling tracing of objectives down to the data collection item level, and 3) helps track and manage "troublesome" variables that are confounding or interactive and that require data sharing representation in data collection planning. |