Modification of the house of quality to assess information gaps during quality function deployment of engineering design

Abstract

The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education established the need to understand the iterative nature of research through posing of increasingly complex questions. Students must have the ability to monitor information gathered and assess for gaps or weaknesses. Students in lower level undergraduate engineering courses are usually unaware of techniques for monitoring information gathered and assessing for gaps in standalone research papers. Moreover, the management of literature research often becomes overwhelming when engineering students encounter team-based design projects that occur over the course of an entire semester. To address this need, we have modified the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) engineering design method to monitor and assess information resources as a natural outcome of the design process. More specifically we have modified the matrix design method known as the House of Quality to associate literature sources with customer determined design constraints and quantify the coverage of the literature review. We introduce this method of identifying literature gaps and weaknesses using QFD in a junior level mechanical engineering systems design course after an initial client interview. Library instruction included a mix of lecture and active learning activities to engage the students with the iterative nature of research. We were thereby able to incorporate information literacy into the preexisting course workflow using the ACRL framework as a guiding document for information literacy.