DIMENSIONS OF QUALITY
✓ Quality has many dimensions. The dimensions of quality are nothing but the various features/aspects of product or service by using which the customers may evaluate the quality of the product or service.
✓ For thorough understanding, the dillensions of quality is presented separately under two categories as
| 1. Dimensions of product (or manufacturing) Quality, and 2. Dimensions of service Quality |
Dimensions of Product Quality
The quality of a product can be evaluated by customers using nine dimensions/aspects of the product.
The nine dimensions of product quality are presented in Figure 1.
Fig. 1. Dimensions of product quality
Table 1. describes the dimensions of product quality that customers use to evaluate quality.
Table 1 Dimensions of product quality
| S. No | Dimension | Meaning | Explanation (taking a cell phone as an example) |
| 1. | Performance |
✓ It is the primary operating characteristics of the product. ✓ How well the product performs the customer’s intended use. |
✓ The signal coverage and audio quality of the mobile phone. |
| 2. | Features | ✓ Features are nothing but the secondary / special characteristics of the product that appeal to the customers.
✓ The features supplement the product’s basic functioning.
|
✓ Face book facility, camera and music system features. |
| 3. | Conformance | ✓ Conformance is meeting specifications or applicable standards, wherever applicable, such as national standards, international standards and industry standards.
✓ It is the degree to which physical and performance characteristics of a product match pre established standards. |
✓ Some Blackberry mobile models are banned in india as they fail to conform the Goverment’s regulations. |
| 4. | Reliability | ✓ Reliability is the probability of a product’s surviving over a specified period of time under stated conditions of use.
✓ It is the consistency of performance of the product over time. ✓ It is the measured by mean time between failures (MTBF). |
The MTBF of a mobile phone can be specified in number of months. |
| 5. | Durability | ✓ Durability is the measure of product life or the useful life of the product.
✓ It is the length of time or amount of use before needing to be required or replaced. |
✓ The durability of a low priced mobile phone can be considered as 2 to 3 years. |
| 6. | Serviceability | ✓ Serviceability is the ability to repair a product quickly and easily.
✓ It is the resolution of problems and complaints on the product. ✓ It is the speed, cost and convenience of repairs and maintenance. |
✓ Customers prefer the mobile service providers who offer easy, faster and economical service to their mobiles. |
| 7. | Responsiveness | ✓ Response, also known as customer responsiveness is a measure of how well the manufacturer of the product is able to adapt to the changing needs of the customer.
✓ It is about being flexible, dynamic and agile. |
✓ The development of multi – cim mobile phones is an example of responsiveness of the manufacturers to satisfy the customer need. |
| 8. | Aesthetics | ✓ Aesthetics is the effect on human senses such as look, feel, smell or sound.
✓ Aesthetics may include , but not limited to the appearance of the product, the finish, colour, etc. |
✓ The mobile models with slim in size, the flip-flop design, touch screen, coloured finish attract more customers. |
| 9. | Reputation | ✓ Reputation is nothing but the perceived quality.
✓ It is the subjective assessment resulting from image, advertising, or brand names. |
✓ For instance, Nokia, Sony Ericson, and Samsung, etc., are considered as branded mobile manufacturers in India.
✓ Airtel, Vodafone, and BSNL are branded as top mobile service providers in India. |
Though it is desired to have a product that can be excellent in all nine dimensions, it is practically very difficult to design and manufacture a product that can be excellent in all dimensions. Since these dimensions are independent to each other, a product can be excellent in few dimensions and average or poor in other dimensions. Therefore, the product quality is usually evaluated by using a few of the dimensions of quality.
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