Identifying Customer Needs

Product Design and Development

Chapter 5
Karl T. Ulrich and Steven D. Eppinger
5th Edition, Irwin McGraw-Hill, 2012.

Product Design and Development

Karl T. Ulrich and Steven D. Eppinger
5th edition, Irwin McGraw-Hill, 2012.
Chapter Table of Contents:
1.Introduction
2.Development Processes and Organizations
3.Opportunity Identification
4.Product Planning
5.Identifying Customer Needs
6.Product Specifications
7.Concept Generation
8.Concept Selection
9.Concept Testing
10.Product Architecture
11.Industrial Design
12.Design for Environment
13.Design for Manufacturing
14.Prototyping
15.Robust Design
16.Patents and Intellectual Property
17.Product Development Economics
18.Managing Projects

Concept Development Process

Mission
Statement

Identify
Customer
Needs

Establish
Target
Specifications

Generate
Product
Concepts

Select
Product
Concept(s)

Test
Product
Concept(s)

Set
Final
Specifications

Plan
Downstream
Development

Development
Plan

Perform Economic Analysis

Benchmark Competitive Products
Build and Test Models and Prototypes

Exhibit 5-2 The customer-needs activity in relation to other concept development activities.

Objective = Goal
Ensure that the product is focused on customer needs
Identify latent or hidden needs as well as explicit needs
Provide a fact base for justifying the product
specifications.
Create an archival record of the needs activity of the
development process.
Ensure that no critical customer need is missed or
forgotten.
Develop a common understanding of customer needs
among members of the development team.
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Nature of needs

Needs are largely independent

Identify customer needs
Needs in the use environment
Products have to serve a real need and
affordable to the customer
Focus on users needs, instead of
wants
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Customer Needs Process

1. Gather raw data from customer.
Interviews
Focus Groups
Observation

2. Interpret raw data in terms of customer needs.

Need Statements

3. Organize the needs into hierarchy .

Primary
Secondary
tertiary

4. Establish the relative importance of the needs.

Surveys
Quantified Needs

5. Reflect on the result and the process.

Continuous Improvement

1: Define the scope of the

effort
Use the projects mission statement

Brief (one sentence) description of the product

Key business goals
Target market(s) for the product
Secondary market
Assumptions that constrain the development effort
(boundary, scope, limit)
Stakeholders (end users, retailers, sales, service
centers, production, legal, etc.)
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Mission Statement
Example: Screwdriver Project
Product Description

A hand-held, power-assisted device for installing threaded fasteners

Benefit Proposition

Drives screws more quickly and less effort than by hand

Key Business Goals

Product introduced in 4th quarter of 2010

50% gross margin
10% share of cordless screwdriver market by 2012
Do-it-yourself consumer

Primary Market
Secondary Markets
Assumptions

Stakeholders

Casual consumer
Light-duty professional
Hand-held
Power assisted
Nickel-metal-hydride rechargeable battery technology
User
Retailer
Sales force
Service center
Production
Legal department

1-1: Gather raw data from

customers (methods)
Methods
One-on-one interviews
Focus groups (selected customers in a discussion
with a moderator
Observing the product in use
Survey

Customer selection matrix

Applications (industrial, household, personal) vs.
customer types (user, lead user, retailer, service
center, etc.)
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How Many Customers?

Percent of Needs Identifed

100

80

60
One-on-One Interviews (1 hour)
Focus Groups (2 hours)
40

20

0
0

10

Number of Respondents or Groups

Exhibit 5-4 Comparison of the percentages of customer needs that are revealed for focus group and interviews
as a function of the number of sessions. Note that a focus group lasts two hours, while an interview lasts one
hour.

Customer Selection Matrix

- Its useful for planning exploration of both market and customer variety.
- Burchill suggests that market segments be listed on the left side of the
matrix while the different types of customers are listed across the top
(Burchill et al., 1997)
- The number of intended customer contacts is entered in each cell to
indicate the depth of coverage.
Lead
Users
Homeowner
(Occasional use)

Users

Retailer or
Sales Outlet

Service Centers

5
2

Handy person
(frequent use)

10

Professional
(heavy-duty use)

3
2

Exhibit 5-5 Customer selection matrix for the cordless screwdriver project.

1-2: Art of eliciting need data

from customer
Go with the flow
Use existing and competitors products, or other
stimuli
Suppress pre-conceived hypotheses about the
product technology
Have the customer demonstrate the product and/or
typical tasks related to the product
Be alert for surprises and the expression of latent
(non-articulated) needs
Watch for nonverbal information (comfort, image, or
style)
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Customer Needs Example:

Cordless Screwdrivers

Visual Information Example: Book Bag Design

1-3: Documenting interactions

with customer
Customer statements, accompanied
with the documentation methods
Audio recording
Notes
Video recording
Still photography

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2: Interpret raw data in terms

of customer needs
Guidelines
Express the need in terms of what the product has
to do, not in terms of how it might do it.
Express the need as specifically as the raw data
Use positive, not negative, phrasing.
Express the need as an attribute of the product
Avoid the words must and should.

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Five Guidelines for Writing Needs Statements

Guideline

Customer Statement

What Not
How

Why dont you put

protective shields around
the battery contacts?

Specificity I drop my screwdriver all

the time.

Need Statement-Wrong Need Statement-Right

The screwdriver battery
contacts are covered by
a plastic sliding door.

The screwdriver battery

is protected from
accidental shorting.

The screwdriver is
rugged.

The screwdriver
operates normally after
repeated dropping.

Positive
Not
Negative

It doesnt matter if its

raining, I still need to
work outside on
Saturdays.

The screwdriver is not

disabled by the rain.

The screwdriver
operates normally in
the rain.

Attribute
of the
Product

Id like to charge my
battery from my cigarette
lighter.

An automobile cigarette
lighter adapter can
charge the screwdriver
battery.

The screwdriver battery

can be charged from
an automobile cigarette
lighter.

Avoid
Must
and
Should

I hate it when I dont

know how much juice is
left in the batteries of my
cordless tools.

The screwdriver should

provide an indication of
the energy level of the
battery.

The screwdriver
provides an indication
of the energy level of
the battery.

Exhibit 5-7 Examples illustrating the guidelines for writing need statements.

Customer data template

Exhibit 5-6 Customer data template filled in with sample customer statements and interpreted
needs. SD is an abbreviation for screwdriver. (Note that this template represents a partial list
from a single interview. A typical interview session may elicit more than 50 customer
statements and interpreted needs.)

3: Organize the needs into a

hierarchy
Print each need statement on a separate card
or a self stick note
Eliminate redundant statement
Group the cards according to the similarity of
the needs they express
Choose a label for each group
Consider creating super-groups consisting of
two to five groups.
Review and edit the organized need statements
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Organized List of Customer Needs

The SD provides plenty of power to drive screws.

* The SD maintains power for several hours of heavy use.

** The SD can driv e screws into hardwood.

The SD driv es sheet metal screws into metal ductwork.

*** The SD driv es screws faster than by hand.

The SD makes it easy to start a screw.

* The SD retains the screw before it is driv en.

!* The SD can be used to create a pilot hole.

The SD is easy to set-up and use.

* The S D is easy to turn on.

* The S D prevents inadvertent switching o ff.
* The u ser can set the maximum torque of the SD.
!* The S D provides ready access to bits or accessories.
* The S D can be atta ched to the user for temporary storage.
The SD power is convenient.

* The S D is easy to recharge.

The S D can be used while recharging.

The SD works with a variety of screws.

** The SD can turn philips, torx, socket, and hex head screws.
** The SD can turn many sizes of screws.
The SD can access most screws.
The SD can be maneuvered in tight areas.

** The SD can access screws at the end of deep, narrow holes.

The SD turns screws that are in poor condition.
The SD can be used to remove grease and dirt from screws.
The SD allows the user to work with painted screws.
The SD feels good in the user's hand.

*** The SD is comfortable when the user pushes on it.

*** The SD is
* The SD is
! The SD is

comfortable when the user resists twisting.

*** The S D recharges quickly.

The S D batte ries are rea dy to use when new.

!** The u ser can apply torque ma nually to the SD to

driv e a screw .

The SD lasts a long time.

** The S D tip survives hea vy use.

The S D can be ham mered.

* The S D can be dropped from a ladder without damage.

The SD is easy to store.

* The S D fits in a toolbox easily.

** The S D can be charged while in sto rage.
The S D resists corrosion when left outside or in da mp places.

!* The S D maintains its charge after long periods of storage.

The S D maintains its charge w hen wet.

balanced in the user's hand.

equally easy to use in right or left hands.

The SD weight is just right.

The SD is warm to touch in cold weather.

The SD prevents damage to the work.

* The S D prevents damage t o the screw hea d.

The S D prevents scratching of finished surfaces.

The SD remains comfortable when left in the sun.

The SD has a pleasant sound when in use.

The SD is easy to control while turning screws.

*** The user can easily push on the SD.

*** The user can easily resist the SD twisting.
The SD can be locked "on."

The SD looks like a professional quality tool.

The SD is safe.

The S D can be used on electrical devices.

!** The SD speed can be controlled by the user whil e turning a screw.
* The SD remains aligned with the screw head without slipping.
*** The S D does not cut the u ser's hands.
** The user can easily see where the screw is.
* The SD does not strip screw heads.
* The SD is easily re ve rsible.

Exhibit 5-8 Hierarchical list of primary and secondary customer needs for the cordless screwdriver. Importance ratings for the secondary needs are indicated by the number of *s, with *** denoting
critically important needs. Latent needs are denoted by !.

4: Establish the relative

importance of the needs
Use the customers (to rank importance
as well as criticality)
See a survey in Exhibit 5-9

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A Survey Design for Ranking

Customer Needs

Exhibit 5-9 Example importance survey (partial.)

22

5: Reflect on the Result and

the Process
Whether the product is focused on needs of
customers
Whether all critical needs are addressed
Whether we sent out thank you notes to
customers.
Whether there are rooms to improve the
process for future efforts.
Whether the entire team understands the
needs
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THANK YOU