Identifying Customer Needs

Teaching materials to accompany:

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

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 Comments on Ulrich and
Eppinger
• Customer needs should be considered
from the beginning:
– Opportunity identification
– Product planning
• Waiting until after product planning is
too late!

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 Product Development Process

Concept System-Level Detail Testing and Production

Planning Development Design Design Refinement Ramp-Up

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 Concept Development Process
Mission Development
Statement Identify Establish Generate Select Test Set Plan Plan
Customer Target Product Product Product Final Downstream
Needs Specifications Concepts Concept(s) Concept(s) Specifications Development

Perform Economic Analysis

Benchmark / Reverse Engineer Competitive Products

Build and Test Models and Prototypes

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 Goals of identifying needs
• Ensure product focuses on customer
needs
• Identify latent needs
• Provide basis for product specifications
• Provide record of design rationale
• Make sure everyone is on the same
page
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Customer Needs Process
• Define the Scope
– Mission Statement
• Gather Raw Data
– Interviews
– Focus Groups
– Observation
• Interpret Raw Data
– Need Statements
• Organize the Needs
– Hierarchy
• Establish Importance
– Surveys
– Quantified Needs
• Reflect on the Process
– Continuous Improvement
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Customer Needs Example:
Cordless Screwdrivers

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 Mission Statement
Example: Screwdriver Project
Product Description
•A hand-held, power-assisted device for installing threaded fasteners
Key Business Goals
•Product introduced in 4th Q of 2000
•50% gross margin
•10% share of cordless screwdriver market by 2004
Primary Market
•Do-it-yourself consumer
Secondary Markets
•Casual consumer
•Light-duty professional
Assumptions
•Hand-held
•Power assisted
•Nickel-metal-hydride rechargeable battery technology
Stakeholders
•User
•Retailer
•Sales force
•Service center
•Production
•Legal department

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 How Many Customers?
100

80
Percent of Needs Identified

60
One-on-One Interviews (1 hour)

Focus Groups (2 hours)

40

20

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Number of Respondents or Groups

From: Griffin, Abbie and John R. Hauser. “The Voice of the Customer”, Marketing
Science. vol. 12, no. 1, Winter 1993.

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 Five Guidelines for Writing Needs Statements
Guideline Customer Statement Need Statement-Wrong Need Statement-Right
“Why don’t you put The screwdriver battery The screwdriver battery
What Not
protective shields around contacts are covered by is protected from
How the battery contacts?” a plastic sliding door. accidental shorting.

“I drop my screwdriver all The screwdriver is The screwdriver

Specificity
the time.” rugged. operates normally after
repeated dropping.

Positive “It doesn’t matter if it’s The screwdriver is not The screwdriver
Not raining, I still need to disabled by the rain. operates normally in
Negative work outside on the rain.
Saturdays.”

Attribute “I’d like to charge my An automobile cigarette The screwdriver battery

of the battery from my cigarette lighter adapter can can be charged from an
Product lighter.” charge the screwdriver automobile cigarette
battery. lighter.

Avoid “I hate it when I don’t The screwdriver should The screwdriver

“Must” know how much juice is provide an indication of provides an indication
and left in the batteries of my the energy level of the of the energy level of
cordless tools.” battery. the battery.
“Should
11
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Organized List of Customer Needs

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 Summary
• Capture “What, Not How”.
• Meet customers in the use environment.
• Collect visual, verbal, and textual data.
• Props will stimulate customer responses.
• Interviews are more efficient than focus groups.
• Interview all stakeholders and lead users.
• Develop an organized list of need statements.
• Look for latent needs.
• Survey to quantify tradeoffs.
• Make a video to communicate results.
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 Camera example
Needs Specifications
• Good performance in low • Sensor megapixels
light • Sensor size
• Can capture fast-moving • Noise at different ISO
action settings
• Can make large prints • Frames per second
• Can use it in rain • Autofocus speed and
• Can use it in cold weather accuracy
• Light and easy to carry • Weight
• Battery life
• Weather sealing
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 Ways to improve low-light
performance
• Larger sensor (less noise at high ISO)
– But requires larger and heavier lens
• Faster lens
– Larger, heavier and more expensive lens
• Slower shutter speed (possible with
image stabilization)

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