Concurrent Engineering

QM ZG663 / DE ZG663

L5: Identifying Customer

BITS Pilani Needs
Pilani Campus
Contents

1. Types of Customer Needs

2. Kano Diagram
3. Gathering information from customers
4. Collecting and Grouping the customer needs
5. Customer Requirements to Product
Specifications

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 Identifying
customer needs

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Types of Customer Needs
• Direct Needs
– Watch should show right time, Water
bottle must be easy to hold etc
• Latent Needs
– Hidden needs (High end mobile
phones should never be broken no
matter how abusive the drop or fall is
!!!!)
• Constant Needs
– Intrinsic to product – Data storage
space in servers / computers.
• Variable Needs
– As battery technology of laptop
matures just like any solar powered
calculator, then it does not bother
customer how long the power lasts

• General Needs
- Compliance to National standards, safety etc,
• Niche Needs
- The car should have bullet proof feature

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 Classifying Customer Requirements
Four levels of customer requirements:
Expecters
These are the basic attributes that one would expect to see in 
the product, i.e., standard features
Spokens
These are the specific features that customers say they want in 
the product – Color, aesthetics etc.
Unspokens
These are product attributes the customer does not generally 
talk about, but they remain important to him or her. Customer 
may not even realize that he or she wants
Exciters
Often called delighters, these are product features that make the 
product unique and distinguish it from the competition
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Customer Satisfaction: Kano Diagram
Exciters
Often called delighters, 
these are product 
features that make the 
product unique and  Expecters
distinguish it from the  Basic attributes that 
competition one would expect to 
see in the product, i.e., 
standard features
Unspokens
Spokens Product attributes the 
Specific features  customer does not 
that customers  generally talk about, 
say they want in  but they remain 
the product important to him or 
her
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Customer Satisfaction

Satisfaction of  Allows a company to …..

‐ Basic needs ‐ Get into the market
‐ Performance needs ‐ Remain in the market
‐ Excitement needs ‐ Be world class

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Gathering Information from Customers

Interviews with  Focus 
Customers Groups

Customer  Be the 
Surveys Customer

Customer  Warranty  Ethnographic 

Complaints Data Studies

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Need gathering Methods
• Interview
– One customer at a time
– Usually held at customer’s environment where
the customer uses the product
• Customer Surveys
– Develops a list of criteria relevant to customer’s
concerns based on their answers to questions
in written format

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Need gathering Methods
• Focus group
– A moderator facilitates a session with a group of
customers
– Usually held at product developer’s environment
– Exploratory questions will be asked to uncover the
needs of customer
• Be the customer
– Critical of their own product or competitor’s product
– Role play as if the product is used by product developer
and he looks at it’s strength and weakness

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Conducting Interviews: Like / Dislike

• Interview customers as they use the product

• See that customers describe what they like and
don’t like
• ‘why’ questions uncover the latent needs
• Factors that determine the purchase(what
customer looks at), should be asked at a dealer
shop or a retail shop rather than to user himself
• Ask how the customer would change the product
to make it better

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How to have Effective Interaction with the
Customer

• Go with the Flow

• Use visual stimuli and props
• Suppress preconceived notion about the product
technology
• Have the customer Demonstrate
• Be alert for surprises and latent needs
• Watch for non verbal information

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Example - Frying Pan (TAWA)
Product : Frying Pan (Tawa) Interviewer: S. Raman
Customer : Mrs.Lakshmi Date: 19/10/2015
Address: xxxxxxxxx Currently uses : Common utensils,
Type of user : Home maker Frying pan

Question Customer statement Interpreted need Importance

Frying vegetables, Eggs, Cooking 
Typical uses
pasta,Cooking gravy, stews

Contents do not stick to surface Non‐stick surface Must

Size Compact Good
Has a better flat bottom to suit 
Likes Can stand on its own  Should
stove accessory
Deep side walls permitting food 
Depth of the Frying pan  Good
not to spill over
After a while in the burner, handles 
The handle conducts heat from the 
becomes too hot to hold‐ approx 25  Must
pan, therer is a thermal bridge
Dislikes minutes
Rivets seen in the inner surface of 
Asethetically not so pleasing Nice
the pan

Suggested  1. Heat resistant handles 2. Different 
improvement painting colors at the base 3. 
Elimination of rivets 

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 Conducting Interviews: Articulated-Use

• Helps in uncovering latent needs

• Express the customer statements in terms of what
the product must do, not how the product might do it
• Use positive, not negative phrasing
• Express the need as an attribute of the product
– Makes it easier to translate to product specifications
• Do not use “must” or “should” in the statement
(should be in importance ratings)

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 Example – Frying pan Contd…….

• In the same interview, customer removed frying pan

and put traditional iron tawa.
• The reason is that she wanted to make traditional
Dosas (Frying pan with deep sides will prevent
Dosas ejection from the pan seamlessly)
• Latent need of customer not expressed in the
original interview.
• Could be an opportunity to make flat Non-stick
targeted at Dosa Making!!

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