Identifying Customer Needs

1. Identifying Customer Needs TEC 316 Dr. Lou Reifschneider Much of this presentation came from the Professor Eppinger’s web site on Product Design and Development.

2. Concept Development Process Mission Statement Development Plan Identify Customer Needs Establish Target Specifications Generate Product Concepts Select Product Concept(s) Test Product Concept(s) Set Final Specifications Plan Downstream Development Perform Economic Analysis Benchmark Competitive Products Build and Test Models and Prototypes From Product Design and Development, page 61.

3. Identifying Customer Needs Process • Define the Scope • Mission Statement - what market are you targeting? • Gather Raw Data • Interviews - these most efficient • Focus Groups • Observation • Interpret Raw Data • Need Statements - WHAT, NOT HOW • Organize the Needs • Hierarchy - logical groupings, affinity diagrams • Establish Importance • Surveys (using needs from interviews) • Quantified Needs • Reflect on the Process • Continuous Improvement

4. 1: Define scope – Mission Statement Mission statement clearly spells out: • The product description • Key business goals • Primary and secondary markets • Important product assumptions • Who the stakeholders are

5. Mission Statement - product planningExample: 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 From Product Design and Development, page 62.

6. Alternative products that could satisfy mission statement: each targets customer niche. “Want Power” Standard “Fits in Drawer” NO Batteries! “Compact” From Product Design and Development, page 59.

7. 2: Gather raw data, Sources: > Customer surveys > One-on-one interviews – best done in environment of product use. > Focus groups > Observing products in use Some key questions: • How many customers? • Who should they be? (lead users vs. casual users) • Do they know what they want?

8. One-on-One Interviews (1 hour) Focus Groups (2 hours) Question How Many Customers? Most Efficient 100 80 60 Percent of Needs Identified LOOK AT INTERVIEW FORM 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. From Product Design and Development, page 64.

9. 3: Interpreting the raw data in terms of the customers’ needs Guidelines for writing needs statements: • Express the need in terms of • what the product has to do, • not in terms of how it might do it. • Use positive, not negative, phrasing. • Express the need as an attribute of the product. • Avoid the words, must and should.

10. Five Guidelines for Writing Needs Statements Customer Statement Need Statement-Wrong Need Statement-Right Guideline “Why don’t you put protective shields around the battery contacts?” The screwdriver battery contacts are covered by a plastic sliding door. The screwdriver battery is protected from accidental shorting. What Not How “I drop my screwdriver all the time.” The screwdriver is rugged. The screwdriver operates normally after repeated dropping. Specificity Positive Not Negative “It doesn’t matter if it’s 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 “I’d 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 don’t 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. From Product Design and Development, page70.

11. Example of customer interview form From Product Design and Development, page 68.

12. 4: Organize the needs into a hierarchy • Write each need statement on a separate card or post-it. • Eliminate redundant statements. • Group similar cards by needs. • Label each group. • Too many groups – create subgroups. • Review and edit as needed. This process is called ** see handout** creating an Affinity Diagram.

13. 5: Establish the relative importance of the needs. (based on customer comments)6: Reflect on the results, revise if needed.

14. Getting at Customer Needs • 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 (something the product should do that is not obvious from function). • Survey to quantify tradeoffs – like power or portable?

15. Visual Information Example: Book Bag Design From Product Design and Development, WEB site.

16. Customer Statement a) “See how the leather on the bottom of the bag is all scratched; it’s ugly.” b) “When I’m standing in line at the cashier trying to find my checkbook while balancing my bag on my knee, I feel like a stork.” c) “This bag is my life; if I lose it I’m in big trouble.” d) “There’s nothing worse than a banana that’s been squished by the edge of a textbook.” e) “I never use both straps on my knapsack; I just sling it over one shoulder.” Needs Statement a) b) c) d) e) Customer Needs Translation Exercise: Book bag From Product Design and Development, WEB site

17. Customer Statement a) “See how the leather on the bottom of the bag is all scratched; it’s ugly.” b) “When I’m standing in line at the cashier trying to find my checkbook while balancing my bag on my knee, I feel like a stork.” c) “This bag is my life; if I lose it I’m in big trouble.” d) “There’s nothing worse than a banana that’s been squished by the edge of a textbook.” e) “I never use both straps on my knapsack; I just sling it over one shoulder.” Needs Statement a) Bag maintains original appearance with use. b) Items easy to find stored in bag. c) Bag is difficult to lose and easy to find. d) Bag protects soft, fragile items from damage. e) Bag can be secured in several modes: both shoulders or either single shoulder. Customer Needs Translation Exercise: Book bag From Product Design and Development, WEB site

18. Getting at Customer Needs: Summary • Who is target market? (Retail vs. Contractor), etc. • Interview – about 8 potential customers (users) • Convert customer statements into NEED statements. • Organize – via affinity diagram to see common groups, note important needs. • Have manageable number of needs (<10) • Customer needs become product requirements. • They are “magnetic north” during brainstorming.