identifying customer needs

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Identifying Customer Needs

How the rest of engineering does it!

From Product Design and Development, Chapter 4Karl T. Ulrich and Steven D. Eppinger

Third Edition, McGraw-Hill, New York, 2004.

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PlanningPlanning

Product Development Process

ConceptDevelopment

ConceptDevelopment

System-LevelDesign

System-LevelDesign

DetailDesign

DetailDesign

Testing andRefinement

Testing andRefinement

ProductionRamp-Up

ProductionRamp-Up

Identifying Customer Needs

(Initial) (Typically with reviews after each)

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Customer Needs Process1. Define the Scope

– Mission Statement

2. Gather Raw Data– Interviews– Focus Groups– Observation

3. Interpret Raw Data– Need Statements

4. Organize the Needs– Hierarchy

5. Establish Importance– Surveys– Quantified Needs

6. Reflect on the Process– Continuous Improvement

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Types of Customer Needs

• Direct Need– concern about product, easy to determine

• Latent Need– requires probing to find– maybe not product related but use/system related

• Constant Need– intrinsic to the product

• Variable Need– removed by a technology change

• General Need– applies to all customers

• Niche Need– small market segment

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Mission Statement and Technical Clarifications

• Focus Design Efforts

• Define Project Goals (measurable)

• Involve development/design team in business case/analysis

• Project Schedule– Tasks, timelines, milestones

• Provide guidelines for design process

1. Define the Scope

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From: Product Design Otto and Wood, Prentice-Hall (2001)

Above – Mars One, a mission requiring plenty of planning!

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Customer Needs Example:Cordless Screwdrivers

?

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Mission StatementExample: 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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Gather Data From Customers

• Interviews– In customer environment

• Focus Groups– Groups of 8-12 customers

• Observing Product in Use

What Did Ideo Do ??

2. Gather Raw Data

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Data Gathering Methods and Outcomes

METHOD APPROACH OUTPUTS ISSUES

User interviews

Structured 1-2 hour detailed one-on-one interviews

Good for concept research and understanding user perceptions

Time consuming and interviewer can bias

Focus groups

2-3 hour facilitated group discussion

Exploration of requirements and reactions - to known products

Small samples, can be difficult to relate to new products

Concept testing

Comparison of responses to product proposals

Refining requirements, assessing potential, ranking preferences

Possible disclosure of IPR

Scenarios & role playing

Group sessions to inspire new ideas through role play

Potential product ideas or product changes, good for 'new to world' products

Relies on a good group and strong facilitation

Lead user Interviews or group discussion Potential product ideas Possible

disclosure of IPR

Observation & user / task analysis

Direct observation of product in use in real environments, used by real users

Exploring requirements, understanding product weaknesses, provides input to concept generation

Should use in real situations. Encourages team participation

From: http://www.betterproductdesign.net/guide/users.htm, accessed June 6, 2004

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How Many Customers?

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

One-on-One Interviews (1 hour)

Focus Groups (2 hours)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

0

20

40

60

80

100P

erce

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of

Nee

ds

Iden

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Number of Respondents or Groups

10 to 50 Sessions

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Choosing the ‘Customer’

• Often the case that:– One person buys it,– Another uses it,– Someone else services it,– Etc.

• Talk to each group !

What Did Ideo Do ??

If you were doing this project “Agile,” which one would you pick as the

customer who hangs around with the team regularly?

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Identify Lead Users

• Customers who experience needs before the majority of the market.– Benefit from product innovations,– Can clearly state emerging needs,– Have already invented solutions.

What Did Ideo Do ??

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Exploring Requirements

• Ambiguity

– Choice of Words

– What we want vs.– What we don’t want

From: Gause and Weinberg, Exploring Requirements Dorset House Publishing, 1989.

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Context Free Questions

• Context-free Product questions– When and why do you use this product ?– Walk us through using it.– What do you like about it?– What issues do you consider in purchasing?– What improvements would you recommend?


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• Context-free Process questions– What is a solution worth to the client?– How much time do we have for the project?– How should we organize the teams?


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• Metaquestions– Am I asking too many questions?– Is there anything else I should be asking

you?– Is there anyone else I should be talking to?


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Documenting Customer Data

• Audio, Video Recording

• Notes

• Photography

What Did Ideo Do ??

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Raw Data –to– Needs Statements

1. What not How.

2. Express need as specifically as raw data.

3. Use positive, not negative phrasing.

4. Express need as attribute of the product.

5. Avoid ‘must’ and ‘should’.

3. Interpret the Data

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Examples – Typical Use

Customer statement:

• I need to drive screws fast, faster than by hand..

Interpreted need:

Hey – this looks like a user story!

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Examples – Typical Use

Customer statement:

• I sometimes do duct work and use sheet metal screws..

Interpreted need:

Ditto

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Examples – Current Tool Likes

Customer statement:

• I like the pistol grip…it feels the best.

Interpreted need:

Could you make this look like user story?

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Examples – Current Tool Likes

Customer statement:

• I like the magnetized tip…

Interpreted need:

Ditto?

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Examples – Current Tool Dislikes

Customer statement:

• I don’t like it when the tip slips off the screw…

Interpreted need:

Ditto?

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Customer statement:

• I would like to be able to lock it so I can use it with a dead battery..

Interpreted need:

Ditto?

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Customer statement:

• Can’t drive screws into hard wood..

Interpreted need:

Ditto?

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Examples – Suggested Improvements

Customer statement:

• A point so I can scrape paint off screw heads..

Interpreted need:

Ditto?

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Five Guidelines for Writing Needs Statements

Guideline Customer Statement Need Statement-Wrong Need Statement-Right

What Not How

Specificity

Positive Not

Negative

Attribute of the

Product

Avoid “Must”

and “Should

“Why don’t you put protective shields around the battery contacts?”

“I drop my screwdriver all the time.”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s raining, I still need to work outside on Saturdays.”

“I’d like to charge my battery from my cigarette lighter.”

“I hate it when I don’t know how much juice is left in the batteries of my cordless tools.”

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.

The screwdriver is not disabled by the rain.

The screwdriver operates normally in the rain.

An automobile cigarette lighter adapter can charge the screwdriver battery.

The screwdriver battery can be charged from an automobile cigarette lighter.

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.

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Organized List of Customer

Needs

What Did Ideo Do ??

4. Organize the Needs

How would we do the organization differently

if they were software user stories?

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Establish Relative Priorities

1. Consensus of Team Members2. Further Surveys of Customers

• Establish Rankings on 1 to 5 Scale– 1. feature is undesirable – would not consider a

product with this feature– ……– 5. feature is critical – would not consider a

product without this feature

5. Establish Importance

Ditto?

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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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Visual Information Example: Book Bag Design

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Needs Translation Exercise:Book Bag Design Example

1. “See how the leather on the bottom of the bag is all scratched; it’s ugly.”

2. “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.”

3. “This bag is my life; if I lose it I’m in big trouble.”

4. “There’s nothing worse than a banana that’s been squished by the edge of a textbook.”

5. “I never use both straps on my knapsack; I just sling it over one shoulder.”

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And, did we get close to what Ideo would do?

• Here’s the latest trend in backpacks – My wife has one similar:

identifying customer needs

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