Identifying Customer Needs Thomas A. Roemer 1
Identifying Customer Needs
Thomas A. Roemer
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Generic Product Development Process
PlanningPlanning ConceptDevelopment
ConceptDevelopment
System-LevelDesign
System-LevelDesign
DetailDesignDetail
DesignTesting andRefinement
Testing andRefinement
ProductionRamp-Up
ProductionRamp-Up
MissionApproval
ConceptReview
System SpecReview
Critical DesignReview
ProductionApproval
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Project Proposals
Mission & Customer NeedsConcept Generation& SketchesConcept Refinement& Schedule
Proof-of Concept
Detail Design
Financial Model & Patent ReviewDevelop Alpha PrototypeFinal Presentation& Demonstration
Class Projects: Gantt Chart1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 FP
Assignment Work Due Refinement
Class
3
Concept Development Process
Perform Economic Analysis
Benchmark Competitive Products
Build and Test Models and Prototypes
IdentifyCustomer
Needs
EstablishTarget
Specifications
GenerateProduct
Concepts
SelectProduct
Concept(s)
Set Final
Specifications
PlanDownstreamDevelopment
MissionStatement Test
ProductConcept(s)
DevelopmentPlan
PlanningPlanning Concept
DevelopmentConcept
Development System-LevelDesign
System-LevelDesign Detail
Design
DetailDesign Testing and
Refinement
Testing andRefinement Production
Ramp-Up
ProductionRamp-Up
MissionApproval
ConceptReview
System SpecReview
Critical DesignReview
ProductionApproval
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Customer Needs ProcessDefine the Scope
Mission StatementGather Raw Data
ObservationInterviewsFocus Groups
Interpret Raw DataNeed Statements
Organize the NeedsHierarchy
Establish ImportanceSurveys
Reflect on the ProcessContinuous Improvement
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Mission StatementProduct Description
An easy to use, portable device for removing bacteria and protozoan parasites from water
Key Business GoalsProduct introduced in Summer 199350% gross margin30% share of portable water filter retail sales within 2 years of introduction Becoming the recognized leader in usability
Primary MarketAvid outdoor enthusiasts
Secondary MarketsCasual recreationalistsHome emergencyAid organizations, military
AssumptionsHand-operatedBorosilicate glass fibers & charcoal filtering technology
StakeholdersUserRetailerSandy Platter forceJuan Rodriguez and VCs
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Customer Needs ProcessDefine the Scope
Mission StatementGather Raw Data
ObservationInterviewsFocus Groups
Interpret Raw DataNeed Statements
Organize the NeedsHierarchy
Establish ImportanceSurveys
Reflect on the ProcessContinuous Improvement
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Gather Raw Data
Focus GroupsInterviews Observation
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Interviews vs. Focus Groups
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
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20
40
60
80
100
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ent o
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ds Id
entif
ied
Number of Respondents or Groups
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How Many Consumers?
From: Griffin, Abbie and John R. Hauser. “The Voice of the Customer”, Marketing Science. vol. 12, no. 1, Winter 1993.
0 5 10 15 25 30
0
20
40
60
80
100
Perc
ent o
f Nee
ds Id
entif
ied
Number of consumers interviewed20
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How Many Analysts?
From: Griffin, Abbie and John R. Hauser. “The Voice of the Customer”, Marketing Science. vol. 12, no. 1, Winter 1993.
0 1 2 3 6 7
0
20
40
60
80
100
Perc
ent o
f Nee
ds Id
entif
ied
Number of analysts54
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Customer Needs ProcessDefine the Scope
Mission StatementGather Raw Data
ObservationInterviewsFocus Groups
Interpret Raw DataNeed Statements
Organize the NeedsHierarchy
Establish ImportanceSurveys
Reflect on the ProcessContinuous Improvement
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Five Guidelines for Writing Needs Statements
Guideline Customer Statement Need Statement Need Statement
What Not How
Specificity
PositiveNot Negative
Product Attribute
Avoid “Must” & “Should
“Why don't they put a hook at the end of the outlet hose? “
“I often times drop the water filter on rocks.”
“the WF is difficult to hold.”
“I need to attach a virus filter to the WF.”
“The water should taste good.”
The outlet hose has a hook to connect to water containers.
The WF easily transfers water into a variety of different containers
The WF is rugged.The WF operates normally after repeated dropping.
The WF is not difficult to hold. The WF is easy to hold
A virus filter can be attached to the WF
WF accommodates a virus filter
The WF should deliver good tasting water
The WF delivers good tasting water.
WRONG RIGHT
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Needs Translation ExerciseThe water should not smell badlyYou need one hand to hold the filter, one hand to pump and one hand to make sure that that the attachment cap doesn't fall off the bottleDuring a winter trip the pump once froze solidI never want to have Giardia againI get tired when pumping water for the entire familyI cleaned the filter after every use, no matter how little water I pumped
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Customer Needs ProcessDefine the Scope
Mission StatementGather Raw Data
ObservationInterviewsFocus Groups
Interpret Raw DataNeed Statements
Organize the NeedsHierarchy
Establish ImportanceSurveys
Reflect on the ProcessContinuous Improvement
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Structuring Needs
Primary Needs (Strategic Needs)Secondary Needs (Tactical Needs)Tertiary Needs (Operational Needs)
Must HavesDelighters (Latent Needs!)Linear SatisfiersNeutrals
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Kano-DiagramsDegree of Function Implementation
Sat
isfa
ctio
nD
issa
tisfa
ctio
n
Linear Satisfiers
Delighters
Must Haves
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Structuring NeedsA tendency that
Customers sort needs more evenlyCustomer ordering reflects actual useGroup ordering reflects engineering view
Professional teams only slightly outperform students
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Customer Needs ProcessDefine the Scope
Mission StatementGather Raw Data
ObservationInterviewsFocus Groups
Interpret Raw DataNeed Statements
Organize the NeedsHierarchy
Establish ImportanceSurveys
Reflect on the ProcessContinuous Improvement
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Importance Surveys5,7,9 – point direct rating
How important is feature?Desirable, neutral, undesirable
Constant Sum ScaleAllocating fixed number of points to need levels
Anchored ScaleAttach 10 points to most important needUp to 10 points to all others
All seem to perform equally wellFrequency of mentioning a need is usually NOT a good measure for the importance of need
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Perceptual MapW
ater
Qua
lity
Ease of Use
First NeedKatadyne
Sweetwater’s Sweet Spot ?
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Normalized Perceptual MapW
ater
Qua
lity
per $
Ease of Use per $
First Need
Katadyne
Sweetwater’s Even Sweeter Spot?
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Company UpdateIntroduced in August 19931994, SW shipped ~54,000 units1994 Revenue of $2 millionMSR (REI-owned!) enters market before SW and takes 40% of market shareUS Army shows interest 1997, SW almost disappears?1998, Cascade Design [CD] acquires SW
CD had previously (1996) bought Platypus 2001, CD buys MSR
Sweetwater name on MSR productsSweetwater is still household name
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Take AwaysCapture “What, Not How”Meet customers in the use environmentCollect visual, verbal, and textual dataProps will stimulate customer responses.Interviews are more efficient than focus groupsInterview all stakeholders and lead usersDevelop an organized list of need statementsLook for latent needsSurvey to quantify tradeoffsMake a video to communicate results
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Visual Data Example
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MIT OpenCourseWarehttps://ocw.mit.edu
15.783J / 2.739J Product Design and DevelopmentSpring 2006
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