1. Lecture 4— Capturing the Voice of the Customer Or Marketing 101
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

2. Are the customer and user always the same person?
What are examples of situations or products that may have a different person who is responsible for the purchase than the actual user.
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

3. The BOF is a collection of all the critical information that you know about your project.
Strategy or Solution
Critical Assumptions
Body of Facts - BOFs
Assumptions can make or break a development project
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

4. Unstable Strategy!! Assumptions Changed!!
What happens when Assumptions prove to be invalid?
Strategy or Solution
Assumptions Changed!!
Unstable
Strategy!!
Body of Facts - BOFs
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

5. Team Email assignment;
Prior Homework
Read Chapter 4, “Identifying Customer Needs” and/or read the lecture 4 notes.
Team assignment;
Develop the “Body of Facts” (all the information that you currently know about your project).
What are the key assumptions that you are making at the beginning of the project?
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

6. Concept Development Phase
System-Level
Design
Detail
Design
Testing and
Refinement
Production
Ramp-up
Mission
Statement
Identify
Customer
Needs
Establish
Target
Specs
Analyze
competitive
Products
Generate
Product
Concepts
Select a
Concept
Refine
Perform
Economic
Analysis
Plan
Remaining
Development
Project
Development
Plan
Concept Development
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

7. What development phase is the most critical to the eventual success or failure of the product?
Why?
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

8.  Early phases of Product Development Market analysis and Strategy
Technology
development 
Concept Development
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

9. What’s the Problem? Our Performance Customers’ Need ECEn 490
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

10. “Marketing is too important to leave to the marketing department”—
Bill Hewlett—one of the founders of Hewlett-Packard Co.
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

11. Kano's "3 Arrow Diagram" ECEn 490 Neutral Feeling Winter 2015
Satisfied
Feeling
Neutral
Physically
Fulfilled
Condition
(Need is met)
(Need is not met)
Dissatisfied
Feeling
Feeling
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

12. Kano's "3 Arrow Diagram" “Taken for granted” ECEn 490 Unstated,
Satisfied
Feeling
Physically
Fulfilled
(Need is not met)
Condition
(Need is met)
“Taken for granted”
Unstated,
Expected
Quality
Dissatisfied
Feeling
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

13. Kano's "3 Arrow Diagram" “Competitive” “Taken for granted” ECEn 490
Dissatisfied
Feeling
Satisfied
Physically
Fulfilled
Condition
(Need is met)
(Need is not met)
"One-Dimensional" Quality
“Competitive”
the more the better
Unstated,
Expected
Quality
“Taken for granted”
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

14. Kano's "3 Arrow Diagram" “Competitive” “Surprise & Delighters”
Dissatisfied
Feeling
Satisfied
Physically
Fulfilled
Condition
(Need is met)
(Need is not met)
"One-Dimensional" Quality
Exciting
Quality
“Competitive”
the more the better
“Surprise & Delighters”
Unstated,
Expected
Quality
“Taken for granted”
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

15. Kano's "3 Arrow Diagram" ECEn 490 Unstated, Expected Quality
Satisfied
Feeling
What was
exciting
yesterday
becomes
expected
tomorrow
Physically
Fulfilled
(Need is not met)
Condition
(Need is met)
Unstated,
Expected
Quality
Dissatisfied
Feeling
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

16. What difference does it make?
Does it change the effort on customer identification?
Does it change the risk of product acceptance?
What about manufacturing?
How does it impact R&D expenditures?
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

17. The goals for Identifying Customer Needs
Ensure that the product is focused on customer needs.
Identify unusual or hidden needs.
Provide a ‘body of facts’ for justifying the product specification.
Create an archival record of the needs.
Ensure that no critical customer need is over-looked.
Develop a common understanding of the customer needs by the team.
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

18. The 6 steps in Identifying Customer Needs
Define the scope of the effort
Gather raw data from customers.
Interpret the raw data in terms of customer needs.
Organize the needs into a hierarchy of primary, secondary, and tertiary needs (if required)
Establish the relative importance of the needs.
Reflect on the results and the process
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

19. Step1 Defining the scope
Often included as the Mission Statement or Project Charter
the project charter usually contains
a description of the customer and targeted market
Key business goals
critical customer needs being met
key program assumptions
major stakeholders
Keeps us from “boiling the ocean”– taking on more than we can accomplish.
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

20. Mission Statement: Screwdriver Project
Product Description
Benefit Proposition
Key Business Goals
Primary Market
Assumptions
Stakeholders
A handheld, power assisted device for installing threaded fasteners.
Drives screws more quickly, with less effort than by hand
Product introduction 4th Qtr. 2006
50% gross margin
10% share of cordless screwdriver market by 2008
Do-it-yourself consumer
Light duty professional
Hand held
Power assisted
Nickel-metal-hydride battery technology
Users
Retailer
Sales force
Production
Legal department
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

21. Step 2 Gather Raw Data from Customers
Identify typical customers or users
sometimes these can be individuals, other times in groups
develop a set of questions that will draw out needed comments
decide on using interviews or surveys.
Perform the market study
capture the customer inputs, written statements, voice, video recording, etc.
compile the final written list of customer statements.
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

22. Customer Needs Interviews
Generate a ‘script’ or list of questions
Open ended versus closed ended questions
examples
when to use which
Let the customer talk - be flexible
Manage your time
Get the whole team involved
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

23. Step 3 Interpret the Raw Data in Terms of Customer or User Needs
express the need in terms of What the product will do, not How it will do it.
Try to keep the interpretation at the same level of detail as the customer input.
Use positive statements.
Express the need as a product attribute.
Avoid the words Must and Want
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

24. Examples of interpreting customer comments
Customer statement
Interpreted Need
“I need to drive screws fast, faster than by hand”
The SD drives screws faster than by hand.
“I sometimes do duct work; use sheet metal screws”.
The SD drives sheet metal screws into metal duct work.
“I like the pistol grip; it feels better in my hand”.
The SD is comfortable to grip.
“I don’t like it when the tip slips off the screw.”
The SD tip remains aligned with screw head without slipping.
“I sometimes drive screws in at an angle”
The SD will show when the screw in not aligned with the surface.
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

25. Step 4 Organize the Needs into a Hierarchy
Write each Interpreted Need statement on a sticky note, and put them on the wall or chart.
Eliminate redundant statements.
Group the notes according to how similar the needs are to each other.
For each group of notes, write a label on a bigger sticky note.
Look for higher level groups of similar sub groups.
Go back and do a “sanity check” on the data. “how does it feel?”
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

26. Step 4 Organize the Needs into a Hierarchy
Quadrotor must be able to move in any direction at 3 mph.
Quadrotor must be able to hover over the target
Quadrotor flight characteristics
Quadrotor must be able to fly for 10 mins without recharging
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

27. Step 5 Establish the Relative Importance of the Needs.
First try the Team Consensus method
Give every team members three sticky dots and have them vote. Or just give each team members three votes.
Be careful that all the primary needs are at the same level.
If key customers are available, let them help establish importance either by surveys or in focus groups.
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

28. Step 6 Reflect on the Results and the Process
This method is not an exact science.
Did we get the important customers in our data?
Are there needs that the current customers can’t envision?
Do we have some weak areas of analysis?
Are we surprised by the results? And why?
Did we get the key stakeholders involved?
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

29. Steps in customer needs prioritization.
State the Project Scope or Mission.
Capture customer inputs, one customer
need on each Sticky note.
Group similar needs.
Title the groups.
Lay out groups and show relations
between groups.
Vote on most important needs and
draw conclusion.
Theme
Conclusion
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

30. Email Team discussion Assignment Discuss with your team the following:
Who is the customer or a user?,
What information do you need to help identify the critical design features of your project?
What questions would you ask to get the information you need?,
Can you translate the user’s answers into product needs?
How would you set a priority on the needs that are identified?
Reading Assignment, Class notes for Lecture 5
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

31. Examples of Homework example (page 65 text)
Customer statement
Interpreted Need
Priority
“I need to drive screws fast, faster than by hand”
The SD drives screws faster than by hand. ** 3 M
“I sometimes do duct work; use sheet metal screws”.
The SD drives sheet metal screws into metal duct work. * 1 L
“I like the pistol grip; it feels better in my hand”.
The SD is comfortable to grip.
*** 5 H
“I don’t like it when the tip slips off the screw.”
The SD tip remains aligned with screw head without slipping. ** 3 M
“I sometimes drive screws in at an angle”
The SD will show when the screw in not aligned with the surface. * 1 L
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

32. Control Documents
The Functional Specification Document, FSD, answers the question; What does the customer want, or what will they accept? It is mainly a quantitative measure of user needs that allows the team to know when they have met their goals.
The Concept Generation and Selection Document, CGSD answers the question; How will we deliver the solution to the customer’s requirements, and how do we know that we are offering an optimum solution. Again the meat of the CGSD is a set of tables and matrices showing quantitatively how we have arrived at our project definition.
The Project Schedule answers the question; When will we deliver the solution. The Schedule shows the timing of project tasks, the breakdown of staffing requirements, and dates for project reviews and checkpoints.
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

33. Functional Specifications Document
Most product ideas are initially driven by a loosely defined set of customer inputs that usually are not consistent or complete.
One of the most common mistakes that companies make, is to go into full-scale product development before these customer needs are thoroughly analyzed and the feasibility of the complementary technologies are determined.
In several studies of unsuccessful commercial products, it was found that there was a common theme of poorly defined features in the early stages of the project.
Subsequent project redefinition caused delays and missed expectations to the customer.
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

34. FSD Requirements
Project Description and background: What is the project, and what is expected to be accomplished. (Mission statement)
Project Requirements: The customer needs and requirements including their relative importance.
Functional Specifications: The measurable engineering characteristics and target values for the product. You should include preliminary targets for marginal values and ideal values for each specification.
Linking of the Project Requirements and Functional Specifications: The analysis of the specifications to insure that critical program and customer requirements are being met. (First step in testing document)
Winter 2015
ECEn 490

35. Control Documents FSD CES FSD ECEn 490 Schedule
Identify
Customer
Needs
Establish
Target
Specs
Analyze
competitive
Products
Generate
Product
Concepts
Select a
Concept
Refine
Perform
Economic
Analysis
Plan
Remaining
Development
Project
FSD
CES
FSD
Schedule
Preliminary & Final “Functional Specifications Document” - (FSD)
“Concept Evaluation and Selection Document”- (CESD)
“Project Schedule” with Staffing Assignments – (Schedule)
“Final Project Report”
(Most of the control documents are initiated during the 1st phase, and only updated in later phases.)
Winter 2015
ECEn 490