Lecture 4—
Capturing the Voice of the
Customer
Or
Marketing 101
Winter 2015
ECEn 490
Lecture #4 1
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
Lecture #4 2
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
3
What happens when Assumptions prove to be invalid?
Assumptions Changed!!
Unstable
Strategy!!
Body of Facts - BOFs
Winter 2015
ECEn 490
4
Prior Homework
•Read Chapter 4, “Identifying Customer Needs”
and/or read the lecture 4 notes.
•Team Email 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
5
Concept Development Phase
Phase 1
Concept
Development
Phase 2
Phase 3
System-Level
Detail
Design
Design
Phase 4
Testing and
Refinement
Phase 5
Production
Ramp-up
Mission
Statement
Identify
Customer
Needs
Establish
Target
Specs
Generate
Product
Concepts
Analyze
competitive
Products
Select a
Product
Concept
Perform
Economic
Analysis
Refine
Specs
Plan
Remaining
Development
Project
Development
Plan
Concept Development
Winter 2015
ECEn 490
Lecture #4 6
What development phase is
the most critical to the
eventual success or failure of
the product?
Why?
Winter 2015
ECEn 490
Lecture #4 7
Early phases of Product Development
Market analysis
and Strategy
Technology
development

Concept Development
Winter 2015
ECEn 490
8
What’s the Problem?
Our
Performance
Customers’
Need
Winter 2015
ECEn 490
Lecture #4 9
“Marketing is too important to
leave to the marketing
department”—
Bill Hewlett—one of the founders of
Hewlett-Packard Co.
Winter 2015
ECEn 490
Lecture #4 10
Kano's "3 Arrow Diagram"
Satisfied
Feeling
Neutral
Physically
Fulfilled
Condition
(Need is met)
(Need is not met)
Dissatisfied
Feeling
Winter 2015
Feeling
ECEn 490
Lecture #4 11
Kano's "3 Arrow Diagram"
Satisfied
Feeling
Physically
Fulfilled
Condition
(Need is met)
(Need is not met)
Unstated,
Expected
Quality
Dissatisfied
Feeling
Winter 2015
ECEn 490
“Taken
for
granted”
Lecture #4 12
Kano's "3 Arrow Diagram"
Satisfied
Feeling
“Competitive”
the more the better
Physically
Fulfilled
Condition
(Need is met)
(Need is not met)
Unstated,
Expected
Quality
Dissatisfied
Feeling
Winter 2015
ECEn 490
“Taken
for
granted”
Lecture #4 13
Kano's "3 Arrow Diagram"
“Surprise &
Delighters”
Satisfied
Feeling
“Competitive”
the more the better
Exciting
Quality
Physically
Fulfilled
Condition
(Need is met)
(Need is not met)
Unstated,
Expected
Quality
Dissatisfied
Feeling
Winter 2015
ECEn 490
“Taken
for
granted”
Lecture #4 14
Kano's "3 Arrow Diagram"
What was
exciting
yesterday
becomes
expected
tomorrow
Satisfied
Feeling
Physically
Fulfilled
Condition
(Need is met)
(Need is not met)
Unstated,
Expected
Quality
Dissatisfied
Feeling
Winter 2015
ECEn 490
Lecture #4 15
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
Lecture #4 16
The goals for Identifying Customer Needs
1. Ensure that the product is focused on
customer needs.
2. Identify unusual or hidden needs.
3. Provide a ‘body of facts’ for justifying the
product specification.
4. Create an archival record of the needs.
5. Ensure that no critical customer need is
over-looked.
6. Develop a common understanding of the
customer needs by the team.
Winter 2015
ECEn 490
Lecture #4 17
The 6 steps in Identifying Customer Needs
1. Define the scope of the effort
2. Gather raw data from customers.
3. Interpret the raw data in terms of customer
needs.
4. Organize the needs into a hierarchy of
primary, secondary, and tertiary needs (if
required)
5. Establish the relative importance of the
needs.
6. Reflect on the results and the process
Winter 2015
ECEn 490
Lecture #4 18
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
Lecture #4 19
Mission Statement: Screwdriver Project
Product Description
Benefit Proposition
Key Business Goals
Primary Market
Assumptions
Stakeholders
Winter 2015
•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
ECEn 490
Lecture #4 20
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
Lecture #4 21
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
Lecture #4 22
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
Lecture #4 23
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
Lecture #4 24
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
Lecture #4 25
Step 4 Organize the Needs into a Hierarchy
Quadrotor must
be able to hover
over the target
Quadrotor must
be able to move
in any direction
at 3 mph.
Quadrotor must
be able to fly for
10 mins without
recharging
Winter 2015
ECEn 490
Quadrotor
flight
characteristics
Lecture #4 26
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
Lecture #4 27
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
Lecture #4 28
Steps in customer needs prioritization.
Theme
State the Project Scope or Mission.
Theme
Capture customer inputs, one customer
need on each Sticky note.
Theme
Group similar needs.
Theme
Title the groups.
Theme
Lay out groups and show relations
between groups.
Theme
Winter 2015
Conclusion
Vote on most important needs and
draw conclusion.
ECEn 490
Lecture #4 29
Email Team discussion Assignment
•
•
Discuss with your team the following:
1. Who is the customer or a user?,
2. What information do you need to help identify the
critical design features of your project?
3. What questions would you ask to get the information
you need?,
4. Can you translate the user’s answers into product
needs?
5. How would you set a priority on the needs that are
identified?
Reading Assignment, Class notes for Lecture 5
Winter 2015
ECEn 490
Lecture #4 30
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.
“I sometimes do duct
work; use sheet metal
screws”.
“I like the pistol grip; it
feels better in my hand”.
The SD drives sheet metal
screws into metal duct work.
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.
The SD will show when the
screw in not aligned with the
surface.
**
3
M
“I sometimes drive screws
in at an angle”
Winter 2015
ECEn 490
**
3
M
*
1
L
*
1
L
Lecture #4 31
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
Lecture #4 32
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
Lecture #4 33
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
Lecture #4 34
Control Documents
Identify
Customer
Needs
Establish
Target
Specs
Generate
Product
Concepts
Analyze
competitive
Products
FSD
•
•
•
•
CES
Select a
Product
Concept
Refine
Specs
Perform
Economic
Analysis
Plan
Remaining
Development
Project
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
Lecture #4 35