Consumer Focus Essay 5

Outline

1. Introductions
2. Definition of quality in relation to the customer
3. Identifying customer needs using QFD
4. Filtering information
5. The information is categorized in various parts such as customer segments
6. Product design and development.
7. The most inclusive product is generated with the intention of conducting
8. Involving the customer in development of the product
9. In the development process, the customer feedback often determines the chances of product success
10. Longitudinal and Lateral dimensions of customer involvement.
11. Definition and comparison
12. Understanding the different needs of the different customer voices.
13. Identifying the ‘unspoken’ and ‘unstated’ needs.
14. Importance of regular customer and developer interaction

Draft With Corrections

When a product or service is being developed or designed, it is important to consider quality into the product. The term quality can be defined as meeting the customers’ needs and providing a superior value. Product and service providers see that the customers’ requirements can be seen n

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 the product.

Using Quality Function Deployment (QFD), service and product designers have a structured way of capturing and defining customer needs or requirements and transforming them into plans to ddevelop

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 Products that meet those needs. Customer needs can be captured in various ways: Interviews, observation, direct discussion, surveys e.t.c.

Remove etc

 Once the specific customer needs are identified, the information is transformed into product planning matrix.

The information that has been gathered needs to be organized. The mass interviews, requirement documents, market research, and consumer data is distilled into finer details that can identify the most basic customer needs. Data that captures the basic customer requirements is transcribed on cards. These cards are the grouped into related needs.

As products are being designed, the customers’ needs are focused on; from business strategy development, to prototype testing and need analysis. For example, development of a new vaccine would include all the stakeholders who have an impact on its adoption and proliferation. These stakeholders would include doctors, health administrators, both government and non-governmental, lab technicians, nursing personnel not forgetting the patients themselves.

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These players will have a critical role un

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 Thee

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 success of the products implementation.

When customers are involved in product or service development, they are very critical as they give important feedback which will be used to improve them. Furthermore, this feedback allows the company to invest in projects higher probability of success. It also makes the product more customized for the target group. The adoption of the product is also swifter since such a product is likely to put in mind all the needs of the customer before launching the product.

Longitudinal and Lateral dimensions of customer involvement

Originating from a study of clients for organizations, in this case patients’ relation to hospitals, (Crow, 2014).

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 Longitudinal dimension can be

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 seen as the point of interaction between the customer and the design process. To understand this dimension, different phrases of a product development project (i.e. specification, conceptual, development, detailed design, prototyping and final product) are used.

In contrast, lateral dimension, captures hoe

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 customers are deeply engaged in design process. It shows the role customers or end users have in the design work. The categories,’ design for’, ‘design with’, ‘design by’, are used to describe this dimension as suggested by numerous studies (Crow, 2014; Kaulio, 1998).

To capture the different consumer voices, product or service developers should be directly involved in understanding the needs of the consumer. This is because there is no universal consumer voice. They are diverse. Even when the buying unit is one, there may be multiple consumer voices (for example children verses parents). These voices must be considered, reconciled and balanced to develop a truly successful product.

Through direct involvement of the customer in product development, there is better understanding to the customer of the product, how it works, and they are also able to appreciate and have a greater empathy of the products developers. Such practices have given fundamental insights to engineers of highly technical products. This knowledge helps them to recognize a need for easy use of their products, rather than having the latest technology.

Apart from the ‘spoken’ or’ stated’ needs by a customer, there are those ‘unstated’ and ‘unspoken’ needs, which should also be identified (Product Genesis, 2004).

Explain further

This can well be done by a function tree. During this time, excitement opportunities (new capabilities or unspoken needs that will cause customer excitement) are identified by the product designers, marketing or customer support representative. This can be identified by observing how the customers interact, use or maintain the product thus giving the product or service designers opportunities for improvement (Product Genesis, 2004).

It is important that there is regular interaction between development personnel and consumers. Regular consumer input and feedback should be obtained during development. Customer needs have to be translated to technical requirements or specifications (Product Genesis, 2004). QFD is an outstanding way which helps identify basic customer needs should be used to gather useful information from potential customers.

Final Draft: Product Development

When a product or service is being developed or designed, it is important to consider quality into the product. The term quality can be defined as meeting the customers’ needs and providing a superior value. Product and service providers see that the customers’ requirements can be seen on the product. The better a product is able to meet the needs of many consumers the more effective it is.

Using Quality Function Deployment (QFD), service and product designers have a structured way of capturing and defining customer needs or requirements and transforming them into plans to develop products that meet those needs. Customer needs can be captured in various ways: Interviews, observation, direct discussion and surveys. Once the specific customer needs are identified, the information is transformed into product planning matrix.

The information that has been gathered needs to be organized. The mass interviews, requirement documents, market research, and consumer data is distilled into finer details that can identify the most basic customer needs. Data that captures the basic customer requirements is transcribed on cards. These cards are the grouped into related needs.

As products are being designed, the customers’ needs are focused on; from business strategy development, to prototype testing and need analysis. For example, development of a new vaccine would include all the stakeholders who have an impact on its adoption and proliferation. These stakeholders would include doctors, health administrators (both government and non-governmental), lab technicians, nursing personnel and patients. These players will have a critical role in the success of the products implementation.

When customers are involved in product or service development, they are very critical due to the feedback they provide to guide the improvement of the final product. Furthermore, this feedback allows the company to invest in projects with a higher probability of success. It also makes the product more customized for the target group. The adoption of the product is also swifter since such a product is likely to integrate the needs of the customer before launching the product.

Longitudinal and Lateral dimensions of customer involvement

Longitudinal dimensions are those that originate from a study of clients to organizations, for example, patients’ relation to hospitals, (Crow, 2014).  Longitudinal dimension is seen as the point of interaction between the customer and the design process. To understand this dimension, different phrases of a product development project (that is specification, conceptual, development, detailed design, prototyping and final product) are used.

In contrast, lateral dimension, engages consumers more intensively in the design process. It shows the role customers or end users have in the design work. The categories,’ design for’, ‘design with’, ‘design by’, are used to describe this dimension as suggested by numerous studies (Crow, 2014; Kaulio, 1998).

To capture the different consumer voices, product or service developers should be directly involved in understanding the needs of the consumer. This is because there is no universal consumer voice. They are diverse. Even when the buying unit is one, there may be multiple consumer voices (for example children verses parents). These voices must be considered, reconciled and balanced to develop a truly successful product.

Through direct involvement of the customer in product development, there is better understanding to the customer of the product, how it works, and they are also able to appreciate and have a greater empathy of the products developers. Such practices have given fundamental insights to engineers of highly technical products. This knowledge helps them to recognize a need for easy use of their products, rather than having the latest technology.

Apart from the ‘spoken’ or’ stated’ needs by a customer, there are those ‘unstated’ and ‘unspoken’ needs, which should also be identified (Product Genesis, 2004). The unspoken needs comprise of those that consumers have not sought despite them existing.

This can well be done by a function tree. During this time, excitement opportunities (new capabilities or unspoken needs that will cause customer excitement) are identified by the product designers, marketing or customer support representative. This can be identified by observing how the customers interact, use or maintain the product thus giving the product or service designers opportunities for improvement (Product Genesis, 2004).

It is important that there is regular interaction between development personnel and consumers. Regular consumer input and feedback should be obtained during development. Customer needs have to be translated to technical requirements or specifications (Product Genesis, 2004). QFD is an outstanding way which helps identify basic customer needs should be used to gather useful information from potential customers. If employed appropriately, it could become effective in the long-run.

References

Crow, K. (2014). Customer-focused development with QFD. Npd Solutions. Retrieved 16 February 2015, from http://www.npd-solutions.com/qfd.html

Product Genesis,. (2004). Driving Product Development with Customer Needs Value Genesis. Retrieved from http://www.productgenesis.com/archive/PG_Report_Customer_Needs_0402.pdf

Kaulio, M. A. (1998). Customer, consumer and user involvement in product development: A framework and a review of selected methods. Total Quality Management, 9(1), 141-149.