Observe someone performing an everyday task

Reference no: EM132315699

Textbook - Product Design and Development, Fifth Edition, Author - Karl T. Ulrich by Steven D. Eppinger. ISBN 978-0-07-340477-6.

Chapter 5 - Identifying Customer Needs

Exercises -

1. Translate the following customer statements about a student book bag into proper needs statements:

a. "See how the leather on the bottom of the bag is all scratched; it's ugly."

b. "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."

c. "This bag is my life; if I lose it I'm in big trouble."

d. "There's nothing worse than a banana that's been squished by the edge of a textbook."

e. "I never use both straps on my knapsack; I just sling it over one shoulder."

2. Observe someone performing an everyday task. (Ideally, you should choose a task for which you can observe different users performing the task repeatedly.) Identify frustrations and difficulties encountered by these people. Identify the latent customer needs.

3. Choose a product that continually annoys you. Identify the needs the developers of this product missed. Why do you think these needs were not met? Do you think the developers deliberately ignored these needs?

Thought Questions -

1. One of the reasons the method is effective is that it involves the entire development team. Unfortunately, the method can become unwieldy with a team of more than 10 people. How might you modify the method to maximize involvement yet maintain a focused and decisive effort given a large development team?

2. Can the process of identifying customer needs lead to the creation of innovative product concepts? In what ways? Could a structured process of identifying customer needs lead to a fundamentally new product concept like the Post-it Note?

Reference no: EM132315699

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