Design Project Management

Design Project Management Voice of the Customer: Objective Tree and Customer Needs Rochester Institute of Technology Mechanical Engineering Department Rochester, NY USA

Session Objectives • Follow-up on interpreting customer needs • Objective Trees • Practice writing and grouping needs • Work time: interpret interview data, conduct and summarize background research • Report back: progress on VOC

Questions…

Session Objectives • Follow-up on interpreting customer needs • Practice writing needs • Objective Trees • Work time: interpret interview data, conduct and summarize background research • Report back: progress on VOC

Needs Assessment • Gather information • In-progress – interviews, observations, research • Interpret raw data • Will practice today • Organize needs • Affinity diagrams, objective tree – will review today • Establish relative importance • Customer feedback – will provide templates for gathering this next week. • Reflect

Interpret Raw Data • What, not how • Express the need as specifically as the raw data • Use positive statements, not negative • Express the need as an attribute of the product • Avoid “must”, “should”, or other words that could imply importance You MUST interpret the customer’s statements eventually, just not during the interview! From Ulrich and Eppinger

What, not How • Ex: “Why don’t you put protective shields around the battery contacts?” • Ex: “Can you make the shopping cart out of plastic? Then it would be easier to push.” From Ulrich and Eppinger

What, not How • Wrong: “The screwdriver battery contacts are covered by a plastic sliding door.” • Right: “The screwdriver battery is protected from accidental shorting.” • Wrong: “Shopping car is made out of plastic.” • Right: “Shopping cart is easy to push.” From Ulrich and Eppinger

Maintain Level of Specificity • Ex: “I drop my screwdriver all the time.” • Ex: “We get a lot of customer complaints about shopping carts having wobbly wheels.” From Ulrich and Eppinger

Maintain Level of Specificity • Wrong: The screwdriver is rugged.” • Right: “The screwdriver operates normally after repeated dropping.” • Wrong: “Reduce number of customer complaints about shopping carts.” • Right: “Reduce number of customer complaints about shopping carts with wobbly wheels.” From Ulrich and Eppinger

Positive, not Negative • Ex: “It doesn’t matter if it’s raining; I still need to work outside on Saturdays.” • Ex: “I hate it when I get home and my bananas are all bruised.” From Ulrich and Eppinger

Positive, not Negative • Wrong: “The screwdriver is not disabled by the rain.” • Right: “The screwdriver operates normally in the rain.” • Wrong: “The shopping cart does not damage food.” • Right: “The shopping cart stores food safely.” From Ulrich and Eppinger

Attribute of the Product • Ex: “I’d like to charge my battery from my cigarette lighter.” • Ex: “Some aisles are too narrow for the carts they have now.” From Ulrich and Eppinger

Attribute of the Product • Wrong: “An automobile cigarette lighter adapter can charge the screwdriver battery.” • Right:“The screwdriver can be charged from an automobile cigarette lighter.” • Wrong: “The store aisles are big enough for the cart.” • Right: “The carts fit through store aisles.” From Ulrich and Eppinger

Avoid Assigning Importance • Ex: “I hate it when I don’t know how much juice is left in the batteries of my cordless tools.” • Ex: “I’d love a place to keep my coffee cup while I shop.” From Ulrich and Eppinger

Avoid Assigning Importance • Wrong: “The screwdriver should provide an indication of the energy level of the battery.” • Right: “The screwdriver provides an indication of the energy level of the battery.” • Wrong: “The shopping cart should provide a space for a coffee cup.” • Right: “The shopping cart provides a space for a coffee cup.” From Ulrich and Eppinger

DISCLAIMER • Reflect on your needs – do they make sense? • If there were a one-size-fits-all mechanical formula for defining a design problem, we’d have computers do it. • This applies to all of DPM! • If something doesn’t make sense, or you don’t understand why you’re doing it, ASK!

Excerpt from interview • From Otto & Wood’s Product Design • Discuss this interview within your group and extract a few customer needs from the statements. • Have you followed the guidelines? • Your thoughts on the process? [handout]

Book: The customer needs a clipper that is/has: • Reasonably compact • Striking appearance • Lightweight • Easy to open file • File at an angle • Comfortable to file with • Easy to close file • Easy to open clipper • Easy to align blade • Low clipping squeeze force

Objective Tree • Heirarchy of needs • Lowest level: explicit list of customer needs • Next level: objective categories (themes) • Highest level: Overall project objective • Opportunity to check your work: • Does the overall project objective actually require all the customer needs listed? • Are there elements of the overall project objective that have not been captured in an individual needs statement?

Project Objective • The Nazareth College Physical Therapy Clinic would like a balance training video game that will recognize varying movements and provide feedback to patients on their progress, as well as more specific feedback to the therapist. The game should be fun and keep the patients’ interest.

Sorting through customer needs • Needs can separate into several common categories: • Economics (cost) • Project scope (time frame, size of team) • Technology (device features and performance) • Resources (people, equipment, time) • Safety • Constraints (e.g., regulations from ADA, FDA, FAA, …)

Recall process: • Gather information • Interpret raw data • Organize needs (once you have interpreted and sorted your interview data and customer needs statements) • Establish relative importance • Reflect

Questions?

Session Objectives • Follow-up on interpreting customer needs • Practice writing needs • Objective Trees • Work time • Report back: progress on VOC

Observations from Work Time • “Customer was all over the place – we need to focus him/her.” • You’re not alone! Be patient, persistent, and professional. • Could you ask your questions differently to get at the type of answer you’re seeking? • Do you need to explain the scope of your project and ask that the customer prioritize focus areas?

More observations • “I heard back from [person], and she said they won’t know anything for another three weeks.” • You’re not alone! Be patient, persistent, and professional. • Try asking for less information. Your contact may think you know more than you do. Politely remind them that you are just learning about the project and would appreciate any information they can give you at this point, even if it may change in the future. • Is there another stakeholder you could contact to gather similar (if not exactly representative of your project) information?

More observations • “I haven’t heard back from [person].” • You’re not alone! Be patient, persistent, and professional. • Send a friendly reminder. Copy the instructor and/or your guide so we know you’re trying to contact the stakeholder. • Is there another stakeholder you could contact to gather similar (if not exactly representative of your project) information?

More observations • “Yeah, we’re going to do that.” • Use your class work time effectively – all team members in one place at the same time! • Plan work now to avoid duplication of effort in between class periods. • Assign specific tasks to individuals • Document your efforts and plans – take notes, post to EDGE, make sure the information is available.

More observations • So, my team only has to turn in 2 research articles and 1 interview for Friday? • Technically, your team doesn’t HAVE to turn in anything, since this is a 0-point Dropbox assignment. But I wouldn’t recommend that… • We don’t expect the same output from a 1-person team that we do from a 9-person team. • Goal of “assignment” is to keep you moving forward. You have a presentation in 2-1/2 weeks on your project background and voice of the customer. If you haven’t met Friday’s bar by Friday, you will be extremely busy during the next 2 weeks!

Design Project Management