Translating Customer Needs
Design function should provide for the translation of
customers’ needs from the product brief into technical specifications of
products, materials, processes and services.
This should result in a product that provides customer
satisfaction at an acceptable price that enables a satisfactory return on
investment for the organization and takes care of other stakeholders’ needs.
The product design and specification should be such that the
product (including service) is easily productable, verifiable and controllable
under the proposed production, operational and capable of being installed.
For translating the customer needs following aspects should
be taken into consideration:
The marketing function should find out and provide the
quality requirements for the product and should;
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Determine the need for a product or service.
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Accurately define the market demand and sector with details of grade, quantity,
price and time estimate of the product and service.
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Accurately determine the customer requirements by review of contract or market
needs.
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Communicate all customer requirements to production planning/design functions
of the company.
Product brief is formal statement or outline of the product
requirements. It should be prepared by the marketing function and provided to
design function.
Product brief translates customer requirements and
expectations to a preliminary set of specifications as the basis for subsequent
design work. Product brief should include:
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Performance characteristics (environment and usage conditions, reliability,
etc.);
- Sensory
characteristics such as style, color, taste, smell, etc.;
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Installation configuration;
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Applicable standards and statutory regulations;
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Packaging requirements;
- Quality
assurance and verification.
