Assignment #3

WHY: The purpose of this assignment is to implement the textbook’s five step process to identify customer needs.

WHAT: Learning from the customer is one of the most important tasks for a new product development Student. The following deliverable will help to ensure that the "Voice of the Customer" (VOC) is heard throughout all stages of your development effort (even after this class concludes). For the methods, use what you read in Ulrich and Eppinger Chapter 5 on identifying customer needs, specifically the five step process starting on page 75.

Customer Needs Report

Using the 5 step process outlined in Ulrich and Eppinger Chapter 5 as a guide, conduct, analyze and report on in-depth interviews and observations. Interviewees can include prospective users of the product as well as individuals outside the company who may influence the purchase and use of the proposed product. The purpose of this round is to determine customer needs rather than to determine what customers think of possible solutions to the need. This aspect will be particularly difficult in this class since you have already chosen a product and that product may be a new creation rather than an improvement to an existing product. So, you will have to create your own method of capturing and analyzing information from customers about the need associated with the product.

The report should describe the objectives of the research and should describe the research methods you used. Include information on who you interviewed and how many you interviewed. The report should state the results of the research, describing what was being said and why, including highlighting differences in opinion. The report should provide needs statements that clearly describe customer needs, based on the data from the research.

In an appendix to the report, include a table with an entry for each interview (job title or role of interviewee, when, where) and the interview guide that was used. A minimum of five (5) classmates will be interviewed.

You do not have to follow the textbook examples exactly. Consult other market research material to customize your methods as needed.

Deliverables

A PDF report that will be read by your client (instructor).

WHO: This is an individual project. However, you will seek input from classmates (playing the part of the customer). A minimum of five (5) classmates shall be interviewed.

WHEN: This assignment is due by (before) 1 pm on Monday 10/9/17