In one line: Satisfying customer needs is the basic measure of product quality, so collect what customers say and do, translate it into need statements free of any solution, and rank them before designing anything.
Core idea
Teams that skip this step build what they think customers want. Ulrich and Eppinger present a structured method [1] that turns raw customer input into a hierarchical, prioritized list of needs. That list becomes the reference for specifications, concept selection and testing. It is the engineering version of listening well.
How it works
- Gather raw data from customers in context:
- interviews (one-on-one is usually more efficient per insight than focus groups)
- focus groups
- observing the product in use
- lead users, who face a need early and intensely
- Interpret raw statements as needs:
- Express what the product must do, not how.
- Be as specific as the raw data allows.
- Use positive phrasing, and write each need as an attribute of the product.
- For example, I hate that it slips off my shoulder becomes the bag stays in place on the shoulder during walking.
- Organize the needs hierarchically: group them into primary needs and the secondary needs that refine them.
- Establish relative importance through team consensus or a follow-up survey, and flag latent needs, which customers may not voice but would delight them if met.
- Reflect on the results: who did we not talk to, and what surprised us?
In practice
A classroom focus group on backpacks makes the method concrete. Customers as different as a student athlete, a literature-and-physics student and a frequent business traveler give very different raw statements about the same product. The interviewer’s job is to keep asking when, why, and walk me through it, not to sell. Product history adds a second lesson: a computer line sold at hundreds of thousands of dollars shows how quickly customers’ needs (and what they will pay) shift. Needs work isn’t done once; it is revisited as the market moves. A useful assignment is to write a customer-needs plan for your own project: who you will talk to, how, and how you’ll record their words.
Questions to ask yourself
- Have I talked to the people who actually use what we build, in the setting where they use it?
- Are our “needs” free of solutions, or have we smuggled the design into them?
- Which latent need could become our differentiator?
Connections
- The research tradition: Voice of the Customer. Related canvas: Value Proposition Canvas.
- Next steps: House of Quality, Product Specifications. Human-centered mindset: Design Thinking.
- Capabilities exercised: Inquiry, Interpersonal Skills, Communicating and Advocacy.
Sources
- Ulrich and Eppinger - Product Design and Development [1]
- Gorry and Westbrook (2011) Can You Hear Me Now [2]