Product Management

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Product Management

• The Customer

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References

• Marketing - Australia New ZealandP Kotler, P
  Chandler, L Brown, S Adam3rd Ed. 1994 Chapter 1

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Why is this important?

• The Customer is the source of all revenue
• The Customer is the evaluator of your product
• The Customer is the reason you have a job

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Who is the Customer?

• Someone who pays to derive benefit from the
  Product.
• Who makes the decision?
• Who pays?
• Who uses?

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Who is the Customer?

• The End User
• The Purchasing Officer
• The Reseller
• The Company Management

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Example - Computer Software

• End User - clerk in large enterprise
• No face-to-face contact
• Product sold to MIS Dept
• Purchaser - MIS officer
• User - clerk

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Example - Computer Software

• Needs of Purchaser-
• Meets performance spec
• Fits into computer environment
• Provides required management data and reports
• good technical support
• established and viable supplier
• cost
• easy to use

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Example - Computer Software

• Needs of User-
• Easy to use
• Provides required management data and reports
• Good technical support
• High reliability

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Example - in-tractor computer

• End user is farmer
• Product introduced through local agent, but
• likely direct contact between developer and user

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Example - in-tractor computer

• Needs of User-
• Does the job
• Improves productivity
• Reliable
• Good technical support
• Low cost

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Example - in-tractor computer

• Needs of Agent-
• No hassles (the farmer is happy)
• Good profit margin
• Sell and forget
• Gives good reputation

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The Customer as a System
The CustomersEnvironment
Our Environment
Specs
User
Agents
Specifier
Purchaser
Re-sellers
Consultants
The CustomersOrganisation
Our Organisation
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The Customer and the Product

• The Customer knows what he/she wants
• In their own terms
• Often in a vague way
• Often only after being shown what is possible

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The Customer and the Product

• The Supplier must show the Customer that the
  Product is what they want, by
• Demonstration
• Education
• Convincing
• Changing the Product

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The Customers Right

• Can always refuse to buy the Product
• Can be ignorant, ill-advised, lacking in taste or
  stupid BUT NOT WRONG!
• 10 The Customer is always right
• 20 IF(the Customer is wrong) GOTO 10
• 30 Continue

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The Happy Customer

• Your best advertisement
• Provides repeat business
• Helps with product development

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The End User

• Good performance from the Product
• Ease of use
• Reliability
• Quality
• Image
• Enduring and helpful support

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The Re-seller

• No hassles
• No complaints
• No returns
• Easy follow-on sales
• Good profit margin
• Good support

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Inside the Customers Mind

• Designing a product for the Customer
• Need to know how the Customer thinks
• Think of the Customer system
• How does this lead to product specification?

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Needs

• Needs of End user and Re-seller for-
• Pesticide spray controller
• Anti-tank missile
• Ghetto blaster radio
• Sports shoe

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Specifying the Product

• Function
• Behaviour
• Ilities
• Commercial issues
• Other issues-
• Legal
• OHS

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Environment of Use

• Everything which happens to the product, from
  leaving the factory to arriving on the scrap heap
  to ultimate degradation.
• See also discussion of Product Life Cycle.

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Warehousing

• Components
• Finished goods
• Transport trauma
• Exposure to weather
• Damage from other goods
• Pilferage
• Pressure and temperature extremes

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User commissioning

• Product ineffective
• Wrong assembly
• Wrong user actions
• Wrong power supply
• In Use
• Vibration, dust, water, humidity, sunlight
• Abuse

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Product in Use

• Servicing, accessibility
• Ease of assembly/disassembly
• Traps for the unwary
• Spares availability and fitment
• Re-calibration

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End of life

• Toxic waste
• Sharps/danger
• Bulk
• Biodegradability
• Unsightly
• Smells
• Environmental damage

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Effect on Product Design

• Ergonomics
• Clear and logical layout
• Tie-down, protection
• Modular design
• Short-life parts readily replaced
• Strength and impact resistance
• Benign failure modes
• Foolproof connections
• Dont outsmart service people

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Custom vs Commercial

• Custom products
• Made to Order (Specification)
• Low commercial risk
• RD recouped immediately
• Generally low volume
• Off the shelf components
• Labour and skill intensive
• Low tooling and set-up

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Typical Company

• Small to Medium
• Mainly skilled, technical people
• Low financial mass
• Technology company
• Laboratory more than factory
• Emphasis on Product rather than Production

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Commercial Products

• Made for general sale
• High commercial risk
• RD recouped from sales (long term)
• High volume purpose designed components
• Capital intensive
• Less skill intensive
• High tooling and set-up low part cost

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Typical Company

• Medium to Large
• Factory employing low tech skilled people
• Large financial mass
• Marketer company
• Emphasis on Production rather than Product

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Value for Money

• The Quality is remembered long after the price
  is forgotten.

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Value for Money

• The User expects
• Function
• Reliability
• Ease of Use
• Quality
• All depend upon Engineering but the User is
  unaware of the engineering factors.

• How does User perceive quality
• Appearance
• Brand name
• Feel
• Response/feedback

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Points to Ponder

• Dont expect engineering cleverness to mean much
  to the Customer
• Dont under-rate or denigrate appearance, feel
  and related aesthetic factors.

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Competition

• Competitors in the marketplace represent Threats
  and Opportunities

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Competition

• Threats
• Eats into sales reduced numbers sold
• Can force price reduction lower profit
• Can lead to premature obsolescence

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Competition

• Opportunities
• Contributes to customer education
• Advances common areas of technology
• Reinforces need for engineers in our company
• Provides an additional training ground
• Helps develop a support industry
• Helps develop political recognition of industry

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Industrial Design

• Industrial Design is a profession
• Can get a B.Des(Industrial) at UniSA
• Industrial Designer - Product Architect
• Bridge between end user and product engineer
• Blend of
• Art
• Aesthetics
• Ergonomics
• Technology

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Art in Product Design

• Art presents ideas in new form greater meaning
• Picture omits irrelevant to highlight important
• Sculpture reflects feeling - no regard for
  structure
• Art extracts essence and presents it to observer

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Art in Product Design

• Can be used to help User understand Product
• Presents important info in culturally meaningful
  way
• Controls
• Disassembly cues
• Output displays
• Product shape

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Aesthetics

• One step on from art application
• Art not always meant to make observer feel good
• Applied Aesthetics generally does, through
• Artistic harmony
• Comfort
• Good feelings

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Shape

• Presents a statement of the Product
• American cars vs European
• Bang Olufsen vs Technix
• AK47 vs M16
• Shape makes it easier for the user to identify
  the product with his/her needs and image

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Colour

• Complements shape to make Product look nice
• Identifies and highlights significant features
• Reflects fashion
• Helps place the product in today
• Subtle elements have a great effect on feelings
  of quality, often at no cost penalty to the
  Product

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Feel

• Much design and development goes into feel
• Door closing on Mercedes
• Feel of computer keyboard operation
• Instrument control knobs
• Telephone
• Applied aesthetics help product blend with use
  environment. Helps User to feel comfortable with
  the Product. Enhances self-image.

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Ergonomics

• Engineering for People
• Physical issues
• Psychological issues

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Ergonomics

• Physical issues
• Can I fit?
• Can I reach?
• Can I see?
• Is it within my strength capability?
• People shapes and sizes well documentedvary
  with populations and between sexes.CAD packages.

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Ergonomics

• Related to ease of use
• Comfort
• RSI
• Safety
• Effective working

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Ergonomics

• Psychological Issues
• Clues and cues recognisable to user warnings
• Controls and their meanings
• Sounds
• Feedback
• Very culturally affected (Tech, not National)
• Users expect feedback
• Users expect things to work in expected ways

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I D Technology

• Product Implementation Technologies
• Basically, what is achievable with electronics
• Display technology
• Manufacturing technology affecting the Product
• Finishing and decorating

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I.D. Technology

• User related factors
• Colour range
• Surface finish and feel
• Smell
• Scuff and mar resistance

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Special I D Skills

• In addition to product design, ID has a special
  toolkit related to the work.
• User Interfacing
• Specifying the Product as the User sees it
• Specifying the way the User wants to use it
• Providing link between Marketing and Engineering

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Special I D Skills

• Graphic Presentation
• Realistic, artistic product sketches
• Helps non-engineers understand the Product
  quickly
• Presentation to Board, Management, Marketing
• Model Making
• Physical equivalent of sketches
• Working model - appearance model
• Materials wood, plastics, metal, cardboard

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Special I D Skills

• Presentation Skills - getting the message across
• Reporting
• Speaking
• Personal presentation
• Presentation media and methods
• Graphics

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Special I D Skills

• ID forms essential link between engineering and
  people-oriented products
• All product designers do industrial design
• Trained IDs usually do it better

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Working with Industrial Designer

• Bring in early to the Product Team
• Use to develop product concept
• Use to present concepts for Mgmt approval
• Use developing concept to guide team efforts
• Accept ID advice in special skill areas

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Conclusions

• The Customer is the reason you are employed
• Customers react less to Engineering than to
  Feelings
• Different products and markets require different
  approaches to Product Design
• Industrial Design can provide an important link
  between Engineering and the Customer