Thousands of resources, it seems, all present some variation of the same information.
However, it is never presented in the form you need. Before beginning any research proj- ect, it is important to plan the process. Information collection is usually one of the first steps, and traditionally, it was often anticipated with the same enthusiasm as a root canal.
However, this is changing, as modern engineers have realized that it is an essential element of the design process if they wish to remain competitive in a global market. For the engi- neering student, product/market research often requires the use of unfamiliar information sources and often produces huge quantities of information. It is important that engineering skills be applied when planning and dealing with this deluge. These skills include
• Critical thinking
• Strategy
• Analysis
• Time management (it always takes longer than you think)
In the product development process, market research is conducted initially to assess market potential, market segments, and product opportunities and to provide production cost estimates and information on product cost, sales potential, industry trends, and cus- tomer needs and expectations. The search has the following steps:
1. Define the Problem 2. Develop a Strategy
3. Organize and check the information gathered
3.4.1 Define the Problem
Knowing what to look for is very important before you start gathering information. This can be accomplished by answering questions similar to the following.
a. Are you developing a new product or solving a problem in an existing product?
Remember, you are not providing a solution, you are redefining a problem.
b. Who are your customers, and why would they want/need to buy the product (e.g., time saver, utility, unique value)?
c. What are the main needs of these customers?
1Information provided in this section is based on Suzanne Weiner’s work “A New Look at Information Literacy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.” Presentation at the ASEE Conference, Chicago, IL, 1997.
d. In one sentence and in your own words (abstraction of the need statement), define the problem at hand.
e. How are you going to go about getting your product to customers (e.g., develop- ment cost, time, manufacturing, production investment, etc.)?
Establishing who your customers are is one of the most important initial steps that a designer needs to take. As mentioned in Section 1.4, one of the vital concepts to grasp is that customers are not only the end users. Customers of a product are everyone who will deal with the product at some stage during its lifetime. This includes the person who will manufacture the product, the person who will sell the product, the person who will service the product, the person who will maintain the product during its lifetime in opera- tion, etc. Section 1.4 provided an example of possible customers of an airplane. Consider another example: Discuss with your colleagues who the possible customers of a golf cart are. Here are a few ideas to start you off.
• The golf player
• The golf country club (Institution)
• The transportation company that will transport the cart
• The golf club (Equipment) manufacturers for storage of their clubs in the cart
Once all possible customers have been identified, their needs should be considered, and more often than not, their needs can conflict with each other. It is the responsibility of the designer to recognize all of these needs in a prioritized manner and later arrive at a fea- sible solution that is a an optimal combination of all these ‘desires’. One good way to iden- tify the needs in a prioritized manner is to conduct a market survey. There are a number ways in which this can be carried out.
1. Focus group meetings 2. Telephone interviews 3. One-on-one interviews 4. Questionnaires
Each method cited has its advantages and disadvantages. In a focus group meeting, a group of 6 to 12 potential ‘customers’ meet and discuss their needs and other aspects of the product. If the product already exists, the discussion usually focuses on a ‘satisfaction’
based feedback in terms of what they liked, what they disliked, and what they would like to see improved. However, for a new product, the discussion usually focuses on their wishes and desires in a particular market segment, what they would like to see introduced to improve their lives, or what current problems exist in the similar products on the mar- ket. It is important to ensure that any potential solutions are filtered out at this stage and converted into a neutral need. However, this method is an expensive process, and the sample size is relatively small. It is however a good starting point and is frequently used as a precursor to sending out a larger survey in the form of questionnaires.
Telephone and one-on-one interviews can eliminate some of the ambiguities that arise for questionnaires. However, they are very expensive to run and also have a potential
disadvantage of the interviewer ‘leading’ the interview and causing bias. For example, a question can be asked: “Would you really walk a long distance in the cold, rainy weather, in the middle of rush hour to get to your office early in the morning, or would you prefer taking the cheap, fast, and comfortable public transport?” An unbiased question could be
“What is your preferred mode of transport to your office in the morning?”
The questionnaire format is one of the most popular survey methods, as it involves taking the opinion of a large number of people (sample) at a relatively low cost. It is impor- tant to construct a questionnaire carefully in order to provide meaningful, useful, and unbi- ased feedback. Here are some points to follow when creating a questionnaire:
• Develop a standard set of questions. The main goal of a questionnaire is to ascertain potential needs, problems, likes, and dislikes. It is useful at this stage to also identify which (if any) market segment would be most interested in the product as well as to gain an estimate of how much they would be willing to spend.
• Ensure that the questionnaire is easy to read and complete. Use simple language and simple formatting. Try to keep the writing to a minimum, and offer multiple choice questions or yes/no answers where possible. Leave an opportunity for writ- ing for those who wish to do so.
• Identify the demographic you want to target. Mailing lists can be purchased from market research companies.
• Test the questionnaire initially on a pilot sample (friends, family, or small group of people) before sending it out to the entire sample. This is an opportunity to iron out any ambiguous questions and to observe whether or not you are obtaining the desired information.
• Introduce only one issue per question.
• Similar to interviews, you do not want to give your questions a bias. Ensure all questions are unbiased.
• Avoid negative questions, which cause confusion. For example, a question such as
“Do you not like to travel in the morning” may result in the answer “No, I do not like to travel in the morning”. Reading this carefully reveals a double-negative answer which means “I do like to travel in the morning.”
• Ask a few conflicting questions and compare the answers to ensure that the person who has completed the questionnaire actually read the questions. For example ask
“Do you ALWAYS switch off the electricity from the mains?” Later on ask “Do you forget to switch off the electricity from the mains?” If the person completing the questionnaire replied the same yes or no to both questions, then this particular feedback is not reliable.
3.4.2 Develop a Strategy
It is important to set a plan for the search process. Looking through every reference book in a library (merely hoping to find the right piece of information) will inevitably lead to an inefficient waste of time. It is helpful first to identify what pieces of information may be needed, and then to select where to begin the search.
Identify KeywordsIt is important to have some relevant terms with which to begin the search.
Write a PlanIt is important to realize that the search process is not linear. For example, while searching the business literature for information on industry trends, you may come across the text of an interview that directly identifies some customer needs for the product under investigation. This information can be very useful if properly contextualized. Thus, it is important to know the framework within which you are working.
3.4.3 Organize and Check the Information Gathered
The following list can be used in two ways: as a planning tool for information collection or as a checklist for locating relevant information.
a. Products
i. Product names ii. Patents iii. Pricing
iv. Parts breakdown v. Product features vi. Development time b. Companies
i. Major players
ii. Company financials for major players
• Annual reports—Yearly record of a publicly held company’s financial con- dition. Information such as the company’s balance sheet, income, and cash flow statements are included.
• 10K reports—This is a more detailed version of the annual report and is the official annual business and financial report filed by public companies with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The report contains detailed financial information, a business summary, a list of properties, subsidiaries, legal proceedings, etc.
c. Industry i. Trends ii. Labor costs
iii. Market-size industry facts—Pieces of information gained from various sources that help to clarify anything about the industry
d. Market information i. Market reports
ii. Market share of major companies in industry iii. Target markets of major competitors
iv. Demographics
• Age
• Geographic location
• Gender
• Political/social/cultural factors e. Consumer trends