Tag Archives: customer focus

Designing of Products and Services

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Last week I posted a piece on using a form, fit and function analysis in reverse engineering. This type of analysis can also be used in product or service design. The starting point is different, but the analysis works the same way. In reverse engineering, the form, fit and function analysis starts with a product or service and works backward to determine how something works. In the design of products and services the process starts with a customer need and works toward a solution.

The questions that need to be answered in design work are similar to the reverse engineering questions. The need to repeat the steps of the analysis is also similar.  The main difference is that in reverse engineering, the product or service is the focus, but in design, the customer is the focus.

There are areas of overlap in a form, fit and function analysis. This is the natural result of moving through the form, fit and function steps in the analysis process. Additionally, the steps are cyclic in that the analysis is repeated with increasing levels of detail. This “drilling down” to more granular knowledge of how something works, or should work, allows for a more robust design of a new, or refined, product or service.

As in the previous post, the questions in each category are framed around the interrogative, “What”. To repeat the analysis cycle to gain better detail, the “why” must also be discovered.  Also, a mind map tool is useful in documenting progress.

Form:

  • What customer need is the product or service addressing?
  • What does a solution look like to the customer?
  • What is the assumed skill level of the user of the product or service?
  • What tools and knowledge are typically, easily, at hand for the customer to use with the product or service?
  • What is the history of the customer need?
  • What other solutions are already available to meet the customer’s need?

Fit:

  • In what specific situation(s) is the product or service intended to be used?
  • What are the specific features of the product or service that the customer will consider critical to quality?
  • Who will use this product or service? (Who is the customer?)

Function:

  • Looking at the product or service’s internal processes, what will it do?
  • Looking that product or service’s internal processes, how does it do it?

The above questions are a starting point and will get more specific as more knowledge is gained. It is simply a matter repeating the analysis cycle until it makes sense to move forward on a prescribed course of action.

There is a lot more detail to the form, fit and function method of designing products and services than this post can cover. To learn more, check out my Lean Six Sigma book titled, “Lean and Mean Process Improvement”.

Lean Six Sigma Customer Focus

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We hear all the time that we must be customer focused, but what does that mean? Let me give you the short answer.  First, you have to know who your customers are.  Second, you need to know the needs and desires of your customers. And third, you need to have a plan to meet those needs and desires.

The first mistake we typically make is to worry about who is supposed to be providing a product or service to us.  It is totally counter productive to look at your job from the prospective of who you are a customer to.  To see yourself as the customer. This is a selfish perspective that will sub-optimize your performance. Believe it or not, it will make your job harder.

You can only improve business processes by reversing the direction of your vision. You must look instead at who your customers are.  Being customer focused is at the core of every successful business and relationship. Being inwardly focused is at the core of every business failure and personal failure.

A customer is anyone to whom you provide a product or service. Basically, customers come in two flavors. Internal and external.  We typically know who our external customers are, because that is the orientation of our thinking. At the same time, though, we typically lose site of who our internal customers are.  Internal customers are those we work with.  The person in the next cubicle or another department.

To start the process of becoming customer focused, create a list of who you think your customers are (include your family and significant others). Don’t worry about being wrong, just base it upon your opinion.  Next to each customer, list what product or service you provide them.

When ready, show your listing to your customers and ask them to rate your performance.  If they are honest, you probably won’t have too many surprises. At the same time, you will probably not like what you hear. We generally know how good or bad of job we are doing.  Don’t be defensive. Just like beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, quality is in the eyes of the customer.

Once this is done, answer the following questions.

If taking care of my customer’s needs (instead of my own), in a timely and appropriate manner, became the focus of my work, what would change about my work (what would I do differently)?

If this happened, how would you measure how successful your day was?

How would your perception of “what is a good day” and “what is a bad day” change?

The profound fact here is that if everyone were to take care of their customer’s needs (internal and external), than everyone’s needs would be met. No one would feel as if they were not given appropriate support. It becomes a seamless circle where no one gets left out.

To ensure that you get what you need, you have to first ensure that your customer’s get what they need.

Customer Focus, From Lean and Mean Process Improvement

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Two aspects of customer satisfaction affect every business: satisfaction with the process output and satisfaction with the service surrounding it. In the service industry, businesses understand that providing quality service is a key to customer satisfaction. At the same time, though, they must have concern about the service product. For example, consider receiving exceptional customer service from an associate at a retail outlet, only to find the selection of merchandise too limited. The result is that you may choose a different retail outlet on your next shopping trip.

Conversely, what happens when you receive very bad customer service at a different retail outlet, which happens to have a very wide selection of merchandise? Even though you can find what you need, you will probably decide not to do business with them in the future.

Many product manufacturers miss this connection as well. An edge in technology or functionality gives a competitive advantage in the market place. Although this physical advantage is important, if the quality of service provided to the customer is poor, it will likely negate the advantage. For example, you would probably not rush to purchase a technically superior automobile from a supplier known for poor service after the sale.

To summarize, in order to improve customer satisfaction in a meaningful way, the business needs to distinguish between the process that provides the service and the process that provides the product. Without this distinction, it is easy to blame defects on the wrong process, or to fail to recognize that the other process exists.

Specifically, the service industry must recognize that their customers see a product component associated with the service they receive, while the manufacturing industry must recognize that their customers see a service component associated with the product they receive.