Product Attribute Analysis for Customer Involvement in Value Creation

Abstract

A concept of design by customer (DBC) recently introduced by researchers aims to increase customer satisfaction by opening maximum possible channel for customers to involve in value creation. A comprehensive analysis is needed before applying the concept in order to maximize the opportunity for success. Proposed in this paper is product attribute analysis (PAA), a systematic method to determine the optimum level for customers to involve in defining product specifications so that their fitness to individual customer preference can be achieved without any problem in production process. The analysis starts with identifying the product attributes that customers may focus on and then finding out the corresponding building elements that contribute to the quality of the attributes. A progressive PAA evaluation table is utilized to conduct stage by stage assessments. Based on the table, the flexibility level of the attributes can be identified and the position of CIDPs can be assigned.