Ph.D A DESIGN METHODOLOGY INCORPORATING USER REQUIREMENTS HASSAN ALLI AND PREFERENCES FOR A SUCCESSFUL PRODUCT 2015 A DESIGN METHODOLOGY INCORPORATING USER REQUIREMENTS AND PREFERENCES FOR A SUCCESSFUL PRODUCT HASSAN ALLI FACULTY OF ENGINEERING UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA KUALA LUMPUR 2015 A DESIGN METHODOLOGY INCORPORATING USER REQUIREMENTS AND PREFERENCES FOR A SUCCESSFUL PRODUCT HASSAN ALLI THESIS SUBMITTED IN FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY FACULTY OF ENGINEERING UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA KUALA LUMPUR 2015 i UNIVERSITI MALAYA ORIGINAL LITERARY WORK DECLARATION Name of candidate: Hassan Alli (I.C/Passport No: Registration/Metric No: KHA080080 Name of Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Title of Project Paper/Research Report/Dissertation/Thesis (“this work”): A Design Methodology Incorporating User Requirements and Preferences for a Successful Product Field of Study: Engineering Design I do solemnly and sincerely declare that: (1) I am the sole author/writer of this work; (2) This work is original; (3) Any use of any Work in which copyright exists was done by way of fair dealing and for permitted purposes and any excerpt or extract from, or references to or reproduction of any copyright work has been disclosed expressly and sufficiently and the title of the work and its authorship have been acknowledged in this work; (4) I do not have any actual knowledge nor do I ought reasonably to know that the making of this work constitutes an infringement of any copyright work; (5) I hereby assign all and every rights in the copyright to this work to the University Malaya (“UM”), who henceforth shall be owner of the copyright in this work and that any reproduction or use in any form or by any means whatsoever is prohibited without the written consent of UM having been first had and obtained; (6) I am fully aware that if in the course of making this work I have infringed any copyright whether intentionally or otherwise, I may be subject to legal action or any other action as may be determined by UM Candidate’s Signature Date Subscribed and solemnly declared before, Witness’s Signature Date Name: Designation: ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my warmest gratitude to my Professor, Dr. Hj. Zahari Taha, for his continuous assistance and encouragement throughout my study at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, and after his move to University Malaysia Pahang. He has been a source of inspiration, support and encouragement during the arduous as well as pleasant work. I would also like to thank to Dr. Salwa Hanim Abdul Rashid for her supervision, which was of great value to the development of my understanding of the subject. I also wish to express my appreciation and gratitude to all the administrative and technical staff at the Centre for Product Design and Manufacturing, Department of Mechanical Engineering, who provided such a pleasant working environment. Very special thanks to University Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Bahagian Biasiswa, Jabatan Pengajian Tinggi, Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi Malaysia (KPT) for their invaluable support and sponsorship during my study at PhD level. I am also grateful to everyone who has been involved and contributed their knowledge, ideas, and experience as product designers and users as respondents in this research. Last but not least, I would like to thank my beloved family, especially my wife, Zuraini Ahmad, for being such a wonderful companion and thoughtful partner who has shared the ups and downs throughout the process of completing my study. To my daughters, Nur Hannani Zuhairah, Nur Haziqah Zahraa and my son Muhammad Haziq Zafran, I want you to know that my love is always with you. Hassan Alli iii ABSTRACT The failure of most new products on the market is almost always caused by the inability to integrate user requirements and preferences in the development of a product. It has been proven that involving the user in the development of a new product results in the success of the product. This should be done in the product definition stages of the design process, particularly in the development of the specification and characteristics of the product. Involving the user opens up possibilities for new ideas, improves product innovation, decreases the product risks, prevents it from being irrelevant and makes it pleasurable for the product designer to verify the product requirements. The aim of this research is to develop a design methodology for identifying the product characteristics that satisfy the user requirements and preferences, and increasing the probability of its success. A survey was carried out in order to establish the relationship between the product designer and the user during the product development process. In particular, the study seeks to determine the role of the main stakeholders in the success of a new product. The survey consisted of a questionnaire and structured interviews to explore product development activities and decision-making practices during the product definition stages of the design process. Seven successful product characteristics were established from past successful products; namely, multi-function, advanced technology, good performance, good brand, good design, user-friendly and environmentally friendly. It was also found that there are twenty-seven requirements of product design that can be defined in a product design specification. Thirteen requirements are recognized as functional requirements followed by fourteen aesthetical requirements. Both of which contribute to the establishment of successful product design characteristics. In addition, these requirements serve as an indicator of the degree of user satisfaction. This was proven through a product user survey and technical iv specification analysis. A case study was conducted in which factor analysis of sales performance through a correlation and regression test also showed that the seven characteristics have a strong influence on the success of a mobile smart phone. v ABSTRAK Kegagalan beberapa produk baru di pasaran adalah disebabkan oleh ketidakupayaan untuk mengintegrasikan keperluan pengguna dan keutamaan dalam pembangunan produk baru. Ia terbukti bahawa penglibatan pengguna dalam pembangunan produk baru telah menyumbang kepada kejayaan produk. Ini perlu dilakukan pada peringkat definisi proses reka bentuk, terutama dalam pembangunan spesifikasi dan ciri-ciri produk. Penglibatkan pengguna telah menyumbang kepada penghasilan idea-idea baru, meningkatkan inovasi produk, mengurangkan risiko produk, mengelak daripada penghasilan produk tidak relevan dan memudahkan para pereka bentuk produk mengenalpasti keperluan produk. Tujuan penyelidikan ini adalah untuk membangunkan satu methodologi untuk mengenal pasti ciri-ciri produk yang memenuhi keperluan dan citarasa pengguna, dan meningkatkan kebarangkalian kejayaan sesuatu produk. Satu kajian telah dijalankan dalam usaha untuk mewujudkan hubungan antara pereka bentuk produk dan pengguna semasa proses pembangunan produk. Khususnya, ia bertujuan untuk menentukan peranan pihak berkepentingan utama dalam kejayaan produk baharu. Kaji selidik ini terdiri daripada soal selidik dan temu bual berstruktur untuk mengenalpasti aktiviti-aktiviti pembangunan produk dan amalan membuat keputusan diperingkat definisi proses reka bentuk. Tujuh ciri-ciri reka bentuk produk berjaya telah dikenalpasti berdasarkan kejayaan produk terdahulu iaitu pelbagai fungsi, teknologi canggih, prestasi yang baik, jenama yang baik, reka bentuk yang baik, mesra pengguna dan mesra alam. Terdapat juga dua puluh tujuh keperluan reka bentuk produk yang menentukan spesifikasi sesuatu produk. Tiga belas keperluan telah dikenalipasti sebagai keperluan fungsi diikuti oleh 14 keperluan estetika. Kedua-dua mereka menyumbang kepada pengukuhan ciri-ciri reka bentuk produk berjaya. Di samping itu, keperluan-keperluan ini adalah menjadi sebagai penunjuk kepada tahap vi kepuasan pengguna. Ini terbukti melalui kajian produk pengguna dan analisis spesifikasi teknikal. Satu kajian kes telah dijalankan untuk menganalisa faktor prestasi jualan melalui korelasi dan ujian regresi yang juga telah menunjukkan bahawa tujuh ciri-ciri tersebut mempunyai pengaruh yang kuat terhadap kejayaan kepada telefon pintar mudahalih. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ORIGINAL LITERARY WORK DECLARATION ........................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................. iii ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... iv ABSTRAK ......................................................................................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ xii LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................... xiii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................... xv LIST OF APPENDICES ................................................................................................ xvi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Research Background ......................................................................................... 1 1.3 Aim ..................................................................................................................... 2 1.3.1 Research Objectives .................................................................................... 2 1.3.2 Scope and Area of Research ....................................................................... 3 1.3.3 Research Contributions ............................................................................... 3 1.4 Outline of the Thesis .......................................................................................... 4 CHAPTER 2 NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT ...................................................... 7 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 7 2.2 New Product Development ................................................................................ 7 2.2.1 The Design Process ..................................................................................... 8 2.2.2 Product Definition Stage of the Design Process ....................................... 11 2.3 Successful Product Design ............................................................................... 11 2.3.1 The Role of the Users in a Successful Product ......................................... 12 2.3.2 Understanding User Behavior ................................................................... 13 2.3.3 User Involvement in the Product Development ........................................ 15 2.4 The Development of Product Characteristics ................................................... 16 2.4.1 Requirements of Product Design .............................................................. 17 2.4.2 Functional and Aesthetical Requirements of Product Design .................. 18 2.4.3 Preferences of Product Design .................................................................. 20 2.5 Incorporating Product Designer Decisions and User Requirements ................ 21 2.5.1 The Product Designer-User Collaboration ................................................ 21 2.5.2 Existing Methods in the Product Development Process ........................... 23 viii