Thesis-2000-Elliott.pdf (56.49 MB)
A comparative study of factors affecting product quality and customer needs compliance in the new product development process
thesis
posted on 2010-11-25, 14:16 authored by Amanda C. ElliottTo succeed and survive in competitive markets, products need to be of the desired
quality. Quality is how well the product, in its entirety, satisfies the needs of the
intended customers. With products in industrial markets, there are many different types of customers to satisfy.
Research has been published that is of general use to help define the New Product
Development (NPD) process and the management of its activities and this was useful
as a basis for this research study. However, little previous work is available that
details the specific aspect of designing for customer needs compliance.
An exploratory investigation, using analysis of selected cases and experience surveys,
was undertaken to help direct conceptual work. A conceptual model was developed to
help describe the NPD process and customer needs compliance. The hypotheses that
guided the main study sought to understand the perceptions which the design team has
of the product in terms of different customer needs. They also aimed to determine
how information management during NPD may affect the final design and,
consequently, the quality of the product.
With the objective of drawing conclusions across the four companies involved in the
main study, collection methods and data analysis provided quantitative results on what
is essentially qualitative types of information.
The findings conclude that each of the companies do perceive a difference in the
needs of the customers between different product types. However, they also imply
that specific types of customers have similar needs, no matter what types of products
are involved. With a small set of respondents in each company, no evidence was
found to suggest that the different perceptions the people involved in the design and
development of the product had could be attributed to the functional, managerial or
customer involvement groupings under investigation. However, there was some
evidence that customer needs compliance may be affected by the way the company
handled its information management during the NPD process.
History
School
- Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering
Publisher
© Amanda C. ElliottPublication date
2000Notes
A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University.EThOS Persistent ID
uk.bl.ethos.343677Language
- en