Concept Generation

Question 1

Where are the 2 areas in which information can be found:

Answer 1

Internally or Externally

Question 2

Give some examples of where information can be found internally:

Answer 2

Baker & Hart, 1999

• Customer services
• R&D
• Production
• Marketing and sales

Question 3

Give some examples of where information can be found externally:

Answer 3

Baker & Hart, 1999

• CUSTOMERS
• Competitors
• Scientists
• Universities

Question 4

Why are customers an important part of new product developments?

Answer 4

Cooper et al, 2002
- Understanding customer experiences means product success can be understood more fully
Kristensson et al, 2004
- Customers can provide valuable ideas for new products

Question 5

What are the issues with using customers to generate new ideas?

Answer 5

Fornell & Menko, 1981
- Customers generally do not come up with anything new, and more so just suggest features of competitors products.
This could be due to them lacking the knowledge of what is actually possible

Question 6

Discuss what you would do to involve customers to get involved with the NPD process?

Answer 6

Fornell & Menko, 1981
Conduct a problem analysis
- Identify heavy users
- Gather a set or problems associated with the product or its category
- Sort & rank problems in terms of their severity or occurrence

Question 7

What methods could you used to involve the customers in the NPD process?

Answer 7

• Crowdsourcing
• Observation (Ethnography)
• Focus groups

Question 8

Discuss the pro’s and cons of using focus groups to explore problem analysis:

Answer 8

Robson 2002

• Efficent and cost effective
• Group dynamics aid idea generation
• Ability to explore unexpected avenues
• More enjoyable for many

Question 9

Discuss the pro’s and cons of using ethnography to explore problem analysis:

Answer 9

• A number of different roles can be assumed by the observer
• Meaningful knowledge cannot be generated without observation as not all knowledge is articulable

Question 10

Discuss the pro’s and cons of using crowdsourcing to explore problem analysis:

Answer 10

Howe, 2006

• Cheap pool of labour, as it is everyday people creating content and solving problems
• Can provide new insight into customer preferences

Question 11

What is problem analysis?

Answer 11

The process of understanding real-world problems and user needs and proposing solutions to meet those needs

Question 12

What are the benefits of offering suggestion programmes in a firm?

Answer 12

Gorski & Heinekamp, 2002

• Promotes creativity
• Distributes and records the knowledge base
• Ensures the right idea gets to the right person
• Fosters teamwork and enhances communication

Question 13

What are some forms of suggestion programmes?

Answer 13

Gorski & Heinekamp, 2002

• Suggestion box: Easy to implement, Submitter has no input
• Kaizen: Incremental ideas, continually improving
• Employee-driven ideas: Employees own idea through to implementation