TABLE OF CONTENT

MODULE 1A ............................................................................................................................. 1

1.1 PRELIMINARY .............................................................................................................. 1

1.2 PRACTICUM OBJECTIVE ........................................................................................... 1

1.3 PRACTICUM REQUIREMENTS .................................................................................. 1

1.4 PRACTICUM TOOLS .................................................................................................... 2

1.5 MODULE SUBSTANCE ................................................................................................ 3

1.6 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................ 4

1.6.1. Identification Product Development Opportunities ................................................. 4

1.6.2. Identification Customer Needs ................................................................................. 4

1.6.3. Gathering Data ......................................................................................................... 5

1.6.4. Identification of Raw Data Into Customer Needs Data............................................ 5

1.6.5. Organize The Needs Into a Hierarchy ...................................................................... 7

1.6.6. Establish The Relative Importance of the Needs ..................................................... 7

1.6.7. Reflect on The Result ............................................................................................... 7

1.6.8. Dimension of Quality .............................................................................................. 8

SOURCE .................................................................................................................................... 9

TRIVIA..................................................................................................................................... 10

i
 MODULE 1A

IDENTIFICATION OF CUSTOMER NEEDS

1.0 Product Development Steps

1.1 PRELIMINARY
In this module, students will learn how to identify costumer voices by collecting several
opinions from participants who have been prepared to identify costumer needs for the
product to be developed.
Keyword: Customer Needs, Quality Dimensions.

1.2 PRACTICUM OBJECTIVE

1. Students understand the function of customer needs.
2. Students are able to collect data.
3. Students can identify customer needs as need statements.
4. Students can identify need statements from data and organize them into a hierarchy
based on the dimension of quality.

1.3 PRACTICUM REQUIREMENTS

1. Students must understand the Rules of Product Development Practicum 2024/2025.
2. Students must complete the progress report in the previous module.

1
1.4 PRACTICUM TOOLS
1. Computer / Laptop
2. Internet Connection
3. Stationery
4. Microsoft Excel
5. Microsoft Word

2
1.5 MODULE SUBSTANCE

IDENTIFICATION OF CUSTOMER NEEDS

• Product Development Opportunities

- Translating the results of calculating customer needs into a measureable value
- Determine the value for each metric that has been obtained
• Collect Data Method
- Collecting interview with people who understand about the product to be developed
- Observing the product to be developed
- Have discussion with several groups
• Quality Product Dimension
- Determine the product dimension of each need statement
- Grouping each need statement into product dimension
• Classification Customer Needs
- Determining primary needs and secondary needs

3
1.6 LITERATURE REVIEW

1.6.1. Identification Product Development Opportunities

An opportunity is an idea for a new product. An opportunity is a product description in
its early stage, a newly identified need, a recently discovered technology, or a rough
match between a need and a possible solution. In the early stages of development,
uncertainty clouds the future, so an opportunity can be seen as a hypothesis about how
value can be created. An opportunity for a new product is typically described in less
than one page of information, often consisting of a descriptive title, an explanation of
the idea, and occasionally a sketch illustrating a potential product concept. (Ulrich, K.
T., 2020)

1.6.2. Identification Customer Needs

Identifying customer needs is the process of understanding and recognizing what
customers want, desire, or require from a product or service. The goals of the customer
needs identification stage are as follows:

1. Make sure the product pays attention to what customers want.

2. Find hidden needs as well as obvious ones.
3. Give reasons for the product's specifications based on facts.
4. Keep a record of the needs for future reference.
5. Make sure no important customer need is overlooked.
6. Make sure everyone in the development team understands what customers need.
According to (Ulrich, K. T., 2020) when conducting identification customer needs, there
are 5 steps to go through:
1. Collect basic information from customers.
2. Understand what customers really need from the information gathered.
3. Arrange the needs in order of importance, like primary, secondary, and (if needed)
tertiary needs.
4. Decide how important each need is compared to the others.
5. Think about what you found out and how you did the process.

4
1.6.3. Gathering Data
A method for getting information from customers in the target market will help the
development team understand the user's environment and perspective better. Three
methods are commonly used:

1. Interview
The team members talk to one customer at a time about their needs. The interviews
usually take place where the customer is and they last around one to two hours.
2. Focus Group Discussion (FGD)
A moderator facilitates a two-hour discussion with a group of 8 to 12 customers.
Most of the time, the person who leads the discussion is a professional researcher,
but sometimes someone from the development team does it.
3. Observing the product in use
Observing customers as they use a product that already exists or do a task that a
new product is meant for can show important information about what customers
need.

1.6.4. Identification of Raw Data Into Customer Needs Data

Customer needs are derived from the interpretation of raw data gathered from customers.
Different analysts may translate the same observation into different needs so it's helpful
to have several team members involved in the process. Five guidelines are provided for
writing needs statements, with the first two being critical to effective translation and the
remaining three ensuring consistency in phrasing and style across all needs statements.
(Ulrich, K. T., 2020)

1. Express the need in terms of “what” the product has to do, not in terms of “how”
might do it.
2. Express the need as specifically as the raw data.
3. Use positive, not negative, phrasing.
4. Express the need as an attribute of the product.
5. Avoid the words must and should.

5
 Guideline Customer Statement Needs Statement- Needs Statement-
Right Wrong
What” not “How” I would like my The thermostat can The thermostat is
iPhone to adjust my be controlled accompanied by a
thermostat. remotely without downloadable iPhone
requiring a special app
device.
Specificity I have different The thermostat can The thermostat is
heating and cooling control separate versatile.
systems. heating and cooling
systems.
Positive not I get tired of The thermostat can The thermostat does
negative standing in front of be programmed from not require me to
my thermostat to a comfortable stand in front of it for
program it position. programming.
An attribute of the I have to manually The thermostat An occupant’s
product override the automatically presence triggers the
program if I’m responds to an thermostat to
home when I occupant’s presence. automatically change
shouldn’t be modes
Avoid “must” and I’m worried about The thermostat The thermostat must
“should” how secure my controls are secure be secure from
thermostat would be from unauthorized unauthorized access
if it were accessible access.
online

6
1.6.5. Organize The Needs Into a Hierarchy
The results of previous steps are generally a large list of need statements that is difficult
to summarize. So, the need statements are need to be organized to a set of primary,
secondary and tertiary. The primary needs are the most general and the secondary and
tertiary needs are more detailed. The process of organizing the needs is intuitive and can
be done by a small group of team members can be performed with these steps (Ulrich,
K. T., 2020).

1. Print or write each needs statement.

2. Eliminate redundant statements.
3. Group according to the similarity of the needs they express.

1.6.6. Establish The Relative Importance of the Needs

Next steps in the customer needs process determines the relative importance of customer
needs identified in earlier steps. The relative importance is determined either by team
consensus based on customer experience or by customer surveys. The trade-off is
between speed and accuracy, where team consensus is quicker but customer surveys are
more accurate. In most cases, customer surveys are considered worth the time required.
Other development tasks can proceed while the relative importance surveys are on
going(Ulrich,K. T.,2020).

1.6.7. Reflect on The Result

Reflect on the results is required to verify that are consistent with the knowledge and
intuition the team has developed through many hours of interaction with customers.
Some questions to ask include (Ulrich, K. T.,2020).

1. Have we interacted with all of the importand types of customer in our target market?
2. Are we able to see beyond needs related only to existing products to capture the
latent needs of our target customers?
3. Are there areas of inquiry we should pursue in follow-up interviews or surveys?
4. Which of the customers we spoke to would be good participants in our on going
development effort

7
 5. What do we know that we didn’t know when we started? Are we surprised by any
of the needs?
6. Did we involve everyone within our own organanization who needs to deeply
understand customer needs?
7. How might we improve the process in future efforts?

1.6.8. Dimension of Quality

According to Tjiptono (2019) there are eight dimensions of product quality that are
often used as measurements in company evaluations and research, including the
following.

1. Performance, basic information characteristics of thecore product development.

2. Features, secondary or complementary characteristics.
3. Reliability, Less Likely to break or fail.
4. Conformance to specification (conformance to specifications), the extent to which
design and operating characteristics meet predetermined standards.
5. Durability, relates to how long the product can continue to be used.
6. Serviceabillity, includes speed, competition, comfort, easy to operate and
satisfactory complaint handling.
7. Aesthetics, the attractivness of the product to the five senses.
8. Perception of quality, the image and reputation of the product and the company’s
responsibility for it.

8
 SOURCES

Pages Quotation Reference

Identification Product Development
3
Opportunities
3 Identification Customer Needs Ulrich, K. T. (2020). Product
4 Gathering Data Design and
Identification of Raw Data into Customer Development
4
Needs Data Seventh Edition.
6 Organize The Needs Into a Hierarchy New York: McGraw
Establish The Relative Importance of The Education
6
Needs
6 Reflect on The Results
Tjiptono, Fandy. (2019).
Strategi Pemasaran.
7 Dimension of Quality
Yogyakarta:
Penerbit Andi.
Kotler, Philip., and Keller,
Kevin, Marketing
Management,
Other Sources Pearson, 2021
Hauge, Paul. [Link]., Market
Research in Practice,
2016

9
 TRIVIA

THE WALT DISNEY

The Walt Disney Studios, founded by Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney in 1923 in a small garage
in Los Angeles, California, has become one of the most iconic and successful film studios in
the world. Starting its journey with iconic characters like Mickey Mouse in the short film
"Steamboat Willie" in 1928, the studio cemented its dominance in the animation industry with
the release of its first full-length animated film, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," in 1937.
From there, Disney continued to grow, winning prestigious awards such as Academy Awards
and Emmy Awards for its monumental contributions to the entertainment industry. Beyond
animated filmmaking, Disney is also known for the production of live-action films, television
shows, and the development of theme parks such as Disneyland and Walt Disney World.

The Walt Disney Studios also applies identification of customer needs in product development
when producing its films. They use data to identify customer preferences for example, we can
see that some Disney films always include ratings for children, parental guidance, teenagers,
and adults. This is based on data Disney has gathered from its customers. Additionally, Disney
continually makes improvements to its 2D, 3D, and live-action movie animations.

10