Ten tools for customer-driven product development in industrial companies

Need assessment is a critical success factor of product and business development in all companies. In this paper we present 10 tools for customer-driven product and business development for companies producing industrial products. The tools help to clarify the needs and objectives of customers and to ensure that customer needs are considered when making development decisions in the different phases of product development. These tools were developed in a two-year project with small and medium-sized companies. In our paper we describe important requirements for the development of the tool set, give a short description of the tools and their usability, and introduce different practical ways to support the selection of tools. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.