Customer Knows Best

One of the most important factors in engineering is addressing the specific needs of the consumer that one is producing and designing a product for. How can a product be successful if it does not satisfy the specific needs of the people using it? From this we draw the practice of benchmarking and market assessment in order to identify user needs.

 

Benchmarking allows for a company to also better assess their standard compared to others in the market selling similar items. As an engineer, by specifying certain user needs and assessing how well they can aid the consumer in addressing such needs, one can develop a better product and essentially, a better, more competitive company.

There are several steps that can be taken in the process of benchmarking. The first would be data collection, which can be done through surveys and trials. Next, one can offer possible solutions to the needs that were discovered. What possible improvements can be made? How will they effect the price, the environment, and public opinion? Once all this has been answered, an analysis of costumer satisfaction can be implemented in order to see if the solutions actually appeased the user. This practice is vital to us as a service industry and it can help to create successful products.

Resources

http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/npr/initiati/benchmk/index.htm

http://asq.org/learn-about-quality/benchmarking/overview/overview.html

http://www.globalbenchmarking.org/

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