Technology Start Up
Clear definition of product specifications to meet customer needs.
Case Studies
Business Issue
A technology start–up division of a major U.S. manufacturer needed clear definition of product specifications to meet customer needs and to better understand the timing of customer requirements.
Approach Used
Flow consultants collected extensive customer information through face-to-face and telephone interviews and electronic and web-based surveys. This database of information was used to guide a workshop of company executives and engineers through a thorough “Quality Function Deployment” analysis to develop a detailed product specification and marketing/product release strategy.
Results
The Flow Consulting Team successfully developed and launched two new products in less than 12 months with positive customer acceptance — instead of the single product planned for an 18 month delivery. The analysis also uncovered a potentially fatal flaw in the company’s product-release strategy that would have brought the wrong product to market too late for a key “benchmark” product–comparison–contract by its number one customer. The analysis also defined two customer groups with significantly different product requirements and price points. The customer interviews also determined that an extremely negative perception existed of companies using the original product and marketing strategies.