Six Sigma Tool Navigator: The Master Guide for Teams

Tool description

Conjoint analysis is a marketing research tool used by many companies to verify the customers' perception of value for most product or service features. It provides integrated product development teams (IPDT) with detailed information on the features customers want and expect in new products or services.

Every product is considered a package of features. To assess the contribution a feature will make to the overall value of the product, a rating schema is used. The sum of all customer-supplied ratings for all identified features will yield the perceived value to the customer.

Typical application

• To determine which combination of product or service features are valued highest by customers in a target market.

• To provide preference data as input in the product innovation and development process.

• To verify the value a customer places on each of a product's features.

• To compare overall customer value of a product or service to that of a competitor's product or service.

Problem-solving phase

Typically used by

before

• Data Collection Strategy

• Customer-First-Questions (CFQ)

• House of Quality

• Focus Group

• Customer Needs Table

after

• Interview Technique

• Surveying

• Competency Gap Assessment

• Customer Satisfaction Analysis (CSA)

• Consensus Decision Making

Notes and key points

• Product or service features are rated on a scale of 1 to 10. See example Value of Safety (Valsafe) = 10, where 1 is lowest, 5 is average, and 10 is of highest value.

Step-by-step procedure

• STEP 1 Identify features most valued by the customer. See example Conjoint Analysis of an Electric Can Opener.

• STEP 2 Profile the product's typical customer.

• STEP 3 Select a sample of potential customers (the target matrix) to participate in the data collection process.

• STEP 4 Develop a product-features rating form. List your product and competing products.

• STEP 5 Interview prospective customers and have them rate product features on a scale from 1–10.

• STEP 6 Total the values for each product. (The assumption is made that the product with the highest total value or utility to customers would capture the greatest market share.) Besides showing how product stacks up to the competition, a conjoint analysis identifies the features customers want the most. This information allows the design team to alter the product to suit customer demand prior to product release.

Example of tool application

Electric Can Opener