Collaborative Approach to Enable Engineering Team to Understand Real Needs of Customers. A Case Study in Medical Product Development
Butta, Yonas (2017)
Butta, Yonas
Metropolia Ammattikorkeakoulu
2017
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2017060412240
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2017060412240
Tiivistelmä
This thesis focuses on one of the key challenges, understanding the real needs of customers, in a case company that provides patient monitors to hospitals and clinics to be used by health professionals such as doctors and nurses. Despite the complicated environment that these health professionals deal with, the case company’s engineering team, responsible for developing the patient monitors lacks direct interaction with the health professionals. However, understanding the real needs of customers and addressing them, is the recipe of success for any offering. When it comes to medical products, this becomes even more than that due to the safety criticality of the industry.
The data inputs for this thesis were gathered from the company stakeholders for three purposes: to understand the existing practices (DATA 1), to co-create an initial proposal (DATA 2) and to shape the initial proposal and result in a final proposal (DATA 3). The outcome of this study indicates that a collaborative approach that involves the appropriate stakeholders and the usage of appropriate techniques at different stages of product development process is the key in the quest to identify and understand the details of customer needs.
The results of this study will help the case company, first, to understand the root causes for a varied set of customer needs. Secondly, it can help to focus the company’s resources to what is relevant for customers. Thirdly, involving customers to understand their needs also helps to create good and lasting relationship with customers. Finally, transcending this practice throughout the company creates organizational culture which will ultimately create motivation and a sense of ownership in the employee’s minds.
The data inputs for this thesis were gathered from the company stakeholders for three purposes: to understand the existing practices (DATA 1), to co-create an initial proposal (DATA 2) and to shape the initial proposal and result in a final proposal (DATA 3). The outcome of this study indicates that a collaborative approach that involves the appropriate stakeholders and the usage of appropriate techniques at different stages of product development process is the key in the quest to identify and understand the details of customer needs.
The results of this study will help the case company, first, to understand the root causes for a varied set of customer needs. Secondly, it can help to focus the company’s resources to what is relevant for customers. Thirdly, involving customers to understand their needs also helps to create good and lasting relationship with customers. Finally, transcending this practice throughout the company creates organizational culture which will ultimately create motivation and a sense of ownership in the employee’s minds.