A novel approach to incorporate customer preference and perception into product configuration: A case study on smart pads

This paper proposes a hybrid framework combining AHP (analytical hierarchy process), KM (Kano model), with DEMATEL (decision making trial and evaluation laboratory) to incorporate customer preference and perception into the process of product development. Initially, AHP is applied to respondents to form a basis of market segmentation. Thereafter, with respect to identified segments, AHP and KM are employed to extract customer preference for design attributes (DAs) and customer perception of marketing requirements (MRs), respectively. Finally, by means of DEMATEL, the causal relationships between MRs and DAs are systematically recognized to uncover new ideas of next-generation products.

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► A hybrid framework is proposed to configure varieties of smart pads with respect to ad-hoc niche segments,
► Learning which design attributes are more representative to form a basis for market segmentation,
► Incorporating customer preference and customer perception into the decision-making process of product development,
► Identifying the causal relationships between design attributes and marketing requirements for discovering new ideas of the next-generation products.