This assignment relates directly to your work in Marketplace where teams will have to select components to meet customer needs in the PC market. Situational Analysis: You are assigned the task to design a candy bar for a very specific segment and use situation. I am a representative of the segment, and I provide you with a QFD template to use as you ascertain which candy bar best meet my specifications. I’m not going to tell you whether I like chocolate, peanuts, caramel, etc. Your job is to consider all the ingredient and shape options and determine how to construct a candy bar (including the ingredients) to give me the benefits I want. By not telling them which ingredients I like, it frees you up to consider new candy bar recipes that are different than today’s candy bars. Use occasion - eating a candy bar while driving the car on the way home from work Values delivered - I have worked hard all day and this is my private reward to myself. I really want to enjoy eating the candy bar; it makes me feel like a kid again Attributes - that’s what you need to determine. Which combination of attributes (technical specifications in QFD language) best match the values delivered or end goals of the product and the use situation or occasion. Values delivered and use situation are considered as “voice of the customer” in QFD language. I have prepared a MS Excel spreadsheet that lays out what I like in a candy bar. It also includes an extensive list of ingredients and shapes for different candy bars. I prepared this list by purchasing numerous candy bars from major manufacturers and reviewing the ingredients and structures of their candy bars. You may use the spreadsheet like a QFD template provided to you. It provides the structure for matching up features to benefits. All your team has to do is fill in the numbers and do the arithmetic in order to determine my preferred ingredients and the structural shape of the candy bar. The =sumproduct function in MS Excel is important to figuring out the absolute importance. The spreadsheet does not have the roof as in the house of quality. Usually, it’s enough to start with the elements previously highlighted. However, the roof of the house of quality deals with the interactions among the ingredients, which is important. Recommendations to Follow: For the setup, you may wish to purchase between 10-15 candy bars as examples and discover the attributes specific to each bar. Pick a wide variety of candy bars. It is really helpful to the spur your imagination. Get with your team and spread out the candy bars. Since this is an online class, I recommend that you meet together virtually or put together a conference call to discuss. Examine the candy bars closely, even open them up to see how they are designed. Pool your efforts and figure out a way to work together on this. You may ask me questions about what I like or dislike in the way of positive and negative benefits, but I will not tell you which attributes I prefer. It is your job to decide based upon the benefits I want. Once the exercise concludes, I will tell you which candy bar best meets my specifications. Review Customer Perspectives: Evaluating Your Value Proposition.ppt before you proceed any further. Objectives By the end of this session you should be able to: Judge market response to your value proposition Evaluate, revise, and learn from market response to your value proposition Readings AUT University, Creative Industries Research Institute (2002), House of Quality and Product Development .pdf Anderson, J.C., Narus, J.A., & Rossum, V.A. (April 2006). Customer value propositions in business markets. Harvard Business Review, 84(3): 90-99. Kim, W.C., and Mauborgne, R. (1997) Value Innovaton: The Strategic Logic of High Growth .pdf Best of Harvard Business Review., (1997). PowerPoints Customer Perspective--Evaluating Your Value Proposition.ppt Other Candy Bar QFD.xls Note: Unless otherwise stated by your instructor: Initial Discussion posts are due Wednesday of each week, with final posts due no later than Sunday of each week. Assignments are due on Sunday of each week.