Integrating User Attention for Design Evaluations in Customer-Oriented Product Development

Abstract

The importance of user-oriented design enhancing Perceived Quality increases. The impact of customers’ emotions on purchasing decisions increases the interest in applying multi-sensorial measurement methods during the product development process (PDP) in order to objectify emotions. It is important that emotional information about products can be gathered and applied by the combined usage of visual impressions with different modalities for capturing and objectifying user attention and emotions. Furthermore, rules are necessary to define a sufficient level of data as well as to communicate it into product development. This paper describes a methodology based on principles of Kansei Engineering and presents selected results of the research project CONEMO. An overview is given on how to measure and to use emotion and objectified data about quality perception for decision-making during a customer-oriented product development. CONEMO aims at a standardized procedure with an easy-to-follow methodology that is based on a Quality Gate systematics which involves customers’ attention and emotional evaluation of design alternatives during early phases of PDP and contains descriptions, requirements, measurement parameters, product structure and function. Specifications were developed to transfer Eye-Tracking data into design requirements to combine both latent, objectified and explicit, conscious data during the PDP. The presented methodology intends to support product designers by evaluating product concepts and innovations.

Keywords: Kansei Engineering, Product Development, Design Evaluation, Quality Gates, Eye-Tracking

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe100591