Toaster usability study
From DDL Wiki
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| + | = Executive Summary = | ||
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| + | = Product = | ||
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| + | Our product to dissect and analyze was a toaster. For this part of the project, we purchased a $9.99 Chefmate toaster to dissect. We also purchased a $29.99 Hamilton Beach toaster that we hope to compare with our first toaster at a later date. | ||
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| + | == Function == | ||
| + | [[usability study]] | ||
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| + | == Stakeholders == | ||
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| + | There are at least four major stakeholders in the production and distribution of a toaster: | ||
| + | * Customer | ||
| + | * Company | ||
| + | * Distributors | ||
| + | * Engineers | ||
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| + | The customer is only interested in a product if it fulfills their specific needs. In this case, the users need to be able to toast their bread easily and quickly. This is why they are going to purchase a toaster. Although the toaster does fulfill their basic needs, the customers also have minor needs that go along with using the toaster. If these types of needs can be met (ie. containment of crumbs, easy to use, easy retrieval of bread, cool-touch exterior), the toaster would be in much higher demand. A [[usability study]] was done to help identify the specific needs of the customer and understand the customer's interactions with the product. | ||
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| + | The company needs are mostly limited to marketing and finance. They main interest and need is to make a profit. This requires finding customers, low manufacturing costs, and low material costs. This requires the company to decipher customer needs and apply them to their product. It also requires the company to work with the engineers and suppliers to ensure a low-cost product that can easily be sold to stores, or distributors, and thus bought by customers. | ||
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| + | The distributors have similar needs to the company, they are looking to make a profit. Thus their need is to purchase products from various companies that fulfill needs of their customers. So they depend on the company to have come up with the lowest cost product possible. | ||
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| + | The engineers are critical stakeholders, since every other stakeholder's needs has to be met by the engineer's design. The engineers needs are to decrease the amount and cost of material used in the toaster design. It is also the engineers job to design the product using cost and time efficient methods of manufacturing and assembly. Another need of the engineer is to balance cost and design of the product with the environmental impacts caused by the products production/use. | ||
Revision as of 12:45, 21 September 2008
Contents |
Executive Summary
Product
Our product to dissect and analyze was a toaster. For this part of the project, we purchased a $9.99 Chefmate toaster to dissect. We also purchased a $29.99 Hamilton Beach toaster that we hope to compare with our first toaster at a later date.
Function
Stakeholders
There are at least four major stakeholders in the production and distribution of a toaster:
- Customer
- Company
- Distributors
- Engineers
The customer is only interested in a product if it fulfills their specific needs. In this case, the users need to be able to toast their bread easily and quickly. This is why they are going to purchase a toaster. Although the toaster does fulfill their basic needs, the customers also have minor needs that go along with using the toaster. If these types of needs can be met (ie. containment of crumbs, easy to use, easy retrieval of bread, cool-touch exterior), the toaster would be in much higher demand. A usability study was done to help identify the specific needs of the customer and understand the customer's interactions with the product.
The company needs are mostly limited to marketing and finance. They main interest and need is to make a profit. This requires finding customers, low manufacturing costs, and low material costs. This requires the company to decipher customer needs and apply them to their product. It also requires the company to work with the engineers and suppliers to ensure a low-cost product that can easily be sold to stores, or distributors, and thus bought by customers.
The distributors have similar needs to the company, they are looking to make a profit. Thus their need is to purchase products from various companies that fulfill needs of their customers. So they depend on the company to have come up with the lowest cost product possible.
The engineers are critical stakeholders, since every other stakeholder's needs has to be met by the engineer's design. The engineers needs are to decrease the amount and cost of material used in the toaster design. It is also the engineers job to design the product using cost and time efficient methods of manufacturing and assembly. Another need of the engineer is to balance cost and design of the product with the environmental impacts caused by the products production/use.
