SETTING AFFORDABLE PERFORMANCE TARGETS FOR CONSUMER PRODUCTS - A METHOD BASED ON FUZZY-LOGIC

The design of a new consumer product starts with setting targets for t he most important performance attributes. In most cases, there is no s ystematic way to account for cost when setting targets. This leads to targets that are too expensive to meet and eventually to waste of reso urces. A method for target setting that accounts for cost and for the relative importance of performance characteristics to customers is pro posed. The method uses fuzzy sets to express the preference of custome rs to certain values of performance characteristics and cost and to co mbine the preferences into one measure of overall customer satisfactio n. A regression polynomial is used to estimate the cost required to me et given targets. Then the method finds the values of the performance targets that maximize customer satisfaction. The method is demonstrate d on target setting for medium-size family cars.