The Product Vision blog

Formal Needs Analysis Part 3: Needs Dictionary

Tuesday, December 9th, 2008 | Uncategorized

In the needs analysis of vehicles I assigned needs ratings form 0 to 3, without getting too specific about the meaning of each need or each need level.

Often, this is just fine.  You probably had little trouble making sense of the needs analysis of vehicles. You can get quite far without having to spell everything out, relying on the generic definition of each need level:

• 0 – The product does not attempt to address the need.
• 1 – The product addresses the need at a basic level.
• 2 – The product does a decent job of addressing the need, but there is still room for improvement.
• 3 – The product fully satisfies the customer need, or the product is significantly ahead of the competition in doing so.

However when it’s time to get serious about needs analysis, and when you are working with more people, it’s worth getting rigorous and spelling out what everything means. This is where the needs dictionary comes in.

The needs dictionary defines each dimension of need, and gives guidelines as to what makes the cut for each level.

Needs dictionary for vehicles

Here is a stab at the needs dictionary for the vehicle needs analysis. I’ve populated only those cells that say something of non-obvious, rather than pedantically filling in every cell.  I find this makes the table more meaningful.

	Description	Need 0 means	Need 1 satisfied means	Need 2 satisfied means	Need 3 satisfied means
		The product does not attempt to address the need.	The product addresses the need at a basic level.	The product does a decent job of addressing the need, but there is still room for improvement.	The product fully satisfies the customer need, or the product is significantly ahead of the competition in doing so.
Passenger capacity	The number of people that can a company the traveler	no extra travelers can go	only one extra traveler can go comfortably	two or three people can accompany the traveler comfortably	four or more people can accompany the traveler
Cargo capacity	how much stuff can be lugged around	Minimal amount of stuff can be carried			space to move lots of stuff or large items
Range	What distance trip is feasible?	shot distance	The solution is appropriate for short trips (e.g. 20 miles or fewer)	The solution is appropriate for limited trips (e.g. 50 miles or fewer)	long trips are possible
Safety	How safe is the mode of transportation?	Dangerous mode of transport; unforgiving of errors by travelers or others			Travelers are least likely to be hurt
Minimize travel time	How long does the overall journey take? (Assuming a moderate length trip not in heavy traffic)				Very direct mode of transport. Little or no overhead.
Convenience	How much hassle is involved in using this mode of transportation?		Traveler has to go out of his or her way		Very little hassle
Weather protection	How protected from the elements is the traveler?	Traveler is exposed to the elements			Traveler is protected from the elements
Comfort	How comfortable and enjoyable is the traveling experience?				Traveling experience is very comfortable
Convey prestige	How much of a boost to social status is there? (At least in the mind of the traveler)	No boost.	That’s cool I guess.	Some props involved.	Prestigious ride
Low up-front cost	How affordable is it to begin using this form of transportation?	It’s very expensive. High fixed costs.	Moderately expensive.	quite affordable	It doesn’t cost anything to start using this mode of transportation
Low operating cost	How affordable is it to use this mode of transportation? Encompasses total variable costs includeing mileage charges, maintenance, insurance, etc.	It’s very expensive to travel	It’s fairly expensive to travel, all costs included.	It’s quite inexpensive to travel	It’s free to travel; no variable expenses.
Ease of parking	How much hassle is involved in parking the car		The vehicle is a challenge to park in an urban environment.	Parking is necessary but not too difficult. There may be some concern about the security of the item when parked (eg. bike or Segway)	No parking hassle at all
Eco-friendliness	How much incremental impact on the environment is there? Includes emissions, energy generation and manufacturing impacts.	Very high ecological footprint.	Fairly high ecological footprint	Fairly low ecological footprint	Very eco-friendly. Small ecological footprint.
Exercise	Are there any health benefits to using this form of travel?	No health benefits; minimum exercise involved			Substantial physical effort involved.

The needs dictionary, like the needs analysis table, is not a static document.  It will evolve as you glean greater insight and clarity into the domain.  The needs dimensions will be expanded out or consolidated down as you consider other comparison points  You will recalibrate the values among a set of products when you look at the set as a whole and talk it through with others.  And you’ll find better and better ways to define and express the needs.  These cause changes to the needs table and the needs dictionary.  Eventually the changes will stabilize — a sign that you are mastering the domain and the competitive space.

—

Philip Haine is principal of Product Vision Associates, a product innovation consultancy that helps product leaders and their teams envision new, breakthrough products and reboot older ones.  To follow him on Twitter click here.

Tags: needs analysis

1 Comment to Formal Needs Analysis Part 3: Needs Dictionary

Leave a comment