Development of an extended Kansei engineering method to incorporate experience requirements in product-service system design

Abstract

The customer experience is important for adding value to firms' offerings but two challenges arise: the customer experience is increasingly created through interactions with product-service systems (PSSs) and it is formed through all moments of interaction with multiple firms. Incorporating customer experience requirements (ERs) into the design of PSSs is therefore a complex task. To address this challenge, this paper presents an extension of the Kansei engineering method consisting of two components. First, the extension includes an in-depth study of the customer experience from a holistic perspective that informs the design process. Second, it involves the active participation of multidisciplinary experts from the different partner companies that together enable the PSS offering. An application of this new extension is presented for mid-distance bus trips, involving passengers, a vehicle manufacturing and a transport provider company. The research followed design-science guidelines using an action research approach to develop new public transportation PSS concepts by involving a multidisciplinary design team. The customer experience study enables the team adequately incorporate ERs along the development process, and the joint work of the intercompany team of experts enables integration of the different PSS elements into a solution that enhances the travel experience from a holistic perspective. © 2013 Taylor & Francis.