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Organizational Effectiveness Through Feedback Management
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>> Design for Supportability Research Report
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I think the report is extremely valuable. I’ve been working in the support engineering field the last 10 years. This is the first report I’ve read where I keep saying “Yes! That’s it! That’s what we do, and where we need to take the role of support”. I’ve already shown the report to other support engineers who had a similar reaction. You’ve come to so many of the same conclusions we have. Our support organization is structured very close to your recommendations. Our interaction with engineering and the focus on supportability matches our key processes. It was kind of eerie.
Jeff Marchak,
Support Engineer,
Semiconductor mfg company
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Great Brook's survey products:
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A three-day survey training class to develop your skills to conduct successful survey projects.
Next Workshop offerings
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Survey Design WorkshopDr. Frederick C. Van Bennekom and Dr. Keith Goffin have completed a major research report, entitled, Problem Prevention Through Design for Supportability: Gaining Competitive Advantage from Customer Support, published in 2002 by the Customer Service Press. This extensive 100-page research study addresses root cause problem prevention through better design practices in both hardware and software products.
The report incorporates research performed by the authors with dozens of company examples and the tools needed to become a change agent in your organization and start your DFS initiative.
What is Design for Supportability? The product design process is a key area in which a company can develop competitive advantage. Years ago product designers' only concern was to design features and performances into products. Then concurrent engineering practices led to design for manufacturability as a driving criteria of a good product design. Various other "design for-s" have been promulgated in recent years. Most, though, have focused on the impact of product design upon the downstream activities within the company.
Design for Supportability looks beyond the company's doors. DFS is the process of maximizing the benefits the customer receives during the product ownership period. Further, supportability is more than serviceability, maintainability, usability, durability, or reliability. We define DFS as encompassing the entire range of events in product ownership from installation, to use, maintenance, enhancement, and finally decommissioning.
With strong Design for Supportability practices, an organization delivers products to its customers with a lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and higher Total Value of Ownership -- also known as Total Net Benefit of Ownership. Concurrently, the cost to deliver the product and support services will be lowered.
At its heart, DFS is about problem prevention, not problem resolution. Once the product is in the customer's hands, many companies practice an "out of sight, out of mind" philosophy. True, most companies have a response center to answer customer questions, and they recognize that good after-sale support impacts customer satisfaction. However, the common practice is to charter the support organization primarily with an efficiency goal: resolve the customer's problems as fast and cheaply as possible. Support organizations may engage in some preventive maintenance and talk about moving from reactive to proactive support practices. DFS is the ultimate proactive or preventative support practice because it addresses the true root cause of most support problems: the design of the product. A DFS initiative operates from that vantage point.
Supportability doesn't happen by accident. It must be an explicit concern at the design stages of a product. Without a comprehensive approach with explicit goals, some areas of supportability may improve but other areas may actually worsen. The organization best suited to make the supportability argument is the customer support organization. Yet, in most cases, the support organization lacks the political strength to advance the argument. DFS recognizes the strategic role that customer support can play in companies.
A growing number of companies are practicing some "out of the box" thinking. These companies recognize that good customer support can create satisfied customers, but that a product designed for superb supportability can engender true customer loyalty. Customers want peace of mind. They want a product that will provide its intended benefits, complemented with high quality but minimal support requirements, thus assuring a superior total cost of product ownership. With this product strategy, the cost for a customer to switch to a competitor is high due to the risk of an inferior experience from the unknown vendor.
Achieving DFS is not simple. There are many barriers to this change management process, and the primary one is cultural. Customer support is seldom viewed as a strategic partner within companies. The goal of this research report is to present a comprehensive framework for a DFS program in all its elements and to map out the process that a company can pursue to increase product supportability.
The list price of the report printed in full color from Great Brook is US $495.00, but we are now offering it for $295.00. The report is spiral bound and printed on heavy weight, extra white paper. A black-and-white version of the report (on basic white paper) can be purchased for $245.00. Occassionally, we have books that have been used as display copies or that have some other minor damage to them. These we sell at a discount. Please contact us by phone or email for availability of "B stock" copies of the report. Shipping Costs. US Postal Service Media Mail ground shipping within the US is $4.00. USPS Priority Mail shipping is $5.00. We do ship internationally. Check our order form for those rates. Almost all our shipments go out same the next day and sometimes same day. We have held our shipping costs constant for several years, but the recent shipping cost increases forced us to raise our shipping rates. Follow the link for details about our shipping processes especially international shipments.
To order, please use our secure on-line order form. Or contact us by phone or by email.
To receive a complimentary copy of Chapter 1, please complete the request form or contact Great Brook.
Book details: 98 pages, printed on 8.5 x 11 inch paper, spiral bound.
| Table of Contents |
Preface 5
A Note on Terminology 5
Executive Summary 7
Chapter 1: The Strategic Potential of Customer Support 9
Introduction 9
Customer Support within the Product-Service Bundle 10
The Genesis of Customer Support 11
The Traditional View of Customer Support 12
The Strategic Role of Customer Support-A Source of Sustainable Competitive Advantage 13
Determining Your Customer Support Organization's Current Role 15
How Product Design Affects Support and Vice Versa 15
Summary 19
Chapter 2: Competitive Advantage and the Customer Product Use Cycle 20
Introduction 20
Gaining Competitive Advantage from Customer Support 20
Tandem in the Banking Market 22
Nihon-Koden in the Medical Market 23
Kodak in the Photocopier Market 24
Hewlett-Packard in the Medical Ultrasound Market 24
The Total Net Benefit of Ownership Model 24
Evidence of the Value of DFS 27
Impact on Customer Satisfaction 28
Impact on Employee Satisfaction 28
Impact on Cost Structure 28
Summary 29
Chapter 3: Design for Supportability 32
Introduction 32
What Is Design for Supportability? 32
The Success of DFM 32
Moving from DFM to Design for Supportability 33
The Scope of DFS 34
The DFS Process 35
The Elements of DFS 36
Design for Installability 36
Design for Usability/Trainability 38
Design for Documentation 41
Design for Maintenance 43
Design for Reliability and Repair 45
Design for Updateability/Upgradeability 48
Design for Decommissioning and Replacement 50
Design for A.N. Other 52
Product Cost Ownership 52
DFS in Practice at HP 53
DFS Practices at Meditech 57
Summary 58
Chapter 4: Characteristics of a DFS-Empowered Customer Support Organization 59
Introduction 59
Characteristics of Information Collection from Service Transactions 59
Types of Product Issues 59
Data Collection and Storage 65
Integration into Product Management Decisions 69
Means of Information Exchange 70
Timing of the Interaction and the Nature of Involvement 72
The Role Technology in a DFS-Empowered Support Organization 77
Cutler-Hammer-Creating Customer Support Emissaries 78
Summary 79
Chapter 5: Developing an Action Plan 81
Introduction 81
The Stages of DFS Implementation 81
The Barriers to Supportability 85
Barrier #1: Organizational Issues and Support's Reputation 85
Barrier #2: The Lack of Supportability Evaluation 86
Barrier #3: Lack of Financial Evaluation 88
Barrier #4: Conflicting Priorities 89
DFS and Change Management 89
Identifying the Burning Platform 90
Creating the Vision 90
Developing the Change Process 91
Overcoming the Barriers 91
Overcoming Barrier #1: Organizational Issues and Support Reputation 91
Overcoming Barrier #2: Lack of Supportability Evaluation 95
Overcoming Barrier #3: Lack of Financial Evaluation 95
Overcoming Barrier #4: Conflicting Priorities 95
Summary 96
Figures and Tables
List of Figures
1.1 Product Development and Customer Support Cycles 10
1.2 The Product-Service Bundle 10
1.3 Egyptian Hieroglyphics: "To Make Good, To Repair" 11
1.4 Determining Your Customer Support Organization's Current Role 11
2.1 The Impact of DFS on Total Net Benefit of Ownership 16
2.2 Means of Demonstrating Support Impact on Product Quality 25
2.3 Service Marketing Triangle 27
2.4 The Impact of Customer Support's Quality Management Role on Support Cost 28
2.5 Impact of Strong DFS Practices on Support Cost 30
2.6 Impact of Poor DFS Practices on Support Cost 31
3.1 The DFS Process 35
3.2 Component Reliability vs. Accessibility Graph (Rank Xerox) 48
3.3 The Main Aspects of Product Support for the CMS Product 54
4.1 Examples of Product Information Capture through the Support Cycle 60
4.2 Importance of Information Types for Product Management Decisions 62
4.3 "Bathtub Curve" of Problem Occurrences Over Customer Product Support Cycle 66
4.4 Support Data Recording Profile 69
4.5 Importance of Communication Methods for Interaction with Product Engineering 70
4.6 Customer Support Role by NPD Stage-Current Nature of Involvement 73
4.7 Customer Support Role by NPD Stage-Nature of Involvement Three Years Ago 73
5.1 The Stages of Design for Supportability Implementation 82
5.2 The Barriers to DFS 85
5.3 The Timing of the Planning of Product Support during the Product Development Cycle 87
5.4 Factors Affecting Customer Support Involvement in NPD 94
List of Tables
2.1 Sources of Competitive Advantage from Customer Support 21
2.2 Case Studies Illustrating Use of Support for Competitive Advantage 22
3.1 The Scope of DFS 34
3.2 Design for Installability Analysis Metrics 37
3.3 Design for Usability/Training Analysis Metrics 40
3.4 Design for Documentation Analysis Metrics 42
3.5 Design for Maintenance Analysis Metrics 44
3.6 Design for Reliability and Repair Analysis Metrics 47
3.7 Design for Updateability/Upgradeability Analysis Metrics 49
3.8 Design for Decommissioning and Replacement Analysis Metrics 51
3.9 Design for A.N. Other 52
3.10 Summary Table of DFS Analysis Metrics 53
3.11 Analysis of 10-Year Lifetime Product Support of CMS Rev-A
Compared to a Previous Similar Product and Rev-F 55
5.1 Characteristics of Customer Support Organizations for Each Stage 84
5.2 The Effectiveness of Planning (at 66 High-Tech Companies) 87
5.3 Areas Covered in Product Support Planning 88
About the Authors
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