The question:

"I'm about to join a new company that makes showers for the home, and

the CEO has said that he would like to "design BMWs instead of

Fords". What he really means is that he would like to improve the

(perceived?) quality of the products, which he feels has declined

over the past couple of years. The idea is not to make more

expensive products, but to make the existing products "feel"

higher-quality.

I would like to hear any thoughts you may have about how to go about

doing this, on any range of related subjects:

- materials selection;

- tolerances;

- methods for improving initial quality;

- the attitude of the design team (2 draftsmen, one stylist, and 2 lab techs);

What experiences have you had where the client/company felt that the

product was "too cheap/chintzy", and how did you overcome that? How

have you modified your design process, or your thinking, based on who

your client was and their target market?"

My takeaway:

- get to know the market and the users intimately

- work equally hard in one, focused direction, on all aspects that may seem "peripheral", such as packaging, branding -- the overall user experience

- insist on "quality" materials (read: heavy)

- insist on high-quality tooling and tight tolerances, and view this as an investment in brand image rather than a production expense

Some of the answers the group submitted:

"the brand experience is completely fundamental to how products are perceived and succeed in the market. I'm hoping that what your CEO really wants is not to improve the perceived quality of the products but rather to improve the perceived brand image and user experience. As a mechanical engineer, this has been a difficult lesson to accept but I have gradually come to the inescapable conclusion that what truly differentiates exceptional products is the manner in which they connect with users by way of an experience with a solution of distinction. Materials, tolerances, quality, methods, features can all be means for providing this differentiation but you can't begin with this... you have to begin with the customer experience. People don't care about attributes... they care about experiences. Even when people say that quality is a differentiator (Toyota) what they're really saying is something about the predictable experience of owning the product and what it means for their lives. Quality matters but it can't differentiate the experience. Take a look at Apple products which have been notoriously unreliable. If I was giving someone a similar assignment to what you've been given I would tell them to:

a) Eliminate any filter between yourself and the user. Refuse to accept marketing briefs, sales objectives, etc. You need to put yourself in direct, intimate contact with the extreme users until as an engineer or designer you truly understand what will make this an exceptional product for them. You need to also learn what people don't care about and why. As a younger engineer I know I made numerous mistakes building cost into my products in areas that simply didn't add to the customer experience.

b) Conduct your own in-context, ethnographic research BUT use this research not just as a way of asking questions and gaining information but also as a way of testing your personal hypothesis on what would make the product experience unique and special. Use models, prototypes, storyboard, mock-ups and scenarios to convey the future to users and see how they react. Listen but also challenge and probe.

c) Think like an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are flexible, nimble and innovative. They also have no stake or interest in politics, history or moral victories.

d) Reduce your product brand to an inspirational statement. How should using this product make me feel about myself and my life?

e) Reduce your product design differentiation to a single 30 second commercial spot. If you were making a commercial about why this product was unique and special and why the experience of using this will be the best possible one, what would this commercial say? Pin this on the wall and then use this as a mantra during the design effort.

You will make a thousand decisions on design details during the course of each design project. For each one, go back and look at (d) and (e) and use them as your moral compass."

"there is growing competition in this market, and i think the tricky thing does become differentiation, and often times that is because of marketing and branding. obviously price point comes in. i would check out the kohler site. Recently they have added this information to their website, which showcases the quality details that are in their product. If the customer doesn't even KNOW your using high quality materials then what's the point (especially when you are a new brand) can you break the test into different aspects such as looks, materials, feel so you're only measuring them one at a time?"

"I would just say one word- weight. Chinese add sand to their batteries to evoke the perception of quality. Grohe does nice showerheads, but they feel cheap, because they are too light. With weight goes dampening effects, i.e. the sound of banging it against something, or the sound of the water coming out."

"I would say that the key to my perception of shower quality is the material. Certain materials scream cheap, no matter how well utilized. I would think that thick metal, stone/ceramic, and large expanses of glass read as quality. Thin metal and plastic seem cheap."

"BMWs cost what, 50-200% more? So they spend more on higher quality materials, tighter assemblies, metal instead of plastic, higher quality tooling, more handwork...? I'm guessing here. I know Apple spends many times more on tooling than HP because they push the envelope and demand the highest quality (no partlines! No draft! Hand finished metals!)...and they charge a premium. A buddy who works at Apple told me that Jobs says "we have billions in the bank, I want to spend it on tooling" "