Investigating usage data support in development processes - A case study

The design of new product development processes which integrate customer perspective promises great potential regarding rising volatility of external influences, shorter product life cycles and exponential technological advancements. However, the collection of data places great demands on organization’s resources and is only useful, if the data collection can ensure adequate quality. Product-Service Systems are a promising approach to collect usage data during their operational phase. A case study was conducted to provide insights to serve as the basis for an information management concept that aims to integrate usage data into design. The observed development process was documented and reconstructed, to identify factors influencing the use of data and information as well as questions that arose during the development project that could be answered by providing usage data. The findings imply that accurate usage data should be provided as early in the development process as possible and that the creation and distribution of information from usage data must be controlled. The proposed concept is designed to meet these requirements by establishing a demand driven information market.