Citation:
Keith Goffin, Design for Supportability : An Essential Component of New Product Development, Research-Technology Management, Volume 43, Number 2, 1 March 2000, pp. 40-47
Abstract:
During new product development, R&D engineers consider a wide range of often
conflicting requirements, including product features, cost, quality, and
manufacturability. Another factor, which companies often neglect, is to ensure
that products are easy and economical to service and support—i.e., to install,
to maintain, to repair, to operate, etc. Product support is essential for
achieving customer satisfaction in many industries, including high-tech sectors
such as computing as well as "low-tech" sectors such as domestic appliances and
the like. Leading companies recognize both the importance of product support and
the significance of evaluating support requirements at the design stage by using
Design for Supportability techniques. This enables them to gain competitive
advantage from customer support and earn significant revenue