Abstract:
Framework to Implement Customer Driven Product Development Approach
for Sri Lankan Furniture Design Industry
There are two major management approaches in the global product development
industry: top-down and bottom-up. There is a product development approach called,
“New Product Development”. This new bottom-up approach is already practiced in
most developed countries. The elementary approach of this system is based on
customer integration to product development. The involvement on the process has
not been specified. But customers can involve throughout the design to
implementation stages.
There is another approach called customer driven approach, which takes place
among internet communities. Those are called “virtual communities”. In those virtual
communities, people gather all over the world. They share the knowledge, giving
their ideas and comment on improvements. However, there is only few people from a
Sri Lankan base can be seen in those gathering platforms. So, there is a need to
identify this gap prior to introduce those new methodologies into the Sri Lankan
furniture industry. There are more literature published under those specified subjects
and focused on product development. Those indicate some identified barriers, risks
and restrictions when implementing those new methods to different cultural contexts.
Some of them have solutions and some of them not. Therefore, it is necessary to
identify those critical factors related to Sri Lankan culture before implementing it to
local furniture design and manufacturing industry. A properly composed framework
is needed for guidance.
