A Sustainable Iterative Product Design Method Based on Considering User Needs from Online Reviews

Qi Wang, Shuo Wang and Si Fu ()
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Qi Wang: School of Industrial Design, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China
Shuo Wang: School of Industrial Design, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China
Si Fu: China-Korea Institute of New Media, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan 430068, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 7, 1-16

Abstract: Small and medium-sized manufacturing industries can use online reviews to add valuable user requirements, enabling them to iteratively and precisely upgrade their products based on user needs. However, a sustainable, iterative approach to product design requires the integration of a large amount of information about user requirements for accurate selection. Currently, product iterations are primarily focused on developing new solutions or upgrading a few components with little screening to see if the product iterations meet user needs. This leads to a large number of wasted resources and a shortened product lifecycle. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a sustainable iterative research method that mines user needs and provides comprehensive decision making for product design based on online reviews, using probabilistic semantic term sets (PLTS). The proposed method considers the hesitation and uncertainty among evaluating experts regarding indicators, and uses the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method to analyze the correlations between demand indicators. The DEMATEL correlation function is improved by reconstructing the PLTS acquisition score function and deviance into a DEMATEL correlation function, in the form of exact values using an improved binary semantic approach. This iterative design approach provides accurate feedback on how users feel about the use of product components and ensures that most product components are sustainably recycled. A drone case study is presented to demonstrate the feasibility of this approach. In-depth interviews with experts confirm that this approach is more sustainable and provides a new research methodology for sustainable iterative product design.

Keywords: user needs; probabilistic semantic sets; iterative product research; multi-attribute decision methods; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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