Towards a robust design method taking into account the preferences of the final user in the early steps of the design process
Résumé
This paper aims at presenting a contribution to the robust design of products by taking into account the preferences and more generally the subjective values of the final user. Centred on the early phases of the design process, the method is based on two different user-tests, a preference test and an assessment test using sensory analysis. These two tests are used to identify subjective criteria that segment the preferences, i.e. for which the preference of the panel of users is greatly variable. These criteria are used next for a robust redesign of product, in order to generate solutions that are robust with respect to the preference, i.e. which possess in the same time variable levels of the criteria. The method is illustrated with an example concerning a MP3 music player.