Anticipating Soft Problems with Consumer Electronic Products : How do soft problems interact with user characteristics and product properties?

Abstract

Over the last decade consumer electronic product industries have been confronted with an increase in consumer complaints. Interestingly about half of the reasons for product return are based on so called ‘soft problems’, consumer complaints that cannot be traced back to technical problems. Probably this phenomenon results from technological changes as well as user diversity. Therefore, this PhD project focused on how soft problems are related to product properties and user characteristics. In the study three types of soft problems were identified, related to sensory, functional, and operational qualities. Based on the categorization, the relationship between types of soft problems, product properties, user characteristics and follow-up (re)actions were investigated. In the studies people expressed a huge amount of complaints about a large variety of electronic products, all of which can be defined as soft problems. Overall, all studies revealed that soft problems are partly related to product properties, user characteristics and follow-up (re)actions. In order to make these findings useful for design practice, two methods were proposed and discussed: an interactive tool and a workshop approach. This study gives an overview of how user characteristics and product properties interact with product use. When these aspects are taken into consideration in the product development process, the seriousness of potential problems can be identified. The data found and the methods developed can contribute to better design that will increase consumer satisfaction.