Addressing information asymmetry during design: customer-centric approach to harmonization of car body split-lines

Abstract

Implementation of methods for perceived quality evaluation is an integral part of the automotive manufacturers’ strategic development plans. The development of models for objective assessment of perceived quality is a very important task, addressing information asymmetry between designers and customers. This study seeks to understand how customers perceive and prioritize attributes associated with the car body split lines. We applied best-worst scaling methodology (BWS) to understand the importance of different shape design forms from a customer perspective. This approach was tested on 125 respondents. Our results indicate the improvement of engineering practices regarding complex product development solutions and their evaluation.