Deck 5: Finding and Solving Customers Problems

Question 1

The longer an online community is in operation,the more difficult it becomes to organize the content and make it easy for participants to find their way around.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Generally,groups are much better than individuals in dealing with really new ideas and finding radical solutions to problems.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

One way to address the problem of new product failure is to begin the development process by:

A)identifying heavy product users.
B)creating a problem-solution matrix.
C)identifying unsolved consumer problems.
D)preparing concept statements.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Role playing,long used as a tool to enhance creativity,has proven successful as a means of generating new product ideas.

Question 5

Which of the following internal records is most likely to serve as a psychological projective technique that may reveal the products / services sought by users / consumers?

A)Warranty files
B)Sales files
C)Complaint files
D)Sales call reports

Question 6

2.Despite its name,problem "analysis" is primarily concerned with building an inventory of user problems.

Question 7

An existing firm routinely generates potentially valuable data to guide new product development from its everyday contacts with customers and other entities.

Question 8

For conducting a good scenario analysis,participants will likely have difficulty understanding really complex scenarios.

Question 9

There is increasing evidence that electronic brainstorming outperforms traditional brainstorming in terms of productivity and output of unique ideas.

Question 10

A product can be expressed in two words,a verb and an object.

Question 11

The fourth general source of stakeholder needs,scenario analysis,comes into play because the ideal problem for us to find is one that customers do not know they have at this time.

Question 12

The focus group is an inexpensive technique that has proven to be the most effective means of identifying / solving marketing problems.

Question 13

In static leap studies,the focus is on what changes must be made between now and then if the leap scenario is to come about.

Question 14

Sorting and ranking problems according to their severity or importance uses the extent of the problem and the frequency of its occurrence.

Question 15

The most common source for identifying needs and solutions comes from:

A)records of routine contacts with consumers and others.
B)focus groups.
C)scenario analysis.
D)brainstorming.

Question 16

The end result of the problem-based concept generation process is:

A)a detailed situation analysis.
B)the selection of one or more problem identification techniques.
C)the development of concept statements for further evaluation.
D)a rank-ordered list of potential problems.

Question 17

The phenomenon of "omniscient proximity" holds that the first problem mentioned by a product's user is likely to be a major flaw that is encountered rarely.

Question 18

Step one of reverse brainstorming involves identifying a group of heavy product users or activity participants within that category.

Question 19

The leading cause of new product failure is:

A)the poor quality of the new product.
B)the absence of a perceived need by the intended end user.
C)lack of sufficient advertising of the new product.
D)high cost of the new product.

Question 20

Speedstorming involves stating an idea only to have someone shoot it down.

Question 21

Which of the following statements is true regarding the role playing method?

A)It has proven to be the most effective means of extracting product problems / solutions from stakeholders.
B)It is useful in situations where product users are unable to visualize or verbalize their reactions.
C)It is a form of focus group technique.
D)Most firms have organized systems to use the role playing method of gathering information.

Question 22

Herman Corporation is investigating the changes it must be prepared to make in order to be competitive in 2020,so that it can solve the future problems and have solutions ready to market when the time comes.The firm's efforts can be BEST described as a(n):

A)focus group study.
B)dynamic leap study.
C)observational study.
D)wild card study.

Question 23

The most productive methodology to use for gathering a list of consumer problems is:

A)consulting experts.
B)reviewing published sources.
C)brainstorming with members of consulting firms.
D)contacting stakeholders directly.

Question 24

Which of the following statements regarding the observation method of gathering information is NOT true?

A)It is rooted in sociological studies.
B)It often involves recording on video to enhance analytical opportunities.
C)It requires the interpretation of actions and / or body language.
D)It is a qualitative research technique.

Question 25

The use of stakeholder contacts as a methodology for gathering information useful for problem analysis involves the use of:

A)quality circles.
B)focus groups.
C)published sources.
D)internal records.

Question 26

One of the ways of increasing the usefulness of focus group findings is to invite scientists and top executives to the sessions and to avoid what some people call:

A)reverse brainstorming.
B)precision error.
C)quality circle.
D)prayer groups.

Question 27

The phenomenon of _____ describes a tendency for respondent to mention minor,but frequently encountered,problems first.

A)reverse brainstorming
B)omniscient proximity
C)observational projection
D)projected externality

Question 28

Which of the following techniques can be used to identify those problems that customers or end users do not know they have at this time?

A)Focus group
B)Scenario analysis
C)Role playing
D)Product function analysis

Question 29

This technique has long been used in psychology to enhance creativity but there is little evidence of its successful use in generating ideas for new products.It is valuable in instances where product users are unable to visualize or verbalize their reactions.It should also be valuable where consumers are emotionally unable or unwilling to express their views.

A)Focus group
B)Interviewing
C)Role playing
D)Reviewing published sources

Question 30

Which of the following techniques of scoring problems ranks and sorts problems according to the extent of the problem,and the frequency of its occurrence?

A)Phishing
B)Brainstorming
C)Crowdsourcing
D)Bothersomeness

Question 31

With reference to scenario analysis,in _____ studies,the focus is on what changes must be made between now and then if the leap scenario is to come about.

A)dynamic leap
B)exploratory
C)product function
D)prayer group

Question 32

The most common method of directly contacting stakeholders is:

A)observation.
B)role playing.
C)focus group.
D)interviewing.

Question 33

In this procedure,participants generate a list of key problems with the product currently in use,then group and prioritize these such that product development can focus on addressing the most important problems.

A)Psychological projection
B)Skimming
C)Crowdsourcing
D)Reverse brainstorming

Question 34

Scenario analysis:

A)helps us in finding out those problems that customers do not know they have at this time.
B)is primarily used to solve current problems with products already in the market.
C)focuses on problems that have already been told to competitors.
D)involves watching customers using products in their own environments.

Question 35

Crunch Cereals Inc. ,in order to better anticipate customer needs,sent their executives to visit the homes of U.S.families that used their products.The research suggested that office-going customers would like to have their cereal on the go.Based on this idea,Crunch Cereals came up with a new "Drink'n Crunch" portable package.Identify the methodology used to gather information regarding customer needs.

A)Focus groups
B)Observation
C)Interviewing
D)Prayer groups

Question 36

The first step of the reverse brainstorming procedure is determining the appropriate product or activity category for exploration.This has already been done if the product innovation charter has a(n)_____ dimension in the focus statement.

A)form
B)technology
C)use
D)potential problems

Question 37

Which of the following statements is NOT true regarding a focus group?

A)It is the least costly method of information gathering.
B)It is designed to yield the exploratory and depth-probing type of discussion required.
C)Although the focus group technique is common,the outcome is not always,or even usually,successful.
D)The focus group is a qualitative research technique.

Question 38

Which of the following techniques can suggest new product functions by creating as many verb-object combinations as possible?

A)Reverse brainstorming
B)Omniscient proximity
C)Product function analysis
D)Scenario analysis

Question 39

A disadvantage of using in-house people to report on customer problems is that:

A)most in-house people have not spent any time with customers and end-users.
B)each suggestion is usually someone's perception of what the customer problem is.
C)technical people are not involved in the information gathering process.
D)in-house people generally lack the skills required for analyzing customer problems.

Question 40

One of the dimensions of sorting and ranking the problems used by the bothersome technique is the:

A)cost of resolving the problem.
B)frequency of problem occurrence.
C)time required for problem resolution.
D)complexity of the problem.

Question 41

This technique is described as a round-robin format,similar to speed-dating,in which participants pair off and discuss a topic for a three- to five-minute round.The goal of each round is to come up with ideas that can be pursued by the new product team.

A)Brainsketching
B)Speedstorming
C)Itemized response
D)The Picasso Method

Question 42

Discuss the use of internal records in identifying sources of problem.Give some examples.

Question 43

According to an assessment by the Arlington Institute,in the future,human cloning will raise ethical issues as well as the possibility of extending human life thanks to organ and tissue cloning.This high-impact,low-probability event is an example of:

A)observation.
B)lateral thinking.
C)wild cards.
D)itemized response.

Question 44

Explain reverse brainstorming.

Question 45

In an attempt to ensure that creativity groups work on problems instead of merely discussing them,Coinstar Inc. ,creates its groups from pools of functional specialists representing relevant fields.Identify the methodology used by the firm to gather the list of consumer problems.

A)Disciplines panel
B)Observation
C)Leap studies
D)Role-playing

Question 46

Which of the following guidelines should be followed for conducting a good scenario analysis?

A)Do a 20- to 25-year projection
B)A group of about 20 people works best
C)Periodically summarize progress
D)Never repeat the groups for scenario analyses

Question 47

List the guidelines to be followed for conducting a good scenario analysis.

Question 48

Back in 1938,advertising executive Alex Osborn wrote a book about a technique he called ____.All of the group ideation techniques developed since that time are spin-offs of his process and embody one idea: One person presents a thought,another person reacts to it,another person reacts to the reaction,and so on.

A)crowdsourcing
B)brainstorming
C)scenario analysis
D)focus group

Question 49

Discuss product function analysis.

Question 50

_____ are high-impact,low-probability events.By studying these events,one assesses the likelihoods of occurrence of the identified events and investigates the threats or new product opportunities they suggest.

A)Static leaps
B)Wild leaps
C)Dynamic leaps
D)Wild cards

Question 51

What is speedstorming?

Question 52

Identify an advantage that electronic brainstorming may have as compared to traditional brainstorming.

A)It allows only one person to talk at a time
B)Unpopular ideas would not crop up
C)It encourages "social loafing"
D)Participants can answer anonymously

Question 53

Brainstorming and the group creativity techniques it spawned,tend to rely heavily upon:

A)watching customers using products in their own environments.
B)leaping into the future to pick a period that is then described.
C)the presenting / reacting sequence that gives group creativity its meaning.
D)the study of wild cards-high-impact,low-probability events.

Question 54

Describe the focus group method.

Question 55

Which of the following techniques should be followed to make a brainstorming session more effective?

A)Go for a small quantity of ideas
B)Stop the brainstorming session when the group hits a plateau
C)Build models and prototypes of ideas
D)Judge the ideas as soon as they are put forward

Question 56

Most problem solving:

A)should necessarily involve top management.
B)is done by members of the new product group involved in the concept generation work.
C)should not involve marketing people.
D)must choose between science and intuition.

Question 57

Which of the following techniques encourages the use of "art" to encourage seeking / communicating connections between ideas?

A)Brainsketching
B)Speedstorming
C)Itemized response
D)Idea Box