Abstract
The customer value in the focus. The success rate of new products or services can be increased only by a consequent orientation at the customer value: the customer needs drive the buying decision! Especially in service design, the identification and communication of the customer benefit is often very difficult. This paper presents a methodology which helps to identify systematically the customer needs and the relative customer requirements and how to define on their basis the functional requirements for product development. The approach bases on the principles of Axiomatic Design and enlarges them by a component for the systematic identification of customer benefits and requirements. An example taken from the service sector helps to illustrate the successful application of the approach. © Carl Hanser Verlag.