A framework for choice modeling in usage context-based design

Usage Context-Based Design (UCBD) is an area of growing interest within the design community. A framework and a step-by-step procedure for implementing consumer choice modeling in UCBD are presented in this work. To implement the proposed approach, methods for common usage identification, data collection, linking performance with usage context, and choice model estimation are developed. For data collection, a method of try-it-out choice experiments is presented. This method is necessary to account for the different choices respondents make conditional on the given usage context, which allows us to examine the influence of product design, customer profile, usage context attributes, and their interactions, on the choice process. Methods of data analysis are used to understand the collected choice data, as well as to understand clusters of similar customers and similar usage contexts. The choice modeling framework, which considers the influence of usage context on both the product performance, choice set and the consumer preferences, is presented as the key element of a quantitative usage context-based design process. In this framework, product performance is modeled as a function of both the product design and the usage context. Additionally, usage context enters into an individual customer's utility function directly to capture its influence on product preferences. The entire process is illustrated with a case study of the design of a jigsaw.