Choice modeling for usage context-based design

Usage context-based design (UCBD) is an emerging design paradigm where usage context is considered as a critical part of driving factors behind customers' choices. Here, usage context is defined as all aspects describing the context of product use that vary under different use conditions and affect product performance and/or consumer preferences for the product attributes. In this paper, we propose a choice modeling framework for UCBD to quantify the impact of usage context on customer choices. We start with defining a taxonomy for UCBD. By explicitly modeling usage context's influence on both product performances and customer preferences, a step-by-step choice modeling procedure is proposed to support UCBD. Two case studies, a jigsaw example with stated preference data and a hybrid electric vehicle example with revealed preference data, demonstrate the needs and benefits of incorporating usage context in choice modeling.