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Defining “quality” from customers’ perspective and controlling it throughout the product development process is a fuzzy and enduring task, especially for companies that are, simultaneously, fighting cost pressure and shortening product and technology life cycles. The poor predictability of customer demands complicates the definition of established requirements. During the product development process, product experts interpret the customer requirements and transfer them into product specifications. Due to the subjective nature of customer demands and the vast field of human perception, a huge number of product parameters have to be analyzed and specified to assure a comprehensive and successful approach. In order to keep an adequate cost–value ratio in production, it is not possible to pinpoint “hard” tolerances for each parameter. This article depicts the structured approach to choose the parameters, which are relevant for the customers’ quality judgment, and to tolerance “soft” customer perceptions. The emphasis lies on defining and scaling product parameters by combining product tests, interviews and focus groups for evaluation and interpretation by statistical means. Furthermore, the gathered information will be transferred into a “describing” specification, which will be supported by a tolerancing process based on statistical means.

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In this research project an independent case study on the new contactless 3D body measuring native mobile applications has been carried out. The presented approach allows combination of three different measurement methods: the manual body measuring with the help of traditional instruments, 3D full body scanning technology and the contactless body measuring via smartphone applications. This paper discusses results of the investigation of usability of the measurement process via 3D body scanning apps on the Gage R&R methodology and the examination of their measuring accuracy. The current research provides analysis of body data obtained by the mobile scanning apps with the help of various methods.

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This paper examines the influence of virtual and augmented reality on the purchasing decision-making process for clothing. The aim of the study is to gain well-founded insights into the possibilities and limitations of using virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR) techniques in that process. It can be shown that VR and AR applications as interactive systems can offer valuable support in the purchasing decision-making process. New chances and possibilities arise for future shopping in virtual or augmented realities, in which customers are supported in their decision-making. So far, the simulation of visual properties, the limited range of offered pieces, the lack of customer acceptance as well as high barriers to entry and expensive hardware solutions have weakened the full exploitation of potential.

Nowadays technical excellence is not enough to inspire customers for a product. Absolute freedom from error is a basic requirement. But how can customers be rendered enthusiastic about future products? The answer to this question lies in the creation of optimal customer-specific products. Perceived quality of a product is constituted by all visual, tactile, acoustic, gustatory and olfactory impressions. Perceived quality adds customer group specific and subjective perceptible characteristics to the basic understanding of quality. Until now there is no comprehensive systematic approach to close the gap between subjective customer perception and objective product characteristics. To manage these challenges, it is necessary to change the way of thinking within the product development

The purpose of the paper is the elicitation of customers' perception information regarding consumer goods within different levels of accuracy. In the industry for consumer goods many efforts are carried out for the elicitation of customer information, but a systematic preparation and distribution of the gathered information is missing. Information with different level of accuracy circulates within a company but is not centralized for corporate use. Based on a proposed holistic framework for objectifying customer information for supply chains' product specifications study procedures have been developed and corresponded studies were conducted. The results show that a gradual approach objectifies customers' perception. Products can be divided into subelements by identifying perception clusters and quality attributes. First correlations between customers' judgment and characteristics of quality attributes can be shown.