An Application of Product-Service System Development Methodology in Development of Smart Home Appliances

Abstract

With the diffusion of smartphones, smart products are taking deep root within our lives. Considering the high-end smart home appliances displayed at international electronics shows, smartness is being regarded as one of the most critical criteria to judge the competitiveness of manufacturing companies not only for IT devices but also for home appliances. Reflecting this tendency, many global home appliance manufacturers are devoting effort to Smart Home Appliance (SHA) development. In many cases, however, smart functions cannot provide users with significant added values because of technology-oriented approaches. Without a clear understanding on the notion of smartness, developmental strategy, and relevant methodologies, it is hard to develop genuine SHAs which effectively address users’ needs by providing differentiated values. Defined as marketable systems of products and services capable of fulfilling a user’s demand, Product-Service System (PSS) can provide SHAs manufacturers with an innovative approach to develop solution that address users’ needs in more effective ways and raise market competitiveness through offering both products and services. By shifting from sales-oriented business model to PSS, companies can perform better in terms of environmental, social and economic sustainability. Nonetheless, switching the business model based on manufacturing into a PSS model is a challenging approach for manufacturing companies because of differences between offering products and services. Underlying hypothesis of this research is that PSS development methodology can contribute to SHA development. As the first step to prove this hypothesis, the developmental direction of SHA and various PSS development methodologies were explored through literature reviews. A unified PSS methodology was proposed and the relevance of its application to SHA development inquired through expert interviews. In the expert interview the stages of existing SHA development processes which need to be reinforced with PSS development methodology were identified. Based on the findings from diagnosis, a set of tools to reinforce the SHA development processes were selected and their effectiveness identified through the workshop with practitioners. Through the entire process, the potential of PSS development methodology for SHA development was recognized and the points to be improved to support SHA development better were suggested.