Product priority problem: a multi-objective optimization approach for product development based on customers' priority

Many companies emphasize on developing new products by adding or removing specific features from existing products according to customers’ demands or priorities. In this paper, an optimization-based procedure is proposed to depict how efficiently the same can be performed by conducting surveys among probable customers. This proposed optimization method is capable of solving selection-based problems in consent with customers’ priority and is aptly termed as the Product Priority Problem (PPP). Limiting the selection of features based upon their integrity and dis-integrity, maximization of customers’ satisfaction and minimization of a product’s price is considered as two conflicting objective functions to lead to a set of trade-off solutions that can be adopted by a company for new products to be developed.