Abstract

FRANK, Alejandro Germán; SOUZA, Diego Vinicius; ECHEVESTE, Márcia Elisa  and  RIBEIRO, José Luis Duarte. A systematic analysis for multi-criteria evaluation of product development investments. Prod. [online]. 2011, vol.21, n.4, pp. 570-582.  Epub Nov 08, 2011. ISSN 0103-6513.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0103-65132011005000060.

This paper presents a systematic analysis for multi-criteria evaluation of product development investments. The proposed systematic analysis is supported by key criteria to be considered during decision making. It is based on the use of traditional investment evaluation methods, such as NPV and payback, as well as in product development tools - QFD and SWOT. These tools are employed to assist the construction of the multi-criteria evaluation method, which follows the precepts of the Multi-attribute Utility Theory (MAUT). The proposed systematic analysis provides two main contributions: i) it integrates three key criteria concerning new product investment decisions: profit (considered by the economic evaluation), quality (considered by QFD), and strategy (considered by SWOT); ii) it includes a modification in the definition of the weights used by the MAUT evaluation, reducing the subjectivity of value attribution. The proposed systematic analysis was tested in an applied study and the results were discussed.

Keywords : QFD; SWOT; MAUT; Investments; Product development.