Combining rough set theory with fuzzy cognitive pairwise rating to construct a novel framework for developing multi-functional tablets

To survive in a fiercely competitive market, global companies must effectively capture user requirements, perceptions, and preferences and efficiently convert them into attractive product design and development. Compared to functional or technical features, affective or ergonomic features can exert more influence on satisfying diverse consumers and accommodating a product to a wide range of usage. In practice, a quantitative approach to transform vague user perceptions of affective features into innovative products is necessary. In this study, a novel framework is proposed to help practitioners achieve the following goals. Initially, Kansei engineering (KE) is integrated with the theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ) to accomplish systematic innovation. Secondly, to accomplish product planning, rough set theory (RST) is used to derive decision rules that can relate user perceptions to demographic variables (i.e. age, gender, and occupation). Finally, to accomplish product recommendation, fuzzy cognitive pairwise rating (FCPR) is applied to quantify user preference. In summary, the presented framework is effective to construct a product platform for developing innovative tablets and efficient to derive insightful decision rules for targeting the ad-hoc user groups.