Abstract:
This thesis has the objective of identifying the criteria for electing new products by the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The case study was conducted for an educational toy manufacturer that has its own product design and development department. The study started out with of interviews of the manufacturers new product selection committee, the retailers and the general customers which consist of parentsand teacher of kindergarteners. The data were then analyzed and arranged in order to identify the set of group objectives and criteria according to the desirable attributes of objectives and criteria for multiple-criteria decision making. This includes setting the weights by using pairwise comparison method. The process was applied to toys that enchance creativity and imagination, toys that enchance coordination, and toys that promote basic mathematics in terms of shapes and categories. The applicability of the objectives and criteria that were set by the manufacturers selection committee was then tested. The testing was conducted by asking the selection committee to select new toy designs using the set of objectives and criteria obtained. The resulting decision was found to be close to the actual decision made by the company. This means that the objectives and criteria work well compare to the actual criteria. Moreover, according questionnaire interviews, the majority of the selection committee were saitisfied with the objectives and criteria obtained. On comparing the objectives, criterias and weights for the three groups comprising of the companys toy selection committee, the retailers and the customers, it was found that the committees objectives and criteria cover those of the retailers, and the general customers. It was therefore concluded that the objectives and criteria obtained for the companys selection committee may be used for selecting new toys. The committees objectives were (1) to fulfill the customers requirements (2) to increase profit, and (3) to enchance companys image, with the weights set for 47, 33 and 20%, respectively. The decision criteria obtained consisted of (1)marketing potentials which include product and price potentials (2) designability in terms of safety and the environment, and the clarity of communication in terms of the development objectives (3) the manufacturablity, and (4) the profitability, with the weights set for 39, 24, 23 and 14%, respectively. From the research, it may be concluded that AHP is applicable for the setting of criteria of new product selection of toys. The research and development department can use information from the process as a guide for developing new product designs. Moreover, this research also demonstrated the potential of AHP for multiple-criteria making in general.