III Unit

Product architecture

Description of the way(s) in which functional elements of a product or system are assigned to its
constituent sections or subsystems, and of the way(s) in which they interact.

Résumé / Abstract
The product portfolio architecture developed by a design team will have a tremendous impact
upon customer satisfaction and market acceptance of the set of products offered by the firm. Yet
most work in architecture centers around cost savings, manufacturability, and other production-
driven concerns. Here, we propose a customer need basis for defining the architecture of a
portfolio of products. Customer needs analysis provides a list of requirements for a product to
sell. At any moment in time, one can assess a market population to establish target values for
product features and represent those targets as probability distributions. Similarly, one can also
trace the product through its use over time, and establish a separate set of desired target values,
also as a set of distributions. Comparing these two distribution sets for every important customer
need can point to the type of architecture a market population desires. When population and time
distributions match, feature adjustability is required. When these distributions are different but
constant in time, a family of product variants is more appropriate. When the population
distribution changes over time, the feature must be isolated so it can be upgraded over time. If
the distributions across both time and population are narrow, a single offering will supply the
needs of the market. An instant film camera product is used as an example of the relationship
between customer need distributions and appropriate product architecture.
V Unit
Product launch
Introduction

Once a product is developed, effectively product launch becomes the critical step to its success.
The Product Launch Process must address all the steps necessary to start volume production,
plan and execute marketing activities, develop needed documentation, train sales and support
personnel (internal and external), fill channels, and prepare to install and support the product.
Product Launch activities are described in more detail in our Product Launch page.

Benefits

An improved product launch process results in faster time-to-market and time-to-profit.

Activities are better planned and coordinated and more tightly integrated. System data
requirements are better understood, and systems may be better integrated. he result is better
production ramp-up, more effective marketing, a sales force better prepared to begin selling the
new product, and a service and support group better able to service and support th new product,
leading to greater customer acceptance.

Our Approach

We can assist in fine-tuning and improving the product launch process by performing the
following activities.

1. Review current product launch process. Identify needed activities, deliverables and system
requirements (inputs and outputs). Determine organizational responsibilities and interfaces.
Identify issues and goals. Our Product Development and Best Practices Assessment provides a
framework for this review. Activities covered in our review include:
o Testing, qualification and certification
o Pilot production and process prove-out
o Forecasting and ERP set-up
o Vendor qualification
o Product and service manuals
o Package design
o Marketing and advertising program design and execution
o Market testing
o Sales and distribution planning
o Sales, support and service training
o Spare parts planning and logistics
2. Develop improved process. Based on understanding the current process and process goals,
we would work with a team of your people to develop an improved process. The process
 improvements would be defined in terms of activities, process outputs or deliverables,
responsibilities, and gate review and design review (e.g., production readiness review, etc.)
requirements. Our PD-Trak tools may provide an improved means to document and control this
process.

3. Integrate organization. In addition to identifying and improved process flow and activity
definition, we have found that a common problem is the need for improved organizational
integration within the product team responsible for development. We would determine
responsibilities, identify organizational impediments, suggest changes, and facilitate team launch
activities.

4. Determine system integration requirements. Product data management (PDM) system tools
provide a repository for product data during development. As a product moves into production,
much of this data needs to be made available to Manufacturing and systems such as Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP). Our expertise with PDM and ERP, enables us to identify how and
when data should be established in an ERP system and consider any system integration
opportunities. We can also address opportunities to move from a more limited PDM system to a
broader Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system approach. In addition, technical data
needs to be used to create product documentation, marketing materials, sales and support
training materials with technical publications and authoring systems. Our working relationship with
the Time-to- Performance Group provides the expertise to evaluate and improve technical and
marketing document management systems.

5. Develop plan templates. Based on the revised process and organization approach, we would
develop a standard launch planning approach and planning templates using tools such as PD-
Trak, MS Word and MS Project.

6. Deploy improved process and tools. After these improved processes and tools were
developed, we would begin by piloting them on a new product about to be launched. This
approach would prove-out the process and tools, gathering valuable experience, and identify any
issues that need to be addressed or improved before full deployment. Once the pilot was
satisfactorily completed, we would develop a plan for full deployment, provide required training,
and, if desired, manage the implementation of the new process.

7. Develop product launch plans. We can also assist with developing product launch plans
through either facilitating discussions or developing draft plans for review. We can provide
marketing and advertising experts from our associated firms to help in those areas as well.
IV Unit
Porter's Five Forces analysis of market structure

The competitive structure of an industry can be analysed using Porter's five forces.

This model attempts to analyse the attractiveness of an industry by considering five forces within
a market.

According to Porter (1980) the likelihood of firms making profits in a given industry depends on
five factors:

1. The likelihood of new entry i.e. the extent to which barriers to entry exist. The more
difficult it is for other firms to enter a market the more likely it is that existing firms can make
relatively high profits.

The likelihood of entering a market would be lower if:

• the entry costs are high e.g. if heavy investment is required in marketing or equipment
• there are major advantages to firms that have been operating in the industry already in
terms of their experience and understanding of how the market works (this is known as
the "learning effect")
• government policy prevents entry or makes it more difficult; for example, protectionist
measures may mean a tax is placed on foreign products or there is a limit to the number
of overseas goods that can be sold. This would make it difficult for a foreign firm to enter
a market
• the existing brands have a high level of loyalty
• the existing firms may react aggressively to any new entrant e.g. with a price war
• the existing firms have control of the supplies .e.g. entering the diamond industry might
be difficult because the majority of known sources of diamonds are controlled by
companies such as De Beers.

2. The power of buyers.

The stronger the power of buyers in an industry the more likely it is that they will be able to
force down prices and reduce the profits of firms that provide the product.

Buyer power will be higher if:

• there are a few, big buyers so each one is very important to the firm
• the buyers can easily switch to other providers so the provider needs to provide a high
quality service at a good price
 • the buyers are in position to take over the firm. If they have the resources to buy the
provider this threat can lead to a better service because they have real negotiating power

3. The power of suppliers.

The stronger the power of suppliers in an industry the more difficult it is for firms within that
sector to make a profit because suppliers can determine the terms and conditions on which
business is conducted.

Suppliers will be more powerful if:

• there are relatively few of them (so the buyer has few alternatives)
• switching to another supplier is difficult and/or expensive
• the supplier can threaten to buy the existing firms so is in a strong negotiating position

4. The degree of rivalry

This measures the degree of competition between existing firms. The higher the degree of rivalry
the more difficult it is for existing firms to generate high profits.

Rivalry will be higher if:

• there are a large number of similar sized firms (rather than a few dominant firms) all
competing with each other for customers
• the costs of leaving the industry are high e.g. because of high levels of investment. This
means that existing firms will fight hard to survive because they cannot easily transfer
their resources elsewhere
• the level of capacity utilisation. If there are high levels of capacity being underutilised the
existing firms will be very competitive to try and win sales to boost their own demand
• the market is shrinking so firms are fighting for their share of falling sales
• there is little brand loyalty so customer are likely to switch easily between products

5. The substitute threat.

This measures the ease with which buyers can switch to another product that does the same
thing e.g. aluminium cans rather than glass or plastic bottles. The ease of switching depends on
what costs would be involved (e.g. transferring all your data to a new database system and
retraining staff could be expensive) and how similar customers perceive the alternatives to be.

Using Porter's analysis firms are likely to generate higher returns if the industry:

• Is difficult to enter
• There is limited rivalry
• Buyers are relatively weak
• Suppliers are relatively weak
 • There are few substitutes.

On the other hands returns are likely to be low if:

• The industry is easy to enter

• There is a high degree of rivalry between firms within the industry
• Buyers are strong
• Suppliers are strong
• It is easy to switch to alternatives

The implication of Porter's analysis for managers is that they should examine these five factors
before choosing an industry to move into. They should also consider ways of changing the five
factors to make them more favourable.

For example:

• if firms merge together this can reduce the degree of rivalry . This has happened a great
deal in industries such as automobiles, pharmaceuticals and banking where firms have
joined together to remove competitors
• if firms buy up distributors (this is called forward vertical integration) they can gain more
control over buyers
• if firms differentiate their product perhaps by trying to generate some form of Unique
Selling Proposition (USP) that makes it stand out from the competition. This lies at the
heart of many marketing and brand building activities. Coca Cola, for example, has
fought hard to promote itself as "the real thing"; everything else is just imitation!
• if they react aggressively to a firm that enters its market this may deter potential
entrants in the future

The five forces will change over time as market conditions alter. For example, more information
is available nowadays to enable customers to compare offerings and prices; this gives buyers
more power. The opening up of world markets (for example through the efforts of the World
Trade Organisation to reduce protectionist measures that limit trade and the expansion of the
European Union enabling free trade between more countries) has led to much more rivalry in
markets in recent years. In North America, for example, the sales of Japanese firms such as
Toyota have gradually been reducing the market share of American producers such as General
Motors as consumers have more choice. Meanwhile, the success of the internet has made it
easier for producers to enter many markets such as finance, book retailing and clothes retailing;
the ability to start selling online has reduced a major barrier to entry which was the investment
required to set up a network of shops. As ever the business world is not static and the conditions
in any industry will always be changing. As this happens the various elements of the five forces
are always shifting requiring established firms and potential entrants to review their strategies.
Market Structure Analysis:

Cluster Analysis & Perceptual Mapping

Market structure analysis or segmentation seeks to identify and profile subgroups of a
given population. POPULUS has conducted numerous segmentation studies for a wide
variety of clients involving a wide range of products, services, and institutions. POPULUS
has been on the cutting edge in the development of sophisticated techniques for the
analysis of market segmentation data and graphic presentation of the analytical results.

Cluster Analysis
Cluster analysis is a set of techniques for separating objects into mutually exclusive
groups such that the groups are relatively homogeneous. It is concerned with
classification and is part of the field of numerical taxonomy.
A problem faced by many users of cluster analysis is that every cluster analysis always
produces clusters, whether there is any underlying structure in the data or not. Given
the natural tendency to read meaning into even the most random of patterns, that fact
that a solution seems reasonable is no guarantee that the results would be
reproducible with a different sample or a different set of variables.
Sawtooth Software’s Convergent Cluster Analysis (CCA) program addresses this
problem
by using a k-means method of determining clusters that involves iterating from random
but strategically chosen starting points. The analyst specifies the number of clusters to
be defined. Each solution proceeds automatically with these steps:
1) A set of “starting points” is determined. There are as many starting points as
clusters desired.
2) Each respondent is classified into a group corresponding to the starting point
to which he or she is most similar.
3) The averages to each variable are computed for the respondents in each group.
These averages replace the starting points.
4) Steps 2 and 3 are repeated until no respondents are reclassified from the
previous iteration.
The resulting cluster solutions can be evaluated using common sense judgment as well
as measures of reliability and discrimination:
Common sense judgment assesses the face validity of each analytical solution, based
upon existing knowledge of the subject category.
Reliability, defined as consistent cluster recovery, can be measured using several
methods: split-sample correlations, reproducibility, and stability. By “reproducibility” is
meant the percent of the sample re-clustered together in a subsequent solution that
has the same number of clusters. Stability takes reproducibility one step further. By
POPULUS - 2 - Market Structure Analysis
“stability” is meant the degree to which cluster members are re-clustered in solutions
with different numbers (k-1 or k+1) of clusters.
By “discrimination” is meant the extent to which clusters are different from one
another. A measure of discrimination can provide evidence of actual cluster structure:
between-cluster differentiation relative to within-cluster similarity.

Perceptual Mapping
Perceptual mapping has been used as a strategic management tool for about thirty
years. It offers a unique ability to communicate market structure analysis—i.e., the
complex relationships among marketplace competitors and the criteria used by buyers
in making purchase decisions and recommendations. Its powerful graphic simplicity
appeals to senior management and can stimulate discussion and strategic thinking at
all levels of all types of organizations.
All mapping techniques attempt to show the comparative differences in how products
or services are rated on a given set of attributes. The validity of a map depends on both
the overall set of attributes and brands in the study as well as the subset of attributes
and brands evaluated by each respondent.
Most studies suffer from too many attributes. Manufacturers and service providers see
hundreds of ways in which their products and services differ—or might differ—from
those of their competitors. In most studies it is usually desirable (or necessary) to
select a subset of attributes from respondents to rate.
POPULUS employs multiple discriminant analysis of respondent attribute ratings to
produce perceptual maps. This analysis finds the optimal weighted combination of all
the attributes which would produce the highest F ratio of between-product/service to
within-product/service variation. That weighted combination of attributes becomes the
first dimension of the map. Then a second weighted combination of attributes is found
which has the next highest F ratio, subject to the constraint that this combination be
uncorrelated with the first. The lack of correlation permits the plotting of the two
dimensions graphically at right angles.
Once the weighted combination of attributes defining each dimension are determined,
it is possible to compute the average score of each product or service on each
dimension. Those scores are used to plot the positions of the products or services in
the representational space. The averages for all products are zero on each attribute
and also each dimension. Geometrically, this means that the “center of gravity” of all
the product/service points lies at the center of the space.
Each attribute is plotted as a vector from the origin to a point which has as its
coordinates the correlation of the attribute with the dimensions. This means that an
attribute which contributes heavily to a dimension, and is therefore highly correlated
with that dimension, appears on the map as an arrow pointing nearly in the same
direction as the dimension.
The length of an attribute vector is equal to the square root of the sum of its squared
correlations with the dimensions. The relative length of an attribute vector in any two
POPULUS - 3 - Market Structure Analysis

POPULUS - 3 - Market Structure Analysis

dimensional space is an indication of the extent to which that attribute is “accounted”
for by those two dimensions
Products or services with vague, undifferentiated images, or those about which
respondents disagree, lie near the center of the space. Those products / services with
highest averages on an attribute are farthest from the center of the space in the
direction of its vector, and those products / services with lowest averages on an
attribute are farthest from the center of the space in the opposite direction.

In the map above, products as well as market segments have been plotted in the
perceptual space.
Perceptual maps offer insightful and—even after many years of use—innovative
perspectives for a wide range of market research objectives.
EXPECTANCY VALUE MODEL
History and Orientation
Expectancy value theory is directly linked to uses and gratifications theory. The theory was founded by Martin
Fishbein in the 1970s.

Core Assumptions and Statements

Core: According to expectancy-value theory, behavior is a function of the expectancies one has and the value
of the goal toward which one is working. Such an approach predicts that, when more than one behavior is
possible, the behavior chosen will be the one with the largest combination of expected success and value.
Expectancy-value theories hold that people are goal-oriented beings. The behaviors they perform in response
to their beliefs and values are undertaken to achieve some end. However, although expectancy-value theory
can be used to explain central concepts in uses and gratifications research, there are other factors that
influence the process. For example the social and psychological origins of needs, which give rise to motives for
behavior, which may be guided by beliefs, values, and social circumstances into seeking various gratifications
through media consumption and other nonmedia behaviors.
Statements: Expectancy value theory suggests that “people orient themselves to the world according to their
expectations (beliefs) and evaluations”. Utilizing this approach, behavior, behavioral intentions, or attitudes are
seen as a function of “(1) expectancy (or belief) – the perceived probability that an object possesses a
particular attribute or that a behavior will have a particular consequence; and (2) evaluation – the degree of
affect, positive or negative, toward an attribute or behavioral outcome” (Palmgreen, 1984).

Conceptual Model

Expectancy value model

Source: Palmgreen (1984)

Preference regression is a statistical technique used by marketers to determine consumers’

preferred core benefits. It usually supplements product positioning techniques like multi
dimensional scaling or factor analysis and is used to create ideal vectors on perceptual maps.
Starting with raw data from surveys, researchers apply positioning techniques to determine
important dimensions and plot the position of competing products on these dimensions. Next
they regress the survey data against the dimensions. The independent variables are the data
collected in the survey. The dependent variable is the preference datum. Like all regression
methods, the computer fits weights to best predict data. The resultant regression line is referred
to as an ideal vector because the slope of the vector is the ratio of the preferences for the two
dimensions.

If all the data is used in the regression, the program will derive a single equation and hence a
single ideal vector. This tends to be a blunt instrument so researchers refine the process with
cluster analysis. This creates clusters that reflect market segments. Separate preference
regressions are then done on the data within each segment. This provides an ideal vector for each
segment.

Business analysis is the discipline[1] of identifying business needs and determining solutions to
business problems. Solutions often include a systems development component, but may also
consist of process improvement, organizational change or strategic planning and policy
development. The person who carries out this task is called a business analyst or BA. [2]

Those BAs who work solely on developing software systems may be called IT Business
Analysts, Technical Business Analysts, Online Business Analysts or Systems Analysts.

Business analysis techniques

There are a number of techniques that a Business Analyst will use when facilitating business
change. These range from workshop facilitation techniques used to elicit requirements, to
techniques for analyzing and organizing requirements.

Some of these techniques include:

PESTLE

This is used to perform an external environmental analysis by examining the many different
external factors affecting an organization.
The six attributes of PESTLE:

Political (Current and potential influences from political pressures)

Economic (The local, national and world economy impact)

Sociological (The ways in which a society can affect an organisation)

Technological (The effect of new and emerging technology)

 Legal (The effect of national and world legislation)

Environmental (The local, national and world environmental issues)

MOST

This is used to perform an internal environmental analysis by defining the attributes of MOST to
ensure that the project you are working on is aligned to each of the 4 attributes.
The four attributes of MOST[3]

Mission (where the business intends to go)

Objectives (the key goals which will help achieve the mission)

Strategies (options for moving forward)

Tactics (how strategies are put into action)

SWOT

This is used to help focus activities into areas of strength and where the greatest opportunities lie.
This is used to identify the dangers that take the form of weaknesses and both internal and
external threats.
The four attributes of SWOT:

Strengths - What are the advantages? What is currently done well? (e.g. key
area of best-performing activities of your company)

Weaknesses - What could be improved? What is done badly? (e.g. key area
where you are performing poorly)

Opportunities - What good opportunities face the organisation? (e.g. key area
where your competitors are performing poorly)

Threats - What obstacles does the organisation face? (e.g. key area where
your competitor will perform well)

CATWOE

This is used to prompt thinking about what the business is trying to achieve. Business
perspectives help the business analyst to consider the impact of any proposed solution on the
people involved.
There are six elements of CATWOE[4]

Customers - Who are the beneficiaries of the highest level business process
and how does the issue affect them?
 Actors - Who is involved in the situation, who will be involved in implementing
solutions and what will impact their success?

Transformation Process - What processes or systems are affected by the

issue?

World View - What is the big picture and what are the wider impacts of the
issue?

Owner - Who owns the process or situation being investigated and what role
will they play in the solution?

Environmental Constraints - What are the constraints and limitations that will
impact the solution and its success?

De Bono 6Hat

This is often used in a brainstorming session to generate and analyse ideas and options. It is
useful to encourage specific types of thinking and can be a convenient and symbolic way to
request someone to “switch gear. It involves restricting the group to only thinking in specific
ways - giving ideas & analysis in the “mood” of the time. Also known as the Six Thinking Hats.

White: Pure, facts, logical.

Green: Creative, emotional

Yellow: Bright, optimistic, positive.

Black: Negative, devil’s advocate.

Red: Emotional.

Blue: Cold, control.

Not all colours / moods have to be used

Five Why's

Five Whys is used to get to the root of what is really happening in a single instance. For each
answer given a further 'why' is asked.

MoSCoW

This is used to prioritise requirements by allocating an appropriate priority, gauging it against the
validity of the requirement itself and its priority against other requirements.
MoSCoW comprises:

Must have - or else delivery will be a failure

 Should have - otherwise will have to adopt a workaround

Could have - to increase delivery satisfaction

Would like to have in the future - but won't have now

VPEC-T

Main article: VPEC-T

This technique is used when analyzing the expectations of multiple parties having different
views of a system in which they all have an interest in common, but have different priorities and
different responsibilities.

Values - constitute the objectives, beliefs and concerns of all parties

participating. They may be financial, social, tangible and intangible

Policies - constraints that govern what may be done and the manner in which
it may be done

Events - real-world proceedings that stimulate activity

Content - the meaningful portion of the documents, conversations, messages,

etc. that are produced and used by all aspects of business activity

Cost behavior
Cost Behavior

The way a specific cost reacts to changes in activity levels is called cost behavior. Costs may

stay the same or may change proportionately in response to a change in activity. Knowing how a

cost reacts to a change in the level of activity makes it easier to create a budget, prepare a

forecast, determine how much profit a new product will generate, and determine which of two

alternatives should be selected.

Variable costs

Variable costs are the costs that change in total each time an additional unit is produced or sold. With a variable cost,
the per unit cost stays the same, but the more units produced or sold, the higher the total cost. Direct materials is a
variable cost. If it takes one yard of fabric at a cost of $5 per yard to make one chair, the total materials cost for one
chair is $5. The total cost for 10 chairs is $50 (10 chairs × $5 per chair) and the total cost for 100 chairs is $500 (100
chairs × $5 per chair).

Graphically, the total fixed cost looks like a straight horizontal line while the total variable cost line slopes upward.

The graphs for the fixed cost per unit and variable cost per unit look exactly opposite the total fixed costs and total
variable costs graphs. Although total fixed costs are constant, the fixed cost per unit changes with the number of
units. The variable cost per unit is constant.

When cost behavior is discussed, an assumption must be made about operating levels. At certain levels of activity,
new machines might be needed, which results in more depreciation, or overtime may be required of existing
employees, resulting in higher per hour direct labor costs. The definitions of fixed cost and variable cost assumes the
company is operating or selling within the relevant range (the shaded area in the graphs) so additional costs will not
be incurred.
Mixed costs

Some costs, called mixed costs, have characteristics of both fixed and variable costs. For example, a company pays
a fee of $1,000 for the first 800 local phone calls in a month and $0.10 per local call made above 800. During March,
a company made 2,000 local calls. Its phone bill will be $1,120 ($1,000 +(1,200 × $0.10)).

To analyze cost behavior when costs are mixed, the cost must be split into its fixed and variable components. Several
methods, including scatter diagrams, the high-low method, and least-square regression, are used to identify the
variable and fixed portions of a mixed cost, which are based on the past experience of the company.

Scatter diagram. In a scatter diagram, all parts would be plotted on a graph with activity (gallons of water used, in
the example graph later in this section) on the horizontal axis and cost on the vertical axis. A line is drawn through the
points and an estimate made for total fixed costs at the point where the line intersects the vertical axis at zero units of
activity. To compute the variable cost per unit, the slope of the line is determined by choosing two points and dividing
the change in their cost by the change in the units of activity for the two points selected.
For example, using data from the following example, if 36,000 gallons of water and 60,000 gallons of water were
selected, the change in cost is $6,000 ($20,000 – $14,000) and the change in activity is 24,000 (60,000 – 36,000).
This makes the slope of the line, the variable cost, $0.25 ($6,000 ÷ 24,000), and the fixed costs $5,000. See the
graph to illustrate the point.

High-low method. The high-low method divides the change in costs for the highest and lowest levels of activity by
the change in units for the highest and lowest levels of activity to estimate variable costs. The high point of activity is
75,000 gallons and the low point is 32,000 gallons. The variable cost per unit is estimated to be $0.163. It was
calculated by dividing $7,000 ($20,000 – $13,000) by 43,000 (75,000 – 32,000) gallons of water.

Least-squares regression analysis. The least-squares regression analysis is a statistical method used to
calculate variable costs. It requires a computer spreadsheet program (for example, Excel) or calculator and uses all
points of data instead of just two points like the high-low method.
A learning curve is a graphical representation of the changing rate of learning (in the average
person) for a given activity or tool. Typically, the increase in retention of information is sharpest
after the initial attempts, and then gradually evens out, meaning that less and less new
information is retained after each repetition.

The learning curve can also represent at a glance the initial difficulty of learning something and,
to an extent, how much there is to learn after initial familiarity. For example, the Windows
program Notepad is extremely simple to learn, but offers little after this. On the other extreme is
the UNIX terminal editor vi, which is difficult to learn, but offers a wide array of features to
master after the user has figured out how to work it. It is possible for something to be easy to
learn, but difficult to master or hard to learn with little beyond this.

Diffusion of innovation
This extension of the product life cycle was developed by Everett M. Rogers in 1962 and simply
looks who adopts products at the different stages of the life cycle.

Rogers identified five types of purchasers as the product moves through its life cycle stage. He
suggested:

1. Innovator who make up 2.5% of all purchases of the product, purchase the product at the
beginning of the life cycle. They are not afraid of trying new products that suit their lifestyle and
will also pay a premium for that benefit.

2. Early Adopters make up 13.5% of purchases, they are usually opinion leaders and naturally
adopt products after the innovators. This group of purchasers are crucial because adoption by
them means the product becomes acceptable, spurring on later purchasers.

3. Early Majority make up 34% of purchases and have been spurred on by the early adopters.
They wait to see if the product will be adopted by society and will purchase only when this has
happened. They early majority usually have some status in society.
4. Late Majority make up another 34% of sales and usually purchase the product at the late
stages of majority within the life cycle.

5. Laggards make up 16% of total sales and usually purchase the product near the end of its life.
They are the ‘wait and see’ group. They wait to see if the product will get cheaper. Usually when
they purchase the product a new version is already on the market. Some may call Laggards,
bargain hunters!