In the mid-2000s, DeWalt, a Black and Decker brand, saw the need of carpenters and do-it-yourselfers for a cordless battery-operated nailer.At that time, the only automatic nailers in the market were pneumatic ones that were cumbersome because of the need for a compressor and a hose. DeWalt consulted and observed carpenters at work and determined the following customer requirements: speed, run time (length of time until the battery needs recharging), power (nail penetration), ease of loading nails, ergonomics (size, weight, and balance), being able to see the nail going in, and being able to work in tight spots.

The following matrix shows the major customer requirements, their importance score (in brackets) and a set of technical requirements.

-'Number of nails per second' has astrongrelationship withSpeed

-'Battery life' has astrongrelationship withRun time

-'Pressure produced' has astrongrelationship withPowerand amediumrelationship withSpeed

-'Nail loading mechanism' has astrongrelationship withEase of loading nails

-'Weight' hasmediumrelationships withSpeed,PowerandErgonomics.

Technical requirements Customer No. of Battery Pressure Nail loading Weight requirements nails per life produced mechanism sec Speed (7) Run time (10) Power (10) Ease of loading nails (7) Ergonomics (8) Tech. Requirements importance Specifications > 1 > 4 hours > 30 + 1 Loading with 50 collated nails