Product Design of Balance Bikes Using Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL)

By analyzing the relationship between components of a product, the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) was used to visualize the structure of intricate causal relationships of factors that affect purchase decisions for Balance Bikes. Cluster analysis was employed to visualize the structural relationship. We took three Balance Bike designs to apply DEMATEL in their design development and compared DEMATEL results with the results of the questionnaire survey and interviews. The result showed that DEMATEL can be applied to product design and development. For Balance Bike design, respondents valued aesthetics and delivery more than other indicators including practicality, productivity, functionality, and operability.