Product definition is widely accepted as one of the key factors
to be considered in the early stage of product design and
development. It has a direct impact on the success of a new
product in the marketplace. Frequently, product definition is
solicited through the voice of the customer (VoC). As such,
an organization will obtain a prominent competitive edge over
its competitors if it is able to effectively capture the genuine
VoC or the requirements of a customer. Sorting techniques provide
a means to elicit customer requirements. Although a number of
sorting techniques were developed, few of them are able to handle
the uncertainty and imprecision inherited from the VoC and
subjective judgment because of their crisp decision making.
An integrated approach is described, which is based on repeated
single-criterion sorts and fuzzy evaluation, for the elicitation
of customer requirements. The details of the integrated approach
are presented. The approach is validated using a case study
on the design of a wooden golf-club head. The details of the
validation are discussed.