Isabel M. Joao

An Ordinal Regression Method for Multicriteria Analysis of Customer Satisfaction

The purpose of this paper is to present and test an ordinal regression method for multicriteria analysis of customer satisfaction, developed from our study of the MUSA (MUlticriteria Satisfaction Analysis) method. The proposed method also aggregates the individual customer satisfaction criteria into an overall value function, but it makes use of a dummy variable regression technique with additional constraints. For the same input information, the outputs of the proposed method are more stable than the outputs of MUSA and the differences observed allowed us to have a deeper knowledge on how to handle the input preference information provided by the customers. Moreover, contrary to MUSA, we propose to apply more than one regression technique, starting with a dummy variable regression technique employing the least squares approach and then iteratively use a robust method of regression such as M-regression. The main features of this approach are discussed in the paper.

Creative thinking in chemical product and process design education

The purpose of this paper is to present some idea generation mapping methods in the context of product and process design teaching due to the important role that this methods can have in changing the usual thinking process and stimulating the creative thinking. Lifting the problem solving skills of the chemical engineering students by a small amount can have a huge effect on innovation and competitiveness. The role of idea mapping in chemical product and process design teaching is explored along with the discussion of the main characteristics of two different mapping methods, concept maps and mind maps. The distinctive characteristics are described along with an illustration and sample maps performed by a group of chemical engineering students showing the interest of ideas mapping in structuring the group thinking about a subject and allowing the group to gain new insights into the problem.

Concept Mapping and Mind Mapping to Lift the Thinking Skills of Chemical Engineering Students

Chemical product and process design teaching is facing challenges due to the major changes occurred in the last decades in the chemical industry. The emergence of products as a focus for chemical engineers implies changes in what chemical engineers do. It is important to prepare students for the more diverse, flexible roles they are expected to perform in industry and nowadays it is requisite that chemical engineers participate in the whole process from conception to manufacture. This paper addresses the activity of ideas generation, a very important step in product and process design procedure, and explores the role of concept maps and mind maps along with the discussion of the main features of the methods used to map and structure the ideas. The main goal of this paper is to present the methods within the context of product and process design teaching and learning showing the potentialities of the methods as graphical representations, in the ideas generation step in order to allow free-flowing thoughts. An illustration of the maps performed by chemical and biological engineering master students within the product and process design curricular unit is presented along with the main conclusions. This type of maps is promising in order to allow chemical and biological engineering students gradually lift their skills.

Key quality dimensions from the customer’s point of view: a case study in two Portuguese hotels

This paper analyses the strengths and weaknesses of the critical incident technique (CIT) when applied as a tool to identify the key quality dimensions to be used as criteria to generate and evaluate intervention strategies. Using CIT, a total of 679 incidents were gathered from two Portuguese hotels, regarding satisfying or dissatisfying episodes with the provided service. The incidents were categorized and the service quality dimensions identified. The scores reflecting the extent to which the quality dimensions are achieved are useful to establish and prioritize improvement actions.