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Combined offerings of products and services, that is, a product‐service system (PSS), have been attracting much attention. Consequently, a good design methodology of services as well as that of manufacturing products is needed. The purpose of this paper, is to propose a method for estimating customer satisfaction that enables designers to compare design solutions in the conceptual stage.

In the proposed method, first, the models that represent PSS features with relation to a customer's state is adopted. Then, the authors propose the estimation procedure that utilises a non‐linear value function called the satisfaction‐attribute (S‐A) function to quantify customer satisfaction.

The proposed method centres on the estimation of customer satisfaction. It enables the designers to evaluate design candidates in the conceptual stage where little information is available, and therefore supports iterative improvements without the designer needing to hesitate under the weight of market analysis.

In this paper, the estimation is limited to a single transaction with a customer, rather than cumulative satisfaction that represents a customer's imprints about the provider accumulated by repeating purchases. In future, therefore, the authors need to integrate the concept of effects over time such as loyalty and defection into the proposed framework.

In the application, the proposed method is statistically proven to effectively illustrate customer satisfaction.

This paper proposes the estimation method of customer satisfaction for PSS design. The proposed method allows designers to choose a design solution from the customer viewpoints.

Laparoscopic surgeons suffer because of discomfited body posture while performing surgery and experience discomfort owing to lack of customized surgical instruments. Accordingly, this paper aims to recommend an individual customization strategy by developing an ergonomically designed laparoscopic forceps handle and thereby increase the comfort of surgeons.

Hand anthropometric parameters of 282 south Indian male subjects are used to customize the handle. uPrint and Objet260 Connex, which works based on fused deposition modeling and PolyJet, respectively, are used to fabricate the prototype of the handle. Design modifications include a pistol-type grip, the increased contact area between the hand and handle, and neutral wrist posture.

Ergonomic evaluation parameters such as grip, functionality, comfort and wrist posture using subjective ratings from laparoscopic surgeons were recorded and obtained average values of 4.1, 3.6, 4.1 and 4.1, respectively, based on a five-point ordinal scale. Additionally, stress analysis also confirms the safety of the handle based on von Mises stress criteria.

Anthropometric data are limited to 282 subjects and subjective evaluation is conducted using a prototype, not the end-use product.

Evaluation using subjective rating confirms the ascendancy of a modified handle over the existing handle in terms of assessed parameters. The proposed individual customization strategy can be applied for other industrial hand tools to enhance comfort.