System to quantify consumer preferences

• US 7,904,331 B2
• Filed: 03/24/2010
• Issued: 03/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Truechoice IP Holding Incorporated
• Original Assignee: True Chemical Solutions, LLC.
• Inventors: Keil, Sev K. H., Wittink, Dick R., van der Scheer, Hiek Roelof, Binn, Joel S., Condo, G. Adam
• Primary Examiner(s): Sterrett; Jonathan G
• Application Number:
  US12/730,746
• Publication Number:
  US 20100235226A1
• Time in Patent Office: 349 Days
• Field of Search: 705/10
• US Class Current: 705/7.31
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0202 Market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0203 Market surveys; Market polls

Abstract

A system to determine preference information of part worth values associated with a consumer and a product includes determination of a plurality of attributes of the product, each of the plurality of attributes associated with a plurality of attribute levels, determination of a plurality of piles of attributes based on a first indication of the consumer, each of the plurality of piles comprising one or more of the plurality of attributes, determination of a ranked order of a plurality of attributes of one of the plurality of piles, determination of a relative importance of one or more of the plurality of attributes of the one of the plurality of piles based on a second indication of the consumer, determination of a scale value of one or more attribute levels of the one or more of the plurality of attributes of the one of the plurality of piles based on a third indication of the consumer, and determination of a part worth value associated with an attribute level of one of the plurality of attributes of the one of the plurality of piles based on a determined scale value of the attribute level and a determined relative importance of the one of the plurality of attributes.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for surveying a consumer and quantifying preferences of the consumer based on responses by the consumer to the survey, the method being performed as a consequence of execution of computer readable code by one or more processors of one or more corresponding computer systems, the method comprising:

receiving, using at least one of the processors, indications of attribute levels that a user designated as being acceptable for multiple different attributes that are characteristic of a product;

for each of the multiple attributes, receiving, using at least one of the processors, an indication of an attribute level designated by the user as being the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level for the attribute and an indication of an attribute level designated by the user as being the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level for the attribute;

receiving, using at least one of the processors, indications of attributes, from among the multiple attributes, that the user identified as attributes to be grouped together;

based on receiving the indications of attributes that the user identified as attributes that are to be grouped together, sorting, using at least one of the processors, the multiple attributes into at least two different groups of attributes, the different groups being disjoint and a particular one of the groups including the attributes that the user identified as attributes that are to be grouped together;

receiving, using at least one of the processors, an indication of a ranked order of the attributes belonging to the particular group;

based on receiving the indication of the ranked order of the attributes belonging to the particular group, identifying, using at least one of the processors, a particular attribute as an attribute that is most important to the user relative to the other attributes included within the particular group;

for each attribute among a subset of the attributes belonging to the particular group, receiving, using at least one of the processors, an indication of the importance of the difference between the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level for the attribute and the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level for the attribute relative to the difference between the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level for the most important attribute to the user and the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level for the most important attribute to the user;

for each attribute of the subset of attributes, assigning, using at least one of the processors, a relative importance value to the attribute based on the received indication of the importance of the difference between the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level for the attribute and the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level for the attribute relative to the difference between the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level for the most important attribute to the user and the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level for the most important attribute to the user;

for each of at least two attributes that belong to the particular group but that are not included in the subset of attributes, assigning, using at least one of the processors, a relative importance value to the attribute based on the ranking of the attribute within the ranked order of the attributes;

for each of several attributes belonging to the particular group;

assigning, using at least one of the processors, a scale value to the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level for the attribute,

assigning, using at least one of the processors, a scale value to the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level for the attribute, and

receiving, using at least one of the processors, an indication of a scale value for at least one acceptable attribute level other than the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level for the attribute and the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level for the attribute, the received indication of the scale value for the attribute level being relative to the scale values assigned to the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level and the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level;

for each of several attribute levels for which an indication of a scale value was received, calculating, using at least one of the processors, a part worth value for the attribute level as a function of the received indication of the scale value of the attribute level and the relative importance value assigned to the attribute to which the attribute level corresponds; and

causing, using at least one of the processors, a graphical user interface to display at least one of the calculated part worth values.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein:

receiving indications of attributes, from among the multiple attributes, that the user identified as attributes to be grouped together includes receiving indications of attributes, from among the multiple attributes, that the user identified as attributes that the user prefers relative to others of the multiple attributes; and

sorting the multiple attributes into at least two different groups of attributes based on receiving the indications of attributes that the user identified as attributes that are to be grouped together includes sorting the multiple attributes into at least two different groups of attributes based on receiving the indications of attributes that the user identified as attributes that the user prefers relative to others of the multiple attributes such that one of the groups includes the attributes that the user identified as attributes that the user prefers relative to others of the multiple attributes.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein calculating, for each of several attribute levels for which an indication of a scale value was received, a part worth value for the attribute level as a function of the received indication of the scale value of the attribute level and the relative importance value assigned to the attribute to which the attribute level corresponds includes multiplying the received indication of the scale value of the attribute level by the relative importance value assigned to the attribute to which the attribute level corresponds.

4. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause a computer to:

receive indications of attribute levels that a user designated as being acceptable for multiple different attributes that are characteristic of a product;

for each of the multiple attributes, receive an indication of an attribute level designated by the user as being the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level for the attribute and an indication of an attribute level designated by the user as being the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level for the attribute;

receive, indications of attributes, from among the multiple attributes, that the user identified as attributes to be grouped together;

based on receiving the indications of attributes that the user identified as attributes that are to be grouped together, sort the multiple attributes into at least two different groups of attributes, the different groups being disjoint and a particular one of the groups including the attributes that the user identified as attributes that are to be grouped together;

receive an indication of a ranked order of the attributes belonging to the particular group;

based on receiving the indication of the ranked order of the attributes belonging to the particular group, identify a particular attribute as an attribute that is most important to the user relative to the other attributes included within the particular group;

for each attribute among a subset of the attributes belonging to the particular group, receive an indication of the importance of the difference between the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level for the attribute and the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level for the attribute relative to the difference between the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level for the most important attribute to the user and the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level for the most important attribute to the user;

for each attribute of the subset of attributes, assign a relative importance value to the attribute based on the received indication of the importance of the difference between the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level for the attribute and the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level for the attribute relative to the difference between the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level for the most important attribute to the user and the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level for the most important attribute to the user;

for each of at least two attributes that belong to the particular group but that are not included in the subset of attributes, assign a relative importance value to the attribute based on the ranking of the attribute within the ranked order of the attributes;

for each of several attributes belonging to the particular group;

assign a scale value to the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level for the attribute,

assign a scale value to the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level for the attribute, and

receive an indication of a scale value for at least one acceptable attribute level other than the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level for the attribute and the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level for the attribute, the received indication of the scale value for the attribute level being relative to the scale values assigned to the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level and the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level;

for each of several attribute levels for which an indication of a scale value was received, calculate a part worth value for the attribute level as a function of the received indication of the scale value of the attribute level and the relative importance value assigned to the attribute to which the attribute level corresponds; and

cause a graphical user interface to display at least one of the calculated part worth values.

5. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 4 wherein:

the instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to receive indications of attributes, from among the multiple attributes, that the user identified as attributes to be grouped together include instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to receive indications of attributes, from among the multiple attributes, that the user identified as attributes that the user prefers relative to others of the multiple attributes; and

the instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to sort the multiple attributes into at least two different groups of attributes based on receiving the indications of attributes that the user identified as attributes that are to be grouped together include instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to sort the multiple attributes into at least two different groups of attributes based on receiving the indications of attributes that the user identified as attributes that the user prefers relative to others of the multiple attributes such that one of the groups includes the attributes that the user identified as attributes that the user prefers relative to others of the multiple attributes.

6. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 4 wherein the instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to calculate, for each of several attribute levels for which an indication of a scale value was received, a part worth value for the attribute level as a function of the received indication of the scale value of the attribute level and the relative importance value assigned to the attribute to which the attribute level corresponds include instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to multiply the received indication of the scale value of the attribute level by the relative importance value assigned to the attribute to which the attribute level corresponds.

7. A computer-implemented method comprising:

accessing, from a computer memory storage system, information about a type of product;

based on the accessed information;

identifying several attributes that are characteristic of the type of product, and

identifying, for each of the several attributes, multiple different potential values for the attribute;

receiving, from a user, an indication of a group of the several attributes that are to be grouped together, the group including less than all of the several attributes;

receiving, from the user, indications of the user'"'"'s preferences for individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the user'"'"'s preferences for other attributes within the group of attributes;

based on the received indications of the user'"'"'s preferences for individual attributes within the group of attributes, assigning a numeric relative importance value to each of the attributes within the group of attributes;

for each of the attributes within the group of attributes;

receiving, from the user, indications of the user'"'"'s preferences for individual ones of the different potential values for the attribute,

based on the received indications of the user'"'"'s preferences for individual ones of the different potential values for the attribute, assigning numeric weights to each of the individual ones of the potential values for the attribute, and

calculating part worth values for each of the individual ones of the different potential values for the attribute as a function of the numeric relative importance value assigned to the attribute and the numeric weights assigned to each of the individual ones of the potential values for the attributes,

wherein receiving indications of the user'"'"'s preferences for individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the user'"'"'s preferences for other attributes within the group of attributes includes;

receiving, from the user, a ranked ordering of the attributes within the group of attributes, the ranked ordering specifying a particular attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes, and

for each attribute of a subset of the group of attributes that includes less than all of the attributes within the group of attributes and that does not include at least the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes and at least one other attribute within the group of attributes, receiving, from the user, an indication of the importance to the user of the attribute relative to an importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes;

assigning a numeric relative importance value to each of the attributes within the group of attributes based on the received indications of the user'"'"'s preferences for individual attributes within the group of attributes includes;

assigning the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes a numeric relative importance value that reflects that the user prefers the attribute over the other attributes within the group of attributes,

for each attribute within the subset of attributes, assigning a numeric relative importance value to the attribute as a function of the received indication of the importance to the user of the attribute relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes, and

for each remaining attribute in the group of attributes not including the subset of attributes and the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes, assigning a numeric relative importance value to the attribute as a function of a position of the attribute within the received ranked ordering of the attributes within the group of attributes.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7 further comprising:

soliciting, from the user, indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to an importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes;

after initiating solicitation of the indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to an importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes and after receiving the indications of the importance to the user relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes of each of the attributes in the subset of attributes, determining that a threshold condition has been satisfied;

as a consequence of having determined that the threshold condition has been satisfied, triggering an end to the solicitation of the indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes; and

determining that, after triggering the end to the solicitation of the indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes, indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes have been received for fewer than all of the attributes within the group of attributes, wherein;

assigning a numeric relative importance value to each remaining attribute in the group of attributes not including the subset of attributes and the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes as a function of a position of the attribute within the received ranked ordering of the attributes within the group of attributes includes assigning a numeric relative importance value to each remaining attribute in the group of attributes not including the subset of attributes and the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes as a function of a position of the attribute within the received ranked ordering of the attributes within the group of attributes as a consequence of having determined that the threshold condition has been satisfied and as a consequence of having determined that indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes have been received for fewer than all of the attributes within the group of attributes.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 wherein:

determining that a threshold condition has been satisfied includes determining that a threshold period of time has elapsed since initiating the solicitation of the indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes; and

triggering an end to the solicitation of the indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes as a consequence of having determined that the threshold condition has been satisfied includes triggering an end to the solicitation of the indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes as a consequence of having determined that the threshold period of time has elapsed since initiating the solicitation of the indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 wherein:

determining that a threshold condition has been satisfied includes determining that indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes have been received for a threshold percentage of the attributes within the group of attributes; and

triggering an end to the solicitation of the indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes as a consequence of having determined that the threshold condition has been satisfied includes triggering an end to the solicitation of the indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes as a consequence of having determined that indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes have been received for the threshold percentage of the attributes within the group of attributes.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 wherein:

determining that a threshold condition has been satisfied includes determining that indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes have been received for a threshold number of the attributes within the group of attributes; and

triggering an end to the solicitation of the indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes as a consequence of having determined that the threshold condition has been satisfied includes triggering an end to the solicitation of the indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes as a consequence of having determined that indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes have been received for the threshold number of the attributes within the group of attributes.

12. A computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

access, from a computer memory storage system, information about a type of product;

based on the accessed information;

identify several attributes that are characteristic of the type of product, and

identify, for each of the several attributes, multiple different potential values for the attribute;

receive, from a user, an indication of a group of the several attributes that are to be grouped together, the group including less than all of the several attributes;

receive, from the user, indications of the user'"'"'s preferences for individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the user'"'"'s preferences for other attributes within the group of attributes;

based on the received indications of the user'"'"'s preferences for individual attributes within the group of attributes, assign a numeric relative importance value to each of the attributes within the group of attributes;

for each of the attributes within the group of attributes;

receive, from the user, indications of the user'"'"'s preferences for individual ones of the different potential values for the attribute,

based on the received indications of the user'"'"'s preferences for individual ones of the different potential values for the attribute, assign numeric weights to each of the individual ones of the potential values for the attribute, and

calculate part worth values for each of the individual ones of the different potential values for the attribute as a function of the numeric relative importance value assigned to the attribute and the numeric weights assigned to each of the individual ones of the potential values for the attributes,

wherein the instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to receive indications of the user'"'"'s preferences for individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the user'"'"'s preferences for other attributes within the group of attributes include instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to;

receive, from the user, a ranked ordering of the attributes within the group of attributes, the ranked ordering specifying a particular attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes, and

for each attribute of a subset of the group of attributes that includes less than all of the attributes within the group of attributes and that does not include at least the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes and at least one other attribute within the group of attributes, receive, from the user, an indication of the importance to the user of the attribute relative to an importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes;

the instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to assign a numeric relative importance value to each of the attributes within the group of attributes based on the received indications of the user'"'"'s preferences for individual attributes within the group of attributes include instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to;

assign the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes a numeric relative importance value that reflects that the user prefers the attribute over the other attributes within the group of attributes,

for each attribute within the subset of attributes, assign a numeric relative importance value to the attribute as a function of the received indication of the importance to the user of the attribute relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes, and

for each remaining attribute in the group of attributes not including the subset of attributes and the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes, assign a numeric relative importance value to the attribute as a function of a position of the attribute within the received ranked ordering of the attributes within the group of attributes.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 12 further storing instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

solicit, from the user, indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to an importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes;

after initiating solicitation of the indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to an importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes and after receiving the indications of the importance to the user relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes of each of the attributes in the subset of attributes, determine that a threshold condition has been satisfied;

as a consequence of having determined that the threshold condition has been satisfied, trigger an end to the solicitation of the indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes; and

determine that, after triggering the end to the solicitation of the indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes, indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes have been received for fewer than all of the attributes within the group of attributes, wherein;

the instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to assign a numeric relative importance value to each remaining attribute in the group of attributes not including the subset of attributes and the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes as a function of a position of the attribute within the received ranked ordering of the attributes within the group of attributes include instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to assign a numeric relative importance value to each remaining attribute in the group of attributes not including the subset of attributes and the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes as a function of a position of the attribute within the received ranked ordering of the attributes within the group of attributes as a consequence of having determined that the threshold condition has been satisfied and as a consequence of having determined that indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes have been received for fewer than all of the attributes within the group of attributes.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 wherein:

the instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to determine that a threshold condition has been satisfied include instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to determine that a threshold period of time has elapsed since initiating the solicitation of the indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes; and

the instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to trigger an end to the solicitation of the indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes as a consequence of having determined that the threshold condition has been satisfied include instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to trigger an end to the solicitation of the indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes as a consequence of having determined that the threshold period of time has elapsed since initiating the solicitation of the indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 wherein:

the instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to determine that a threshold condition has been satisfied include instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to determine that indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes have been received for a threshold percentage of the attributes within the group of attributes; and

the instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to trigger an end to the solicitation of the indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes as a consequence of having determined that the threshold condition has been satisfied include instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to trigger an end to the solicitation of the indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes as a consequence of having determined that indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes have been received for the threshold percentage of the attributes within the group of attributes.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 wherein:

the instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to determine that a threshold condition has been satisfied include instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to determine that indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes have been received for a threshold number of the attributes within the group of attributes; and

the instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to trigger an end to the solicitation of the indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes as a consequence of having determined that the threshold condition has been satisfied include instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to trigger an end to the solicitation of the indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes as a consequence of having determined that indications of the importance to the user of individual attributes within the group of attributes relative to the importance to the user of the attribute that the user prefers over the other attributes within the group of attributes have been received for the threshold number of the attributes within the group of attributes.

17. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause a computer to:

access a computer memory storage system that stores information related to attributes that are characteristic of a type of product;

based on accessing the computer memory storage system, identify attributes that are characteristic of the product from the computer memory storage system, each of the attributes identified from the computer memory storage system having different attribute levels that reflect different possible values for the attribute;

cause a display of a graphical user interface that presents to a user indications of multiple of the identified attributes that are characteristic of the product as well as selectable indications of multiple different attribute levels for each of the multiple attributes;

for each of the multiple attributes presented in the graphical user interface, receive, as a result of user interaction with the selectable indications of attribute levels presented in the graphical user interface, an indication of attribute levels designated by the user as being acceptable for the attribute;

cause the graphical user interface to present to the user indications of each of the multiple attributes as well as corresponding selectable indications of the attribute levels designated as being acceptable for each of the multiple attributes;

for each of the multiple attributes, determine, as a result of user interaction with the selectable indications of attributes levels designated as being acceptable for the attributes, an indication of an attribute level designated by the user as being the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level for the attribute and an indication of an attribute level designated by the user as being the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level for the attribute;

cause the graphical user interface to request the user to identify, from among the multiple attributes, a group of attributes that represents attributes that are important to the user relative to other of the multiple attributes;

receive, as a result of user interaction with the graphical user interface, indications of attributes, from among the multiple attributes, that the user identified as belonging to the group of attributes that are important to the user relative to other of the multiple attributes;

based on receiving the indications of attributes that the user identified as belonging to the group of attributes that are important to the user relative to other of the multiple attributes, sort the multiple attributes into at least two different piles of attributes, the different piles being disjoint and a particular one of the piles including the attributes that the user identified as belonging to the group of attributes that are important to the user relative to other of the multiple attributes;

cause the graphical user interface to present to the user indications of the attributes belonging to the particular pile that includes the attributes that the user identified as belonging to the group of attributes that are important to the user relative to other of the multiple attributes and to request the user to provide a ranked order of the attributes belonging to the particular pile;

receive, as a result of user interaction with the graphical user interface, an indication of a ranked order of the attributes belonging to the particular pile that includes the attributes that the user identified as belonging to the group of attributes that are important to the user relative to other of the multiple attributes;

based on receiving the indication of the ranked order of the attributes belonging to the particular pile that includes the attributes that the user identified as belonging to the group of attributes that are important to the user relative to other of the multiple attributes, identify a particular attribute as an attribute that is most important to the user;

for each attribute among a subset of the attributes belonging to the particular pile that includes the attributes that the user identified as belonging to the group of attributes that are important to the user relative to other of the multiple attributes, the subset excluding the most important attribute to the user and one or more other attributes belonging to the particular pile that includes the attributes that the user identified as belonging to the group of attributes that are important to the user relative to other of the multiple attributes, cause the graphical user interface to request the user to rate the importance of the difference between the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level for the attribute and the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level for the attribute relative to the difference between the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level for the most important attribute to the user and the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level for the most important attribute level to the user;

for each attribute of the subset of attributes, receive, as a result of user interaction with the graphical user interface, an indication of the importance of the difference between the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level for the attribute and the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level for the attribute relative to the difference between the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level for the most important attribute to the user and the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level for the most important attribute to the user;

for each attribute of the subset of attributes, assign a relative importance value to the attribute based on the received indication of the importance of the difference between the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level for the attribute and the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level for the attribute relative to the difference between the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level for the most important attribute to the user and the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level for the most important attribute to the user;

for each of at least two attributes that belong to the particular pile that includes the attributes that the user identified as belonging to the group of attributes that are important to the user relative to other of the multiple attributes but that are not included in the subset of attributes, assign a relative importance value to the attribute based on the ranking of the attribute within the ranked order of the attributes;

for each of several attributes belonging to the particular pile that includes the attributes that the user identified as belonging to the group of attributes that are important to the user relative to other of the multiple attributes;

assign a scale value to the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level for the attribute,

assign a scale value to the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level for the attribute, and

cause the graphical user interface to request the user to assign a scale value to at least one acceptable attribute level other than the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level for the attribute and the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level for the attribute relative to the scale values assigned to the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level for the attribute and the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level for the attribute;

for each of several attributes belonging to the particular pile that includes the attributes that the user identified as belonging to the group of attributes that are important to the user relative to other of the multiple attributes, receive, as a result of user interaction with the graphical user interface, an indication of a scale value for at least one acceptable attribute level other than the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level for the attribute and the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level for the attribute, the received scale value indication for the attribute level being relative to the scale values assigned to the user'"'"'s least preferred attribute level and the user'"'"'s most preferred attribute level;

compare received scale value indications to attribute levels designated by the user as being acceptable;

validate received scale value indications based on results of comparing received scale value indications to attribute levels designated by the user as being acceptable;

for each of several attribute levels for which an indication of a scale value was received, calculate a part worth value for the attribute level as a function of the received indication of the scale value of the attribute level and the relative importance value assigned to the attribute to which the attribute level corresponds; and

cause the graphical user interface to display at least one of the calculated part worth values.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to calculate a part worth value for the attribute level as a function of the received indication of the scale value of the attribute level and the relative importance value assigned to the attribute to which the attribute level corresponds include instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to multiply the received indication of the scale value of the attribute level by the relative importance value assigned to the attribute to which the attribute level corresponds.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17 further storing instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to provide an offer to the consumer based on one or more of the calculated part worth values.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 19 wherein the instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to provide an offer to the consumer based on one or more of the calculated part worth values include instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to provide an offer to sell the product to the consumer.

21. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17 wherein the instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to sort the multiple attributes into at least two different piles of attributes include instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to exclude attributes sorted into piles other than the particular pile from further consideration by the user during the survey.