The VisionPRO™ Story

Developing the world’s easiest-to-use thermostat wasn’t all that easy.

Through three years of research, product development, field testing, focus groups and more, Honeywell’s groundbreaking VisionPRO 8000 programmable thermostat emerged. The Honeywell design team started from scratch, redrafting and refining with each step of the process, always building upon feedback from customers via Honeywell’s Design for Six Sigma quality process.

The VisionPRO 8000 — the world’s first "effortless" thermostat — was born.

Purpose

Back in 2001, Honeywell went out into the world to talk with hundreds of homeowners, builders, contractors and distributors to learn what they wanted most in a thermostat. This development practice is called "Voice of Customer," part of Honeywell’s Design for Six Sigma quality process used to develop products that meet customers’ needs – which were extremely clear:

• Homeowners wanted an energy savings thermostat that could be programmed without a manual
• Contractors wanted a thermostat that was so easy to program that it reduced callbacks and service calls
• Distributors wanted to stock fewer skus — they wanted a programmable thermostat to work on virtually every application

And Honeywell wanted to satisfy them all with one amazing thermostat.

Voice of the Customer

Honeywell conducted all the Six Sigma "Voice of the Customer" research in our customers’ environments — and on their terms. The VisionPRO™ research was structured to observe and define our customers’ insights, not just hear them. We spent a lot of time listening to and watching homeowners interact with their thermostats. We held numerous one-on-one interviews. Conducted focus groups. Completed online surveys with our contractors.

The VisionPRO 8000 came from something simple and very powerful: a clear understanding of what customers needed from a programmable thermostat. Honeywell learned what its customers needed, and rigorously aligned its best resources closely to meet those customer demands