Drömmen om det perfekta vapnet : – en studie i brukarförväntningar

Sammanfattning: Sweden’s Defence Forces are in the process of procuring a new personal firearm to replace the current Ak5 (a version of the FN FNC) which has been in service for almost 35 years. There are many opinions on this matter and a great deal of interest among the future users, ie the soldiers and officers.  Our study aims to develop a deeper understanding of the user expectations for this new weapon. We are using a qualitative, inductive method with semi-structured interviews and netnography.von Hippel’s lead user concept has been the main reference for the design of this thesis, which means that we have interviewed those users who are perceived to have more to gain from a product development than other users. A lead user is often knowledgeable in his or her topic, might be leading development within the topic and it is not unusual for the lead user to have a social standing permitting him or her to influence others regarding the topic. We have also used internet forums discussing firearms to broaden the study since we know that a lot of the current discussions are occurring online and we expect this trend to continue in the near future. On top of the characteristics users want in a new weapon, some other aspects have come to light during the course of our research, these are also discussed in the thesis. Why is there an unproportionate amount of time spent on discussing firearms? Is there a greater value to a personal firearm than just its function? What role should the user perspective play in the Swedish Armed Forces? What are the consequences of the users being dissatisfied with the product? What is the role of the assault rifle in the Swedish Defence Forces and what specific purpose is it meant to fill? Is it possible to fit all purposes with one single weapon, which has been the role of the Ak5 for long periods of time. How should the Swedish Defence Forces respond to the fact that heavy body armour is issued to Russian troops? The Swedish Armed Forces has made an attempt at involving the user perspective in the process but our study should be seen as an important complement to this effort.