Product Design and Development 5th Edition Manual Solution
Product Design and Development 5th Edition Manual Solution
Sample AnswersAND
to Exercises and Thought
DEVELOPMENT
Questions: Chapter 2
EX 2.1
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Diagram aREGISTER
process for planning and cooking a family
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dinner. Does your
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process resemble
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the generic product development process? Is cooking dinner analogous to a market-pull,
technology-push, process-intensive, or customization process?
EX 2.2
Define a process for finding a job. For what types of endeavors does a well defined
process enhance performance?
AND
6. (Hopefully) interview for a set of jobs and receive offers.
7. Evaluate the offers with respect to the criteria.
DEVELOPMENT
8. Select the most promising job.
9. Negotiate terms and conditions of employment.
10. Accept job.
(Of course in some economic climates the process may be much simpler: receive a single
offer, then decide whether to accept it or not.)
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We would argue that almost any endeavor benefits from some measure of "process
thinking." REGISTER
Defining aFOR INSTRUCTOR
process SITE
encourages thinkingRESOURCES CONTACT
ahead and anticipating US
contingencies. In
the case of highly unusual and creative tasks, the process may consist of no more than a
list of three general steps to pursue. In the case of repetitive tasks, the process might
consist of hundreds of detailed steps, some of which may even be automated.
EX 2.3
What type of development process would you expect to find in an established company
successful at developing residential air conditioning units? How about for a small company
that is trying to break into the market for racing wheelchairs?
Air conditioners are fairly standard products embodying relatively stable technologies. We
would expect companies developing air conditioners to have a customization process with
some measure of market-pull. Initially the racing wheelchair company is likely to have a
market-pull process. The firm will be looking for ways to satisfy the needs of the customers
in the market. Eventually, the firm may adopt more of a customization process in which
each customer receives a product tailored slightly to their own needs, but built around a
standard product concept.
EX 2.4
Sketch the organization (in some appropriate graphical representation) of a consulting firm
that develops new products for clients on a project-by-project basis. Assume that the
individuals in the firm represent all of the different functions required to develop a new
product. Would this organization most likely be aligned with functions, be aligned by
projects, or be a hybrid?
One possible diagram of a consulting firm organization:
PRODUCT DESIGN
AND
DEVELOPMENT
Consulting firms almost always have a strong project focus and are either project
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organizations or heavyweight project matrix organizations. Teams form and dissolve almost
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daily in order FOR
to meet theINSTRUCTOR
needs of newSITE RESOURCES
client engagements. In someCONTACT USwill also
firms, there
exist some measure of functional organization. For example, there may be a member of the
firm responsible for ensuring that the mechanical engineers have the software tools they
need or that the marketing professionals know the latest research techniques.
Nevertheless, the dominant organizational structure is the project.
TQ 2.1
What role does basic technological research play in the product development process?
How would you modify Exhibit 2-3 to better represent the research and technology
development activities in product development?
This is a large and open-ended question. There is a good discussion of this topic in Clark
and Wheelwright Revolutionizing Product Development. One answer is that technology
development is a parallel activity that provides proven technologies that can be taken "off
the shelf" and used in product development efforts. Clark and Wheelwright call this the
"pizza bin" approach, because technological "ingredients" are proven and then shelved
until they are needed to create a "pizza" (product). The amendment to Exhibit 2-3 would
include a technology development activity with an arrow to the concept development
activity. Some might argue that technology development may also lead to the identification
of new product opportunities. In this case, the technology development activity would have
an arrow to an earlier product planning or product strategy activity (not shown in Exhibit 2-
3).
In some settings the technology development and product development are more tightly
coupled. For example, some start-up companies begin with a basic technology or invention
and then work to quickly commercialize it. In such cases, much of their early work could be
considered technology development. It is fraught with uncertainty and, in fact, may result in
failure. Nevertheless, there are some technologies with so much commercial promise that
these risks are worth taking.
PRODUCT DESIGN
TQ 2.2
AND
Is there an analogy between a university and a product development organization? Is a
university a functional or project organization?
DEVELOPMENT
(Based on a solution by Louise Jandura)
We can make the analogy between a product development organization and a university
by considering whether there are university equivalents to both the product development
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process and the product development organization.
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Although a university has many purposes, its primary purpose is the development of
undergraduate students. The student development process is analogous to the product
development process. The student development process takes as its input a high school
graduate whose mission statement is to get an undergraduate degree. Its output, instead
of a product launch is the graduation of the student. Along the way there is a well-defined
series of steps complete with milestones as in the product development process. Although
the detailed series of steps in the student development process is different than in the
product development process, the advantages of the well-defined process are similar. In
both cases the process ensures the quality of the output of the process (student), the
coordination of the resources on the development team (faculty, admissions, physical
plant), the timely completion of the project (graduation in 4 years), the management of the
project, and the improvement of the process.
Having established the analogy between the product development process and the
student development process, the next step is to look at the analogy between the product
development organization and the university. The two primary organizational types are the
functional organization where the primary links are among those who perform similar
functions and the project organization where the primary links are among those who work
on the same project. A university is a functional organization. Some of these functions
include:
There are certainly other functions that make up a university but using just these four as an
example we can see that they are indeed organized by the function they perform. Although
PRODUCT DESIGN
they are all part of the development of the "product", the student, their strongest ties are to
those who share the same function. As in a product development organization, those
sharing the same function are usually located near each other and report to the same
AND
manager.
DEVELOPMENT
If we look even further into the organization of the faculty we see that within the faculty the
organization continues to be a functional organization. Breaking it down further we see:
The great strength of a functional organization is that it maintains deep expertise in the
functional areas. The great weakness is that the efficiency of coordination among the
functions is not as good as it could be. This characteristic is seen among universities as
well. A university’s great strength is the vast amount of knowledge contained in its areas of
expertise, not its ability to coordinate among its different functions.
TQ 2.3
What is the product development organization for students engaged in projects as part of a
product development class?
This is a classic project organization. Although the students may come from different
"functions" (e.g., departments, educational backgrounds), they do not have strong
organizational linkages to these functions. For the purposes of the course, they have one
goal: to get the project done. Especially if they are graded as a team, the organizational
structure closely mirrors that of a "start-up" or other autonomous project teams. Note that a
strong project organization can exist even without heavyweight project managers. In a
course, no manager is explicitly assigned to each team, yet the team is autonomous and
has the ultimate authority and responsibility to make decisions.
TQ 2.4
Yes, this is possible. In fact it happens all the time. A team may consist of several members
PRODUCT DESIGN
who have strong organizational links to the project and of members with strong functional
links. The team members with strong functional links tend to be part-time participants.
Examples include industrial designers, stress analysts, technical writers, model makers, and
AND
sales people. The design, manufacturing, and marketing people on the team with on-going
responsibilities for project work may be linked together by strong project ties, while the
DEVELOPMENT
part-time participants may not share those links.
Webster dictionary defines a commodity as: "a good or service whose wide availability
typically leads to smaller profit margins and diminishes the importance of factors (as brand
name) other than price"
(1) Creating a refillable container, and explaining the environmental impact of doing this.
The container itself could be innovative in the way it keeps the cereal fresh, having multiple
compartments, and easy to stack, etc.
(2) Installing a cereal dispensing machine that has an automated fill, and could provide
suggestions to the customer based on nutrition, their past selections, etc. (it could use a
credit card swipe to identify the customer and for payment). The dispensing machine could
have other innovative features such as container washing, sealing, etc.
EX 3.2
Generate 10 opportunities for innovation based on an area of your own personal passion.
AND
9. Create solutions that make it easier to store bicycles inside a garage / house
10. Design better bicycle racks for public spaces
DEVELOPMENT
EX 3.3
Identify the VRIN resources for a product-based company you admire. What new product
opportunities might be enabled by these resources?
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Company:REGISTER FOR(www.kashi.com)
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Resource: Their products strike a nice balance in terms of cost, quality/healthy, and flavor
in the breakfast cereal, snack, and frozen entrée markets. They have achieved a loyal
customer base, and brand recognition.
Valuable: The value in their product is the level of quality/pro-health they have while still
maintaining a reasonable price and amazing taste. Their large distribution network and
high volume allow them to provide the product at a lower cost than the competition. Their
brand recognition, broad market access, and loyal customer base give them options to
expand their product line into other market areas (e.g. bulk foods).
Rare: They have the advantage of being early to the low-cost health food markets. The
competitors were often times only at high-end health food stores. Kashi has put their
products at a variety of grocery stores, and thus has broad customer access.
Inimitable: Their recipes have been developed since the 1980s, so it might be difficult for a
competitor to catch up. However, it is possible for another company to imitate Kashi in
terms of flavor – in some sense they are vulnerable in this area. However, the full
combination of cost, quality/healthy, and flavor is difficult to imitate.
If the market expands, Kashi would have first access to introduce new products or more
variety. Kashi has already expanded from where they started, which is proof that they have
PRODUCT DESIGN
valuable resources. They started with just cereal, but now make snacks (e.g. crackers),
desserts (e.g. cookies), and frozen entrées (e.g. pizza). A growth area could be in bulk
foods, especially since there’s an increase in environmental awareness, and the desire to
AND
reduce waste. Kashi’s existing network combined with their loyal customer base might
enable this product opportunity.
DEVELOPMENT
TQ 3.1
What are the advantages and disadvantages of anonymous voting in the screening
opportunities?
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Initial screening FORbe
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fast, and theSITE RESOURCES
objective is CONTACTthat
to eliminate opportunities US are
unlikely to result in the creation of value. Anonymous voting might be faster, since people
will go with their instinct quicker. Voting should be about individual judgment/experiences,
and thus it is not necessary to justify individual decisions at this point in the process. A
disadvantage to anonymous voting is the possibility that group discussion could be
completely removed; Discussion is often useful since certain members have expertise that
should be shared with the team.
TQ 3.2
If they are possible users, then yes. Lead users would be ideal. However, the consumer
might be too idealistic, and not be grounded with what is actually possible in terms of
technology, cost, and performance.
TQ 3.3
Can you really answer the question of whether an opportunity is real before developing a
product concept?
It is possible to estimate the market size, potential pricing, availability of technology, and
the likelihood the product can be delivered in the required volume at the required cost.
However, these will always be estimates, and actual consumer behavior is very difficult to
predict.
TQ 3.4
Could a great opportunity identification process result in a product that fails in the market?
PRODUCT DESIGN
Absolutely. Consumer demands could change. The price of raw materials or manufacturing
could increase. A competitor could beat you to market, or find ways to have a superior
AND
product. Also, Opportunity Identification is not the end of the process - it must be followed
by other processes such as Identifying Customer Needs, etc. Thus many additional steps
DEVELOPMENT
are needed between Opportunity Identification and releasing a product to market.
TQ 3.5
How do the risks differ between two types of Horizon 2 opportunities, one addressing a
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current market need and the other using a current solution?
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When addressing a current market need, the risk is in developing the right
product/solution. This can be difficult since it might require the use of technology that is not
well understood by the business. Thus enough time should be budgeted into the schedule
to allow sufficient development and testing of the new technology. When using a current
solution, the risk is in finding the correct market, or making errors in estimating the size of
the market, price point, etc. Thus enough time should be budgeted for customer surveys,
user studies, etc.
EX 4.2
TQ 4.1
How might a portfolio of development projects differ if the firm believes a particular
product technology is currently at position A or B on the technology S-curve shown below?
TQ 4.2
How might Xerox be able to address the shortage of mechanical design engineers
identified by the aggregate project planning analysis shown in Exhibit 3-9? List five ways
Xerox could increase the capacity and five ways to reduce the demand for mechanical
design engineers.
AND
5. Assign engineering managers to some engineering tasks.
DEVELOPMENT
Ways to decrease demand for mechanical design engineers:
1. Reduce technical scope of the project.
2. Carryover more components from earlier models.
3. Use a "smarter process", perhaps slower and better specified, with fewer design
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iterations.
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4. Delay some technical development to the RESOURCES CONTACT US
next product generation (some of the
less important features perhaps).
5. Outsource design of modules to capable suppliers.
For an established electronics firm like Sharp or Hewlett Packard, a successful hand-held
calculator might sell 2 million units over a lifetime of 3 years. The development effort might
involve 30 people for one year, costing $1.5 million plus another $250K in production
equipment. To amortize this cost evenly over the production volume, we have $1.75M / 2M
units = $0.875 per unit, which might be 5 to 10% of the wholesale price.
EX 1.2
Create a set of scatter charts by plotting each of the rows in Exhibit 1-3 against the
development cost row. For each one, explain why there is or is not any correlation. (For
example, you would first plot "annual production volume" versus "development cost" and
explain why there seems to be no correlation. Then repeat for each of the remaining rows.)
Two of the metrics do not correlate with development cost; these are production volume
and sales lifetime. However, all of the other dimensions do increase with development
cost. The strongest direct correlations appear to be production investment, number of
parts, sales price, and team size. These might be explained as follows: Production
investment increases when there is a great deal of equipment and tooling required, and
this must all be developed, specified, and procured, which adds also to the development
cost. As the number of parts in a product increases, so does the development cost
increase for developing so many components, as well as the cost of coordinating across
the groups performing this development. Sales price depends greatly on the complexity of
the product, and product complexity also leads to larger development teams. As team size
(both internal and external) increases, the development budget (which is usually mostly
personnel costs) also increases.
PRODUCT DESIGN
TQ 1.1
AND
Each of the chapters listed in Exhibit 1-4 presents a method for a portion of the product
development process. For each one, consider what types of skills and expertise might be
DEVELOPMENT
required. Can you make an argument for staffing the development team from start to finish
with individuals possessing all of these skills and areas of expertise?
It is not difficult to argue at every stage of the generic product development process that
an interdisciplinary team is useful. Since the team’s many decisions are so tightly coupled
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together, it is important for each team member to be aware of the concerns related to each
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example, SITE "identify
in the activity RESOURCES CONTACT
customer needs," US
marketing,
industrial design, engineering, and manufacturing could each contribute to and benefit
from the joint testing process. Similarly, the concept of design for manufacturing applies
across the entire product line. Certainly the workload will vary, but some involvement
across disciplines seems warranted throughout the process.
"See how the leather on the bottom of the The bag maintains its original appearance
bag is all scratched; it’s ugly." with use.
"When I’m standing in line at the cashier Items stored in the bag can be easily found
trying to find my checkbook while and accessed.
balancing my bag on my knee, I feel like a
stork."
The bag is difficult to lose. The bag is easy
"This bag is my life; if I lose it I’m in big to find if misplaced.
trouble."
The bag protects delicate, soft items from
"There’s nothing worse than a banana damage.
that’s been squished by the edge of a
textbook."
The bag can rest securely in multiple
"I never use both straps on my knapsack; I modes (either or both shoulders).
just sling it over one shoulder."
EX 5.2
Using a camera, document user frustration with an everyday task of your own choice.
Identify frustrations and difficulties encountered by these people. Identify latent customer
PRODUCT DESIGN
needs.
AND
The photos below show people frustrated with their door locks when their hands are full.
DEVELOPMENT
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EX 5.3
Choose a product that continually annoys you. Identify the needs the developers of this
product missed. Why do you think these needs were not met? Do you think the developers
deliberately ignored these needs?
A product, or more accurately the family of products, that continually annoys me is the
remote control. I have a remote control for my VCR, my TV, as well as one for my stereo. In
order to watch a video with stereo sound, two remote controls are required, on which five
buttons must be clicked in addition to manually turning on the stereo (since its remote
control mysteriously lacks remote on-off capability). This somewhat complicated process
belies the "couch potato" image the remote control fosters.
AND
Explanation for Missed Needs
DEVELOPMENT
A plausible explanation for the absence of a single remote control which operates the
television, VCR, and stereo is an incomplete customer needs interview. If the customer did
not demonstrate his/her use of the remote control in a typical environment, such as a family
room, where various other electronic components were in close proximity, the interviewer
may never have thought of developing a single remote control. This need can be perhaps
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be characterized as a latent need.
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Similarly, the missed needs may not have been apparent if the development team did not
conduct enough interviews under varied conditions. Had the team watched a movie on the
VCR with customers, they should have noticed that customers were interested in stopping,
pausing, and rewinding the movie (current features), but also in the ability to see the time
remaining on the film and using the many other functions of the VCR, TV, and stereo
equipment.
Evaluation
I believe that the development team perhaps viewed the remote control itself as a
secondary or tertiary need or feature of the television, VCR, or stereo, rather than a
separate product, and did not conduct a separate, thorough customer needs assessment
for it.
TQ 5.1
One of the reasons the method is effective is that it involves the entire development team.
Unfortunately, the method can become unwieldy with a team of more than six people. How
might you modify the method to maximize involvement yet maintain a focused and decisive
effort, given a development team of more than 10 people? How might you modify the
method to maximize involvement yet maintain a focused and decisive effort, given a large
development team?
With a development team of larger than 12 people, it may be possible to split the team into
smaller groups. The work can be divided perhaps by having each group investigate one or
more market segments for the product. Each group should include members from as many
of the development functions as possible (e.g., marketing, design, manufacturing, etc.). The
groups could work jointly to develop the needs hierarchy and could then express the
different market needs using different numerical weighting values.
PRODUCT DESIGN
If the team is very large, then it would not be practical to include everyone in the needs
process. For instance, an automobile development program might eventually involve more
AND
than 1000 people (refer to Exhibit 1-3 of the text). In such a situation, it might be worthwhile
to find some ways to document and share the richness of the customer needs. The sub-
DEVELOPMENT
team conducting the customer needs analysis can perhaps produce a videotape summary
of customers using related products and expressing their key needs. This video could be
later used to expose the extended development team to the customer needs and the
process used to elicit and organize this information. Some teams create poster collages
with visual images of the customers in the product’s use environment.
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Can the process of identifying customer needs lead to the creation of innovative product
concepts? In what ways? Could a structured process of identifying customer needs lead to
a fundamentally new product concept like the Post-It Note?
Useful new product concepts must satisfy customer needs. Perhaps the most novel
concepts may even address needs that are not easily identified. Nevertheless, a structured
needs process is likely to elicit more needs than an unstructured process, thus bringing the
team closer to the innovative solutions.
The process of identifying customer needs can lead to the creation of innovative product
concepts by letting the design team see the context in which the products are used.
Potential ways to innovate include matching products with other products used by
customers, coupling separate products used in the same activity, or applying a new
technology to meet customer needs in an improved way. The key to the structured method
outlined in the chapter is that it defines the customer needs prior to designing the product
that fulfills them. Additionally, communication between the cross-functional team members
may challenge established ideas as the "What if?" and "Why not?" questions are asked by
individuals that can offer new perspectives. Combining a well-defined mission statement
with the customer needs offers the team significant freedom in designing a product. As
part of the full product development method outlined here, a structured process of
identifying customer needs can clearly lead to innovative product concepts.
While it didn’t happen this way, the Post-It Note is a good example of a product that could
possibly have resulted from carefully identifying customer needs. Just observing how
people use memo paper would have shown that memos were attached to television
PRODUCT DESIGN
screens, cabinets, chairs, refrigerators, mirrors, doors, and many other places. Even when
laid on a flat surface, memos would often shift or blow onto the ground with a soft breeze.
Users would often use tapes or magnets to attach the notes; even so, tape was often
AND
difficult to remove from the surface and magnets don’t work everywhere. The Post-It Note
fills the customer need by making the use of memos easier. The "taping" function is
DEVELOPMENT
incorporated in the product by means of a new technology (reusable adhesive).
The Post-It Note was clearly a fantastic product innovation. However, according to
published accounts, it was not developed using a structured process for identifying the
customer needs. It was a serendipitous lead-user innovation. Nevertheless, there is no
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fundamental reason why this sort of success could not have been achieved using a
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Assuming that smooth writing can be characterized by (1) good line quality, (2) preservation
of line quality in the face of changes in the user’s writing technique, and (3) ease of use, the
following list of performance metrics was generated.
EX 6.2
Devise a metric and a corresponding test for the need that a roofing material last many
years.
A testing method could be devised for the durability of a roofing material which is similar to
the advanced aging tests in other industries. Such tests measure the effect of simulated
natural elements under unusually harsh conditions (e.g., elevated temperature, increased
velocities and flow rates of water, violent air blasts).
EX 6.3
Some of the same metrics seem to be involved in trade-offs for many different products.
Which metrics are these?
There are many such metrics which are involved in trade-offs for many different products.
One example is power versus noise. Many products which have engines fall into this
category. Typically, if an engine receives more/less power, the engine will generate
more/less noise. Another example is response time versus cost. Many products with
electrical systems show this characteristic. A computer will likely cost more if it utilizes a
faster CPU. Likewise, a simple electrical circuit (like on a LCD display) will respond faster
with larger amplifiers, which will increase cost. A third example is mass and cost. Some
products are improved with more mass, while others are better with less mass. Portable
products, like boom-boxes and tennis rackets, generally are improved with less mass.
Materials that are lighter (but are usually more expensive) are used to reduce mass,
thereby increasing cost. (This assumes strength and other metrics are unchanged.) Doors,
locks, and other products where safety and security are important usually benefit from
more mass. Increasing the amount of material used would increase cost. (Think of a 50-cm-
thick vault door versus a 3-cm-thick garage door.)
TQ 6.1
PRODUCT DESIGN
How might you establish precise and measurable specifications for intangible needs such
as "the front suspension looks great"?
AND
A good approach to translating intangible needs into specifications is to establish a survey
DEVELOPMENT
which can be administered to customers within the target market. For example, a
representative sample of mountain bike customers could be asked to evaluate a new
design on a scale of 0 to 10 based on how great they think the design looks.
TQ 6.2
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A team may not always be able to map a customer need to a single metric more for
practical rather than theoretical reasons. To be useful, the metrics must be easy to
evaluate. Certain metrics are easy to evaluate (mass, length, temperature, etc.) while others
are very difficult to evaluate (taste, feel, mood). When the team can translate a customer
need into a set of easily evaluated metrics, this is preferable to leaving the evaluation of
the metric subjective. However, the mapping from a list of needs to easily evaluated
metrics almost always results in more metrics than needs.
TQ 6.3
How might you explain a situation in which customers' perceptions of the competitive
products (as in Exhibit 6-7) are not consistent with the values of the metrics for those same
products (as in Exhibit 6-6).
It is important to distinguish between a case in which the team has not adequately
measured customer perceptions and a case in which these perceptions truly differ from the
competitive performance with respect to the metrics. Assuming the perceptions are
accurately measured, there are still two possibilities. First, the team may have established a
set of metrics which do not adequately reflect the customer needs. Second, customer
perceptions may be influenced by past performance, brand name, or extensive promotion
rather than on the true performance of the product.
TQ 6.4
Can poor performance relative to one specification always be compensated for by high
performance on other specifications? If so, how can there ever really be a "marginally
acceptable" value for a metric?
PRODUCT DESIGN
(Based on a solution by Peter Latham)
AND
Poor performance in one specification cannot always be compensated for by strong
performance in other specifications. This is the motivating factor behind establishing
DEVELOPMENT
marginally acceptable values. If a team can determine the metric's "value that would just
barely make the product commercially viable," they can avoid situations where the metric's
performance is so poor that it cannot be offset by high performance in other areas.
For example, if a luxury car manufacturer is defining the maximum safe speed that their car
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can travel, it is inconceivable that other attributes would offset a maximum value of 30
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hour. By defining a marginallySITE RESOURCES
acceptable value of 80 mph,CONTACT
the designUS
team has
determined a minimum value after which tradeoffs can be evaluated based on metric
importance. After this point, additional speed may or may not be justified by changes in
other attributes, but below this point, the product is not "commercially viable."
TQ 6.5
The use of independent design variables as metrics is a violation of the "what not how"
principle. When independent variables are specified, the team specifies what the solution
should be and thereby reduces the latitude available for finding a creative solution. For
example, an automobile could be specified in terms of mass and power or in terms of
acceleration. Mass and power are to some extent independent variables, while
acceleration is a dependent variable. If the team specifies the mass and power of an
automobile as a way to make sure the vehicle accelerates properly, they have prevented
the team from making trade-offs between mass and power (which may have other benefits)
while maintaining the same acceleration performance.
EX 7.2
Generate 20 concepts for the subproblem "prevent fraying of end of a rope" as part of a
system for cutting lengths of nylon rope from a spool.
1. Tape the end of the rope.2. Use a torch to melt the end of the nylon rope.
PRODUCT DESIGN
3. Press fit a plastic cap.
4. Dip end of rope into a glue.
5. Tie end of rope in a knot.
AND
6. Use a machine that clips the rope while at the same time applies heat to the end of the
rope.
DEVELOPMENT
7. Dip the end of the rope into paint.
8. Shrink wrap plastic around the end of the rope.
9. Use a process similar to that used for the end of a shoelace.
10. Attach a steel ring around the rope.
11. Apply a twisting action to the end of the rope to create friction/heat that will ultimately
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melt the separate strands together.
12. Use anREGISTER
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process to RESOURCES
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of the rope together.
13. Use a laser to melt the ends of the rope
14. Braid the strands of the rope back into the rope.
15. Use a clothes-pin-like design to clamp the ends of the rope.
16. Wrap a steel wire around the ends of the rope.
17. Wipe a tar-like substance around the circumference at the end of the rope.
18. Design a rope that does not fray.
19. Investigate different types of cutting motions/angles that decrease the probability of
fraying to some acceptable limit.
20. Insert the end of the rope into an aluminum sleeve.
21. Tie a piece of fine string, such as fishing string, around the end of the rope.
22. Dip the end of the rope into hot plastic and then into a cooling bath.
23. Attach a rubber band to the end of the rope.
A database search identified a few interesting US patents that could help a team in
developing concepts. Among these are:
EX 7.3
PRODUCT DESIGN
Prepare an external search plan for the problem of permanently applying serial numbers to
plastic products.
AND
External search entails investigating several sources of information related to the problem
at hand. These sources would typically include: lead users, experts, patents, literature, and
DEVELOPMENT
benchmarking. For the problem of applying serial numbers to plastics, one could search
the following:
Lead users:
Lead users would include manufacturers of products using plastic enclosures where some
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tracking is required, such as in the electronics, aerospace, or defense industries. The
process ofREGISTER FOR customer
investigating INSTRUCTOR SITE
needs RESOURCES
should also help to identify CONTACT US users
who the lead
might be.
Experts:
Experts might include materials scientists with specialization in plastics such as
engineering professors, manufacturing engineers, vendors of plastic materials such as GE
Plastics, and manufacturers of labeling equipment.
Patents:
There are many existing patents in this area. Relevant concepts can be identified through a
patent database search.
Literature:
There are numerous journals and trade publications to be considered, including: Journal of
Manufacturing Systems, Manufacturing Review, Plastics News, Design News, etc.
Benchmarking:
To find related products to benchmark, the areas in which to search should be defined
quite broadly. Benchmarking should include an analysis of the following related products:
page numbering machinery, laser scribing, and labeling equipment. The team should also
investigate how several manufacturers affix serial numbers to many types of products, such
as computers and computer equipment, calculators, radios, watches, automobiles,
machines, etc. The search should not be limited to plastic products.
TQ 7.1
What are the prospects for computer support for concept generation activities? Can you
think of any computer tools that would be especially helpful in this process?
PRODUCT DESIGN
Computer support for concept generation can take on many forms. We already have the
assistance of computer-access databases, which provide an invaluable source of
information including patents, vendors, customers, literature, etc. There are also word-
AND
association programs (e.g., Idea Fisher software) that can be useful to assist in generating
ideas and concepts. Maybe there are other forms of computer assistance that can help
DEVELOPMENT
design teams.
Design researchers in several disciplines have been working for the past 20 years on
problems related to creativity and concept design. Researchers have applied search
techniques, pattern recognition tools, functional decomposition, and various artificial
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intelligence ideas to the problem of automatic, computer-based concept generation. So far,
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researchers FOR
have only INSTRUCTOR
been SITE
able to solve RESOURCES
very simple CONTACT
and well-structured US such
problems,
as generating exhaustive lists of permutations and narrowing choices based upon multiple
decision criteria.
However, since computers are very good at solving well-structured problems, one research
approach would seem to be to develop methods to define concept generation sub-
problems in appropriately structured forms. Perhaps this can be done automatically using
computers or by humans with computer assistance.
TQ 7.2
What would be the relative advantages and disadvantages of involving actual customers in
the concept generation process?
Customers can become intensely excited about assisting a development team to improve
product quality by meeting their needs, however there are both advantages and
drawbacks of the involvement of customers in concept generation activities.
AND Customers and developers have goals that are similar but not identical. Both are
interested in creating high quality new products, but economically they are at
DEVELOPMENT
odds.• Customers may become frustrated that the development process is too
slow, since they probably do not understand the complex realities of development.
The team may be uncomfortable with unfamiliar customers as part of the concept
development process.
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Customers may haveABOUT THE AUTHORS
no allegiance INSTRUCTOR
to the team and SITE
the company. They may take
the best ideas
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INSTRUCTOR information
SITE and provide this
RESOURCES to competitors.
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TQ 7.3
For what types of products would the initial focus of the concept generation activity be on
the form and user interface of the product and not on the core technology? Describe
specific examples.
The concept generation method involves decomposing the overall problem into sub-
problems. Typically, this problem decomposition involves dividing a complex problem into
several simpler functional units. Each of these units tends to focus on a single technology
or process required for the product. However, for some product development efforts,
functional decomposition may not be appropriate. This is especially true for products that
are not technology driven or that contain simple, well understood working principles. For
such products, the problem may be decomposed into a series of user interactions and/or
key customer needs.
The development of a snow shovel might include decomposition into a list of user
interactions. The shovel must allow easy gripping, easy lifting with and without a load of
snow, be able to scrape snow/ice down to the concrete sidewalk, and must be easily
storable. Notice how this list also reflects the probable key customer needs. For a snow
shovel, the user interactions are important. From this list of user interactions, the concept
generation might be broken up into categories of designs which satisfy gripping, lifting,
scraping, and storage issues separately. During the concept selection phase, these
separate sub-problems may be combined into a best-solution hybrid concept. There is no
inherent technology to be developed in designing a new snow shovel (except possibly that
required to manufacture it). Instead, the basic form of the shovel must be carefully
PRODUCT DESIGN
considered in order to maximize the user's utility. Although the successful development of
a snow shovel involves several technical issues including material and manufacturing
processes selection, the ability of the shovel to allow easy user interactions is necessary to
AND
make the product superior.
DEVELOPMENT
If the product involves very simple technical functions but a lot of user interaction it may be
a good candidate for decomposition by the user interfaces. The internal workings of a
modern hand-held calculator are so well developed and understood, that the technology is
not the difficult part of designing a new calculator. The same internal workings may be
found on a dozen different calculators in a price range. Instead, the user interface
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distinguishes these products and must be carefully considered in order to develop a
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superior product. FOR
The INSTRUCTOR
customer SITE withRESOURCES
is concerned how easy the keysCONTACT US
are to depress, the
functions are to use, and the display is to read. Other examples of products with an
emphasis on user interactions are: a garlic press, the desk lamp, and a computer mouse.
In reality, most successful products must take both the form and the function into account
in the design phase. Athletic equipment is particularly sensitive to success in both the
inherent technology involved and the form of the user interactions. Sports equipment often
embodies cutting edge technologies and manufacturing techniques and whole products
have revolved around a single core idea (i.e., Reebok Pump shoes, or graphite fishing
poles). At the same time though, the user interfaces must be carefully considered to allow
the peak performance that athletes constantly demand (an athletic shoe that allows good
traction but does not fit well or provide good support will not be deemed acceptable in the
market).
TQ 7.4
Could you apply the five-step method to an everyday problem like choosing the food for a
picnic?
While it is certainly possible to apply the five-step method to an everyday problem, none of
us would be very productive if we took the following approach to decide what to eat for
every meal. However, if we were interested in satisfying the needs of our picnic guests as
best as possible then this method could be quite useful.
Let's assume that we were having an important picnic at which we wanted to impress our
guest, such as: a date, potential in-laws, or other VIPs. Then concept generation could be a
good way to help ensure that our picnic menu satisfies the dietary needs and desires of
PRODUCT DESIGN
our guests. Having already gathered the needs of our guests (i.e., vegetarian, certain
likes/dislikes, etc.) then we might approach the five-step method as follows:
AND
Step 1: Clarify the Problem
The challenge here is to "design a menu for a picnic." Some of the assumptions we might
DEVELOPMENT
have made are:
The picnic will be easily transported to our destination.
The picnic will not require special technology for delivery or preparation (i.e., no
portable microwave ovens).
The picnic will be rescheduled
HOME ABOUT THEif the weather is inclement.
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These needs could then be translated into target specifications such as:
The total fat content in an individual meal does not exceed 8 grams.• The total
cholesterol content in an individual meal does not exceed 3 milligrams.
No ham on the menu.
Each meal will include at least 8 fluid ounces of liquid refreshment.
Each meal will provide at least 700 calories and no more than 1,000 calories.
The picnic will weigh no more than 10 pounds per person.
The volume that each person carries will be no more than 10" X 12" X 18".
The total cost of the picnic will not exceed $100.
The time to unpack the picnic will not exceed 15 minutes.
The time to consume and clean up the meal will not exceed 45 minutes.
We could then decompose the problem into sub-problems by key customer needs such as
the beverage, the main course, and the dessert. Then we could choose the main course as
the most critical to the success of the picnic (this may also impact our solutions for the
other sub-problems such as the beverage). This sub-problem could then be refined, in the
case of say a sandwich, into the type of bread, the dressing (mayonnaise or peanut butter),
PRODUCT DESIGN
and the filling (meat or vegetable/fruit).
AND
To develop solutions for our main course we could look to existing solutions from such
sources as:
DEVELOPMENT
Consulting Experts. We could consult chefs and caterers that specialize in picnic
cuisine.
Searching Published Literature. We could search through cookbooks and
magazines that contain picnic recipes and menu suggestions.
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I couldn't REGISTER
think of lead
FORusers to identify SITE
INSTRUCTOR for our current problem. Nor could
RESOURCES I believe
CONTACT US that
searching patents would be of use. And I don't know of related products that could be
suitably benchmarked.
The team could also develop a concept combination table. For instance, the table could
focus on the sub-problem "sandwich" and the columns could be the components of the
PRODUCT DESIGN
sandwich. In this way the team could evaluate new combinations of components to
stimulate creative thinking. For this sub-problem the concept combination table might look
like:
DEVELOPMENT
Filling
This may not be the best example as this list is by no means exhaustive, and it may be
possible to have multiple fillings, dressings or even types of bread. If the table was
exhaustive, the number of combinations would be unwieldy. One would likely starve (and
possibly even be sickened) before considering all the possible combinations.
Obviously this process should not occur in a linear fashion; many of these steps should
occur in parallel. As each step is being performed, the team should reflect on the new
ideas and solutions that are developed. Then the team might revisit other steps to arrive at
the best possible solution(s). The final reflection can occur as we enjoy our picnic and we
can think about how our next picnic will be improved. Perhaps our solutions could be
documented in a new cookbook on picnic cuisine.
TQ 7.5
Consider the task of generating new concepts for the problem of dealing with leaves on a
lawn. How would the a plastic bag manufacturer's assumptions and problem
decomposition differ from those of a manufacturer of lawn tools and equipment and from
those of a company responsible for maintaining golf courses around the world? Should the
context of the firm dictate the way concept generation is approached?
AND
The bag manufacturing company will most likely decompose the concept generation
process down into the steps that it associates with bagging leaves. Those steps might be:
DEVELOPMENT
Gather leaves into piles
Move leaves into bags
Seal and dispose of bags
HOMEequipment
The lawn and garden ABOUT THE AUTHORS
company INSTRUCTOR
would most likely SITE
decompose the problem
around the steps that
REGISTER FORwould require theSITE
INSTRUCTOR use of their tools. Those steps
RESOURCES might look
CONTACT US like:
The golf course maintenance company would not be constrained to think of the problem as
it would utilize a particular product, but instead would be open to any decomposition that
would allow for the widest possible set of concepts generated. That decomposition might
be:
Impart energy to leaves (move them, lift them, burn them)
Store leaves (perhaps only temporarily)
Discard leaves
The context of the firm should not dictate the way the concept generation is approached,
but assumptions about solutions to the problem will invariably be in the minds of the
development team members as they begin to decompose the problem. It would do little
good for the manufacturer of bags to select a solution that does not use their products,
unless they intended to extend their business in new directions. It does not hurt, however,
to be aware that other solutions to the problem exist, and to be able to compare the
various concepts to understand which are the best. This allows the team to understand
what the competition might be capable of if they attacked the problem from a different
angle.
In general, it is always best to set aside the constraints and assumptions that a firm might
place on a development team regarding core competencies of the firm or required
solutions to the problem for the concept generation phase of product development. The
PRODUCT DESIGN
understanding that the team can develop about the nature of the problem when
unconstrained by corporate hindrances will inevitably lead to a better set of concepts
generated.
AND
DEVELOPMENT
Copyright 2019 Karl Ulrich, Steven Eppinger, and Maria Yang
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Results:
The Toyota Camry LE, with a score of 414, was the preferred automobile. Also desirable
were the Dodge Intrepid ES and the Honda Accord EX. These automobiles were barely
distinguishable, with scores of 406 and 404, respectively.
Assumptions:
Sedan (4-door). (What I grew up with.)
Price range of $20-25,000. (I'll be getting a great job, but I'm not super-rich.)
Source of Information:
Consumer Reports magazine, 1/94 and 2/94 issues. (Consumer Reports is an unbiased and
consistent source of benchmarking information on automobiles. I have personally found
Consumer Reports useful when evaluating automobiles for purchase.)
EX 8.2
Propose a set of selection criteria for the choice of a battery technology for use in a
portable computer.
Selection criteria:
• Size (Compactness)
• Weight (Lightness)
PRODUCT DESIGN
• Power Adequacy
• Power Duration
• Rechargeability
AND
• Ease of Assembly/Removal
• Material Compatibility (No interference with circuit performance)
DEVELOPMENT
• Ease of Manufacture
• Cost
EX 8.3
Obviously the outcome of this exercise depends on the student’s criteria and evaluations.
Here is one student’s matrix.
Concepts
Bulkiness + - - 0
Ease of - - 0
Opening
Ease of - + - 0
Manufacturing
Pencil - - 0 0
Accessibility/O
rganization
Pencil Tip - - 0 0
Protection
PRODUCT DESIGN
Aesthetics + - - 0
Reliability 0 + - 0
AND
Sum +'s 2 2 0 0
DEVELOPMENT
Sum -'s 3 5 5 0
Sum 0's 2 0 2 7
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Rank 2 3 4 1
• Selection Criteria listed in order of importance for a traveling team for future concept
scoring.
• Screw cap and Clam Shell fail the most important criteria: they are bulky and they are
difficult to open.
• It may be possible to combine the positive characteristics of the Slider and the Zip Pouch
to produce a better concept.
EX 8.4
The matrix would look like that in Exercise 7.1, except with the concepts and criteria of
Exercise 7.3.
TQ 8.1
How might you use the concept selection method to decide whether to offer a single
product to the marketplace or to offer several different product options?
Selection Procedure:
1. Prepare the selection matrix
PRODUCT DESIGN
2. Rate the concepts
3. Rank the concepts
4. Combine and improve the concepts
AND
5. Select one or more concepts
6. Reflect on the results and the process
DEVELOPMENT
The text mentions that the concept selection method is an iterative procedure. After the
concepts are combined and improved, you can start from step one again, and rank,
dismiss, combine, and improve the resulting products, and so on. Thus the selection of
concepts is narrowed by combining concepts and throwing out ones that don't score well
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relative to the others. However, if after a few iterations, the concepts that remain are of
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almost equal score, FOR INSTRUCTOR
cannot SITE
be combined, and rankRESOURCES CONTACT
strongly (relative to USdifferent
others) in
(equally important) categories of consumer needs, one might consider offering various
products to satisfy all the customer needs rather than making just one.
For example, suppose some customers decide they need something that blends fruit and
discards the peel. So two of the customer needs may be: 1. Blend Fruit, 2. Peel Fruit. After
going through the concept selection process, suppose there remain some concepts to
peel fruit and some concepts that blend fruit. It may be that the concepts that blend fruit do
not peel fruit well, and the concepts that peel fruit don't blend fruit well. If the designers
feel that both needs are equally important, and that there is no way to combine the
concept of the fruit peeler to that of the blender, they might consider designing two
different products– one that blends fruit and the other that peels it. Another example may
be if consumers need a gun that is comfortable for both left handed and right handed
people. If the concepts that are comfortable for left handed people and the concepts that
are comfortable for right handed people cannot be combined, and the designers feel that
they are equally important, they may want to make two different guns: one that fits the left
hand and one that fits the right hand.
TQ 8.2:
How might you use the method to determine which product features should be standard
PRODUCT DESIGN
and which should be optional or add-ons?
This thought question is related to and builds on TQ 7.1. The team may discover that
AND
different segments of the target market have strongly divergent preferences relative to a
few of the concept selection criteria, but are largely in agreement relative to another set of
DEVELOPMENT
selection criteria. The team may be able to synthesize a product concept consisting of a
base set of features to which alternative features can be added as options. For example, a
team designing a new pencil might discover that all market segments prefer a certain
eraser concept, but that there are different preferences for the shape of the pencil grip
depending on the size of the user’s hand. This information may give rise to a pencil
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concept in which the grip portion of the pencil is interchangeable. Strongly different
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for a few INSTRUCTOR
concept selectionSITE RESOURCES
criteria are a good indicator CONTACT US
that this strategy may
be warranted.
TQ 8.3
Can you imagine an interactive computer tool that would allow a large group (say, 20 or
more people) to participate in the concept selection process? How might such a tool work?
Such tools are beginning to emerge under the category of "groupware." One tool might
allow a group of people to simultaneously express an evaluation of a concept with respect
to a criterion and have the average evaluation automatically generated and displayed to
the group. This would be a kind of secret ballot system. Another system might allow a
questionnaire to be automatically created and disseminated to a large group of customers
in order to gather extremely rapid customer feedback. Such a tool might even display
simulations of the intended product concept.
TQ 8.4
What could cause a situation in which a development team uses the concept selection
method to agree on a concept that then results in commercial failure?
I can think of several such causes. First, the team may not have searched very well in the
concept generation process, and may end up with a "me-too" product. If the competition is
established and customer loyalty is any issue, we may not be able to compete, even on
price. Likewise, a failure in execution of any other part of the development process that
causes price to be too high, delivery problems, or late arrival on the market can cause the
whole project to fail.
PRODUCT DESIGN
Most relevant to the concept selection process, however is how it is used by the team. If
there are clever team members who want to champion a particular concept, they can
manipulate the process to favor it. They can push for high rankings on criteria that favor
AND
their concept, and add redundant criteria that do the same. This will make the process
relatively useless, and leave the team vulnerable to the kinds of errors ("product-out") that
DEVELOPMENT
the process is designed to avoid. The cultural issues in many companies that favor the
"light-bulb" model of innovation are very hard to change. People fall in love with their ideas,
and it can be very hard to get them to be truly objective about them, regardless of the
team's use of a methodology.
Here are at least four ways to communicate the user interface, with some strengths and
weaknesses of each.
Strengths Weaknesses
AND
Computer
simulation in
Can test
interaction
Limited
usefulness for
DEVELOPMENT
which a (unlike testing physical
computer sketches) with ergonomics.
mouse is used the user.
to control the
input devices. Easy to modify
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to test different
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versions of the
design.
Interestingly, this article (in the reference list for the chapter) uses an automobile audio
systems as its primary example.
Vriens, Marco, Gerard H. Loosschilder, Edward Rosbergen, and Dick R. Wittink,
"Verbal versus Realistic Pictorial Representations in Conjoint Analysis with Design
Attributes," Journal of Product Innovation Management, Vol. 15, p. 455-467, 1998.
Ex 9.2
Roughly estimate N for the following products. List your assumptions.
A sleeping pillow for air travelers.
PRODUCT DESIGN
An electronic weather station (monitoring temperature, pressure, humidity, etc.) for
homes.
AND
Sleeping pillow for air travelers.
Assume that there are 2000 jumbo jets in service and that most sleeping pillows will be
DEVELOPMENT
used on jumbo jets. If each jet makes on average two flights per day with an average of
300 passengers, then 600*2000=1,200,000 passenger trips are made each day on jumbo
jets. Assume that 25% of these trips are during hours in which people would want to sleep.
This leaves 300,000 passenger trips per day in which a sleeping pillow might be used. If
we assume thatHOME
on average, ABOUT
each passenger makes 4 trips
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per year, then there are
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365*300,000/4 = 27,350,000 passengers in the world who could use a travel pillow. Based
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on observations of behavior on late-night flights, we assume that about 5% of these
travelers own sleeping pillows, so the "installed base" is about 1.4 million. If the life of a
travel pillow is five years, then the annual sales might be about 273,000 units worldwide.
We could use this value for N if our estimated purchase probability is based on consumers
who are shopping for a travel pillow.
TQ 9.1
Why do you think respondents typically overestimate the likelihood that they will purchase
a product?
Most respondents do not have to actually pay cash to respond to the survey. It is much
easier to commit fictitious money than real money. Also, most respondents seem inclined
to want to please the surveying entity. Finally, rarely is a product placed right in front of a
consumer. They generally have to actually seek it out, which may further erode the
probability of purchase.
TQ 9.2
AND
because of an arbitrary choice of implementation.
DEVELOPMENT
HOME
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Ulrich, Steven THEand
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Maria Yang INSTRUCTOR SITE
EX 10.2
Describe the architecture of a Swiss Army knife. What advantages and disadvantages does
this architecture provide?
AND
model and price, as many as forty other handy instruments, each with its own specific
purpose.
DEVELOPMENT
Each of its chunks implements one functional element, and the functional interactions
between these chunks are minimized. However, two important interactions remain
between chunks: 1) the blades must each interface to the knife body chunk, and 2) each
blade requires clearance from the side to access the fingernail dents. In spite of these
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interactions which require some detail design attention, the Swiss Army knife provides a
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nearly perfect FORofINSTRUCTOR
example SITE
a modular architecture. RESOURCES CONTACT US
It is interesting to consider what the more integral architecture alternative might be like.
Perhaps a single-bladed tool that can do everything?
EX 10.3
Take apart a small electromechanical product (which you are willing to sacrifice if
necessary). Draw a schematic including the essential functional elements. Identify two or
three possible clusterings of these elements into chunks. Is there any evidence to suggest
which architecture was chosen by the development team?
PRODUCT DESIGN
(Based on a solution by Chris Rice)
AND
For this exercise, a General Electric model 2-9167A telephone base was disassembled. A
schematic of the physical elements is shown below.
DEVELOPMENT
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There are a number of important notes to make about the architecture of this telephone.
First, we can describe its modularity; it has a relatively integral architecture. We notice that
there are many functions which all interrelate in the telephone. For instance, the buttons,
while integrated with the plastic housing, are also intimately connected to the circuitry
which itself is all very interconnected. Most likely, the development team was attempting to
better the performance of the telephone by integrating many parts together. However, we
do notice some modularity. Modularity is evident in components such as the memory
buttons, the receiver switch, and the slide switches, all of which can be found on other GE
phones. By standardizing these parts, GE can make other products with these parts and
achieve economies of scale. It would seem that the development team was less interested
with issues such as upgrades, add-ons, and wear, since when a phone becomes worn or
obsolete the entire unit is generally replaced rather than a portion. Thus, modularity is less
important for the exterior.
Although the phone is rather integrated, several chunks can be identified. Keypad circuitry
is contained on a single board separate from the main circuitry on the back of the phone,
thus identifying two possible chunks. However, since the circuit elements are probably
arranged somewhat differently from phone to phone, they can be considered a chunk
because their basic composition most likely remains essentially the same throughout GE's
low-end telephone products and therefore GE engineers probably designed these circuits
PRODUCT DESIGN
as a standard chunk or module. The exterior can be considered a chunk because there are
several components which must blend and fit together to achieve the desired styling and
ergonomics. The jack interfaces are also a chunk because they are standardized to fit
AND
existing phone cables. Finally, the ringer is isolated as its own chunk, perhaps to reduce
the likelihood of incidental interactions such as vibration with other chunks.
DEVELOPMENT
An alternative architecture might arrange the keypad circuitry and the buttons into a single
chunk. Possibly all of the switches, jacks, and buttons could be considered as a single
chunk. My guess is that the GE team wished to design a product that appeared integral
from the outside but used modularity inside.
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Yes. A bank account and an insurance policy are each a collection of modular features. For
example, the bank account may include checking account, ATM card, overdraft protection,
savings options, interest options, direct deposit, electronic payments, etc. These features
are combined in different ways for different customers, exhibiting a modular architecture.
TQ 10.2
Can a firm achieve high product variety without a modular product architecture? How (or
why not)?
Product variety can certainly be achieved in a number of ways. On the one hand, it is
possible to create a large variety of products using no modularity at all—but this is difficult
and does not work in many cases. For example, most injection molding shops generally do
not exploit the concept of modularity at all, yet they produce a high variety line of one-
piece moldings. They use unique tooling for each product and the results are highly
integrated. Another way to achieve product variety is through flexible manufacturing
systems, where the variety is accomplished by programming the machines to create
different products. While these strategies are successful, they are less appropriate for a
complex line of electromechanical assembled products.
Modularity allows a manufacturer to obtain high product variety using relatively few
standard modules. For example, Sony produces a small number of different tape transport
mechanisms for their Walkman line. They add variety to the line by using different casings,
electronics, and feature options along with one of the standard tape transports. This
modular strategy allows Sony to produce the most complex component (the tape
PRODUCT DESIGN
mechanism) in high volumes. Another example is provided by the Swatch example
described in the chapter.
AND
For the molding shop described above to utilize the principle of modularity, they might
design mold tooling for a line of products such that they can interchange components of
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the mold to create slightly different moldings, comprising the product line.
TQ 10.3
The argument for the motorcycle architecture shown in Exhibit 5 is that it allows for a
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lighter motorcycle than the more modular alternative. What are the other advantages and
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disadvantages? FOR
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approach SITE
is likely RESOURCES
to cost less to manufacture?CONTACT US
Advantages:
The relatively integral architecture might enable greater acceleration due to the
lighter weight.
The relatively integral architecture might create an aesthetic quality to distinguish it
versus other motorcycles.
The relatively integral architecture allows for function sharing and nesting that
minimizes material use, reducing one aspect of the manufacturing cost.
Disadvantages:
The relatively integral architecture would require a greater number of physical
changes in order to achieve functional changes for upgrades, add-ons, adaptation,
wear, consumption, flexibility in use, or re-use.
The relatively integral architecture would increase the effort and cost required to
provide product variety in response to customer orders.
The relatively integral architecture is probably non-standard compared to BMW's
other motorcycles. Therefore, the chunk must be produced in relatively small
volumes and cost/quality might be adversely affected.
The relatively integral architecture will require greater integration, conflict
resolution, and coordination during the detail design phase of the development.
The relatively integral architecture would make it difficult to allocate the detailed
design of the structural support function and the power conversion function to
different teams or suppliers.
PRODUCT DESIGN
The relatively integral architecture would make it difficult to implement a design
change in one functional element without also making a change in the other
functional element.
AND
Manufacturing:
DEVELOPMENT
The more modular approach would most likely cost less to manufacture because it uses
standardized components which can be manufactured in volume. In addition, the
performance requirements for the relatively integral transmission might demand more
expensive materials or manufacturing processes that would offset any savings due to
reduced material usage.
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The safety restraint example is useful to illustrate the use of interaction information to plan
chunks. Consider two alternative scenarios with respect to a portion of this system, seat
belts: On the one hand, if the seat-belt restraint system hardware were to interact only with
the seat system, then the restraint system designers need to interact quite closely with the
seat system developers in order to assure that these systems function properly together. In
this case, the seat belt system would perhaps belong in the seat system chunk. On the
other hand, if the seat belt system concept required attachment points as the body pillars,
doors, and center console, this arrangement would require different and much more
complex interactions between several design teams. In this case, the seat belt system
might become part of multiple chunks, now including seats, body, and interior systems.
TQ 10.5
The schematic shown in Exhibit 9-6 includes 15 elements. Consider the possibility of
assigning each element to its own chunk. What are the strengths and weaknesses of such
an architecture?
Assigning each element to its own chunk allows the fourteen elements to be
independently designed as individual components or subsystems. This would be desirable
in the situation where each component is also to be used separately in other DTM
products. The designers of each element would want to make the detailed design
PRODUCT DESIGN
decisions with standardization of these components in mind, and this freedom can perhaps
be best achieved through modularity.
AND
There are many drawbacks to this approach of extreme modularity. First of all, product
performance may suffer when the fourteen components are designed rather independently
DEVELOPMENT
because the designers may emphasize component functionality at the expense of system
performance. In order to achieve the desired performance of the overall product, the team
will need to consider all of the interactions between the elements. In this case, the
interactions all occur between chunks, rather than within. It may therefore be difficult to
achieve the necessary level of coordination between designers required to reach the
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target performance level.
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Analysis of two corkscrew designs: a traditional corkscrew and a "big wings" corkscrew.
"TRADITIONAL" CORKSCREW
AND
2. Emotional Appeal This corkscrew has no
excitement; it’s just a bit
DEVELOPMENT
and a handle.
AND
1. Quality of the User As with all corkscrews, use
Interfaces is easily communicated.
Here the extra large
EX 11.2
PRODUCT DESIGN
Develop several concept sketches for a common product. Try designing the product form
both "from the inside out" and "from the outside in". Which is easier for you? Possible
simple products include a stapler, a garlic press, an alarm clock, a reading light, or a
AND
telephone.
DEVELOPMENT
(Based on a solution by Maria Carrascosa.)
A travel mug is very simple and is obviously a product for which industrial design has a
huge importance. Its "technology" is very basic and the design aspects that relate to the
user interface are the key to the product success. Ergonomics are central because you
want the product to be as unobtrusive, easy to handle, and safe to use as possible.
Aesthetics also play a major role in differentiating the product. When I started drawing the
sketches I could hardly think of an "inside-out" approach. I was basically paying attention to
the shape of the product, to its look and feel, and to the ease of using and carrying it. The
"outside-in, function-follows-form" seemed to be the appropriate one. However, when I
PRODUCT DESIGN
came to nailing down the design I realized that I had to be sure that these "forms" fulfilled
several functions. These functions are basically:
1. Mug holds liquid
AND
2. Mug allows drinking
3. Mug is portable
DEVELOPMENT
4. Mug prevents liquid from spilling
This list of functions could be translated into a series of physical elements that formed the
mug
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1. Hole to pour the liquid and container
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I checked the designs using this "inside-out/form-follows function" approach to be sure all
the functional requirements were covered. In fact, the different designs in the market could
be graded according to how many and how well these requirements were met,
independently of their user-interface. So, both approaches were complementary and
played a role in helping me to understand the product requirements and come up with
concept sketches.
EX 11.3
List some firms that you feel have a strong corporate identity. What aspects of their
products helped to develop this identity?
The following table lists some firms with strong corporate identities along with some of the
mechanisms these firms have used to achieve this identity.
DEVELOPMENT
corporate identity.
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not have aINSTRUCTOR
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strongly SITE
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"design language"
like Mercedes, its
products create a
consistent
impression of
being highly
engineered,
rugged, and
powerful.
DEVELOPMENT
from the use of the
color yellow on its
tools and
packaging.
A more intricate relationship intertwines the complete lifecycle costs of the product and ID.
The pertinent cost would be the combination of manufacturing costs, direct cost for ID
(salary, supplies, and overhead), and time cost (possible economic penalties for a longer
lead time). An industrial designer could reduce this overall cost if he or she was able to
make timely, sufficient reductions in manufacturing cost to balance out the cost required to
actually perform the ID. These reductions could come in the way of reduced part count,
simplified design, or a process change (e.g., using injection molding instead of casting a
part). An industrial designer would add to the overall production cost if he or she was
unable to reduce the manufacturing costs sufficiently.
It appears more important to expand the question and discuss the overall profitability of the
product with relation to the ID. The ID expenditure could then be justified with "increased
product appeal and greater customer satisfaction through additional or better features,
strong brand identity, and product differentiation. These benefits would translate into price
premium and/or increased market share".
PRODUCT DESIGN
TQ 11.2
AND
What types of products might not benefit from ID involvement in the development process?
DEVELOPMENT
(Based on a solution by Bob Bakkestuen)
Industrial designers focus their attention on the outward features of a product. They have
expertise in the areas of ergonomic needs and aesthetic needs. The ergonomic needs
address the ease of use, ease of maintenance, and safety issues. The aesthetic needs
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address the external appearance of the product. Therefore, products that would not benefit
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would demonstrate
the following attributes:
no user interface
very little maintenance required
no safety concerns from a design standpoint
not seen by the customer
One product group that meets these criteria are products that are internal components to a
larger end user product, i.e., a hard disk drive for a computer or a drive shaft for an
automobile. The end user of the computer or the automobile would not experience any
benefits of ID. However, if the assembly worker is defined as the user, even these products
would benefit from ID. One goal may be to make the component easier to assemble into
the product by making the component features indicate the correct orientation. I conclude
that any product group will benefit from ID involvement in the development process on
some level if the group considers all the interactions the product will have over its lifetime.
TQ 11.3
The term visual equity is sometimes used to refer to the value of the distinctive appearance
of a firm’s products. How is such equity obtained? Can it be "purchased" over a short time
period, or does it accrue slowly?
AND
Visual equity cannot generally be purchased quickly. It requires that a pattern of
consistency be established in the marketplace over time.
DEVELOPMENT
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Sample AnswersAND
to Exercises and Thought
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Questions: Chapter 12
EX 12.1
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List at least 10 types of environmental impacts over
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the life cycle of your
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personal computer
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or mobile phone. Chart these as in Exhibit 12-6, representing your judgment of the relative
impact of each life cycle state.
(1) natural resource depletion, (2) land degradation due to mining, (3) emissions and waste
generation from mining, (4) Reduced biodiversity due to deforestation, (5) air pollution from
factory emissions, (6) water pollution from factory discharge, (7) waste generation during
production, (8) air pollution due to transportation emissions, (9) waste generation from
packaging, (10) electricity consumed during operation, (11) heat generated during operation
requires extra A/C in buildings, (12) maintenance and cleaning materials, (13) metals in
landfill could leak toxins to water supply, (14) landfill leads to land degradation, (15) waste
generation during recovery process, and (16) incineration generates air pollution and toxic
ash.
The largest environmental impact for each life cycle stage is put at the top in bold font.
PRODUCT DESIGN
Materials have the highest environmental impact because there is a large variety of a
material needed to build my personal computer. For example, there are many circuit
boards with solid-state microelectronics and cabling. These require a lot of copper and rare
AND
metals such as gold. All of these materials require extensive mining and processing. The
Recovery is also large because of the large amount of waste that will be slow to degrade,
DEVELOPMENT
and may leak toxins into the soil or air (ex. large plastic enclosures, and the circuit boards
contain beryllium). Finally, the Use is very high because of the amount of electricity needed
to operate the computer (~70 – 250Watts). The generation of this electricity causes
pollution (ex. coal-fired electricity plants), and the computer converts the electricity to heat,
which puts an extra
HOME load on air conditioners
ABOUT during the warm
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INSTRUCTOR
Disassemble a simple product, such as a ballpoint pen. Suggest two ways to reduce its
environmental impacts.
I disassembled a pair of scissors (see image below). The environmental impact of these
scissors can be reduced by:
(1) Providing a sharpening/cleaning service or device for worn out scissors. This might
prevent customers from throwing them away and buying a new pair once they become
unusable.
(2) Making sure the handle and blade can be more easily separated for recycling.
(3) Using materials that are recycling-compatible. For example, the handle has a rubber
lining and the two different materials might make it more difficult to recycle. Also, the rivet
that holds the blades and handles together is a different material than the blade and
handle.
(5) Reducing the amount of packaging used to transport and sell the product.
(6) Improve the volumetric packing density by transporting the scissors in bulk packaging.
EX 12.3
For the product considered in Exercise 1, compute its environmental impact score using
any LCA analysis tool available to you.
Performing an LCA on my personal computer would take a large amount of time. Thus, I
performed an LCA on my example from Exercise 2, which was a pair of scissors.
I then assumed that the metal was drop forged, and the handles were injection molded
with ABS plastic. The rivet was not included in this analysis. The final assumption was that
they were manufactured in China, and then shipped for use in the USA.
PRODUCT DESIGN
Impact Metric Plastic Handle Metal Blade Total (x2)
DEVELOPMENT
Eutrophication
Carbon Footprint - Carbon-dioxide and other gasses which result from the burning of fossil
fuels accumulate in the atmosphere which in turn increases the earth’s average
temperature. Carbon footprint acts as a proxy for the larger impact factor referred to as
Global Warming Potential (GWP). Global warming is blamed for problems like loss of
glaciers, extinction of species, and more extreme weather, among others.
Air Acidification - Sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxides other acidic emissions to air cause an
increase in the acidity of rainwater, which in turn acidifies lakes and soil. These acids can
make the land and water toxic for plants and aquatic life. Acid rain can also slowly dissolve
manmade building materials such as concrete. This impact is typically measured in units of
either kg sulfur dioxide equivalent (SO2), or moles H+ equivalent.
AND
TQ 12.1
DEVELOPMENT
What are some of the ways in which you have become more aware of your own
environmental impact in recent years?
TQ 12.2
For the Setu chair, what types of environmental impacts would be in the use stage of its life
cycle?
The Setu chair's environmental impacts during the use stage include:
1. Repairs: Any repairs to the chair will require either a technician to travel to the site, or
that the chair be transported or even shipped to a maintenance facility. Both will have an
environmental impact because of the transportation fuel, and possible packaging required.
These impacts can be reduced by having a rugged design that is able to take abuse and
have an extended life. Also, the replacement part is additional material, and the broken
part should be recyclable.
2. Cleaning: Users might use toxic chemicals to clean the chair. Herman-Miller might
consider a tag on the chair that informs the user which environmentally safe chemicals they
should use to clean the chair.
3. Degradation: The cloth and plastic components might abrade, and the small particles
could be harmful when breathed. Even prolonged skin contact with such components can
be harmful.
TQ 12.3
In what ways can DFE help to improve the quality of a product, in terms of its functionality,
PRODUCT DESIGN
reliability, durability, and reparability?
Functionality: The constraints of DFE may force designers/engineers to think "out of the
AND
box", which could yield new functions to the product. For example, a DFE strategy could try
to reduce the impact of product packaging by making the package something that can be
DEVELOPMENT
reused, for example as a container. The ability to use the packaging for something useful
adds functionality.
Reliability: One of the DFE goals is to "extend the useful product life" (Exhibit 12-5). Thus
DFE products should be engineered to last longer, which in turn means they must be more
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reliable. For example, one way to do this is to make sure that each part of the product lasts
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Durability: A guideline for DFE is to avoid materials that require additional coatings (See
Appendix, Guideline #18). For example, if materials are chosen that do not require
paint/coatings, then chipping will not occur and thus it could be considered more durable.
Reparability: Another goal of DFE is to facilitate product disassembly for recycling. This will
also make the product more easily serviceable if part of the product needs repaired. For
example, I have an idea for a recyclable pizza box. One way to make it recyclable is to
have the bottom of the box be removable - since the greases (which are mostly at the
bottom of the box) prevent the box from being recycled. Thus the bottom can be thrown
away while the rest is recycled.
TQ 12.4
For each life cycle stage, identify a product or service that has high environmental impacts
during the particular life cycle stage. Then, suggest a new or existing product or service
that provides the same functionality with lower (or without any) environmental impacts.
AND
Distribution Bottled Water Fountain Water Air pollution via
transportation,
DEVELOPMENT
material
usage/waste
TQ 12.5
How would you explicitly include renewable and nonrenewable energy in the life cycle
diagram in Exhibit 12-3? Draw such a diagram and explain it.
PRODUCT DESIGN
AND
DEVELOPMENT
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Energy is used in all stages of the life cycles, thus the diagram above shows orange and
green dashed arrows representing non-renewable and renewable energy, respectively.
The most common forms of energy are (1) electricity, and (2) thermal, and both of these can
be obtained through non-renewable and renewable sources. Below is a summary of how
energy is required in each stage to:
Materials: Extract the materials and process it into stock sizes (e.g. gasoline and electricity
to operate mining equipment)
Production: Run the machinery that performs the production processes (e.g. electricity to
operate mills and lathes)
Distribution: Distribute the goods (e.g. packing materials/containers, diesel for transport
trucks)
Use: Power the product, so it can perform the function for which it was designed. Energy is
needed for the use of many, but not all goods (e.g. electric toothbrush requires electricity
to operate, cars require gasoline, a bicycle helmet does not).
Recovery: Run the machinery used to recycle the raw materials (e.g. aluminum cans used
for soda are recycled into aluminum. This requires a melting process, which uses thermal
PRODUCT DESIGN
energy).
TQ 12.6
AND
Explain the relationship between DFE and DFM. Consider, for example, those DFE
DEVELOPMENT
guidelines related to production in Exhibit 12-8.
TQ 12.7
Consider the DFE assessment tool used by Herman Miller, which computed the weighted
sum scores for material chemistry, use of recycled content, ease of disassembly, and
recyclability. What modifications would you propose to create a DFE assessment tool for a
different type of product, such as an automobile or a mobile phone?
Since automobiles are both material and energy intensive, I would add a new energy
category. The energy required by the new product would be compared with a similar
product that already exists. The environmental impact of the energy will depend on the
way the energy was generated (e.g. coal electricity plant versus solar or thermal), thus this
would also need to be considered. Below is a summary of both the materials and energy
factors:
Materials
Disassembly 20%
AND
Recyclability 30%
DEVELOPMENT
Recycled content 20%
Below is a manufacturing cost estimate for the garlic press shown in the photo.
PRODUCT DESIGN
AND
DEVELOPMENT
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Suggest some potential cost-reducing modifications you could make to improve the
product costed above. Compute the DFA index before and after these changes.
Here are three DFM-related modifications that could be made to the garlic press product
costed above:
• Eliminate the screw threads on the ram and tube (simpler tooling and molding
operations).
• Mold the die into the tube end (eliminates one part).
• Eliminate the button, knobs, and cap (eliminates three parts).
before after
7 # of parts 2
The trade-offs associated with these DFM suggestions include significant losses in quality
and functionality. The following features would be lost with the above modifications:
The screw threads between the ram and tube provide leverage allowing the user to
push the garlic through the die with much force.
PRODUCT DESIGN
The die being a separate piece allows disassembly for cleaning.
The button and knobs cover holes in the top of the ram, providing an attractive look
and comfortable grip.
DEVELOPMENT
EX 13.3
List 10 reasons why reducing the number of parts in a product might reduce production
costs. Also list some reasons why costs might increase.
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(Based on a solution by Murthy Nukala)
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(2) Lower manufacturing costs: Most often, the integral part will cost less to manufacture
than the sum of the component costs so the manufacturing costs are reduced. This is
especially true in cases where the parts are made using a net-shape manufacturing
process, where one tool is often less expensive than two less complex tools.
(3) Lower setup costs: Reducing the number of parts would mean that non-value-added
costs like setup times would be reduced.
(4) Lower coordination costs: A reduced number of parts would mean that the amount of
coordination and bookkeeping required to get the parts to the right place at the right time
(usually assembly) is reduced. This would mean less strain on the component tracking
system, like bar coding systems.
(6) Higher degree of automation possible: The focus on reducing the number of parts
would likely also take into account design for automated assembly. Use of these principles
PRODUCT DESIGN
could enable the use of automated assembly, further reducing costs.
(7) Labor savings: The combined effect of higher automation and reduced assembly time
AND
would lead to lower labor costs.
DEVELOPMENT
(8) Precise manufacture of complex parts: Integrating component functions into fewer
parts allows for enhanced control over the interaction between critical geometric features,
since the geometry can now be governed by manufacturing and not by assembly.
(9) Purchasing and handling of materials: Reducing the number of parts would reduce the
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burden on material purchasing and handling systems. This also reduces the complexity of
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greater utilization of
the manufacturing system.
(10) Continuous improvement: One of the greatest benefits of a drive to reduce the number
of parts in a product is that it forces the team to reflect on the various aspects of the
product. This might have far-reaching benefits to the quality of the product.
One potential drawback of an effort to reduce the number of parts is that such a program
can lead to the development of much more complex and intricate parts, whose design,
development, and manufacture may be more difficult, slow, and expensive. For instance,
the design team for the integrated part would now have to interact and iterate their design
with a lot more product development teams. This might drive up the development costs,
and delay the introduction of the product to the market. Also, in many cases the
manufacturing cost of a larger number of simpler parts (which may be standard parts) can
be less than the manufacturing costs of one integrated part.
To reconcile the benefits and drawbacks of parts count reduction, a development team
must consider the total cost of the product, not just the assembly and overhead costs.
Furthermore, these detail design decisions must be closely coupled with the product
strategy, manufacturing capabilities, and specific project goals.
TQ 13.1
Consider the following 10 "design rules" for electromechanical products. Do these seem
like reasonable guidelines? Under what circumstances could one rule conflict with another
one? How should such a trade-off be settled?
AND
f. Use self-fastening parts
g. Use self-locating parts
DEVELOPMENT
h. Eliminate reorientation
i. Facilitate parts handling
j. Specify standard parts
TQ 13.2
Is it practical to design a product with 100 percent assembly efficiency (DFA index = 1.0)?
What conditions would have to be met? Can you think of any products with very high
(greater than 75 percent) assembly efficiency?
PRODUCT DESIGN
(Based on a solution by Manuel Jaime)
It might seem theoretically practical to produce a product with 100% assembly efficiency.
AND
However, because DFA has implications on other parts of a design and manufacturing
process (that is, there is coupling between these issues), a 100% assembly efficient product
DEVELOPMENT
can be counterproductive in several respects.
One drawback of 100% efficiency is part replacement. The integration of components that
is inherent to DFA could lead to having to replace a large expensive component if a small
section of a part fails. The customer might be extremely upset if it is necessary to replace a
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$200 part simply because a joint in a snap fit failed.
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Another problem with 100% assembly efficiency is customer maintenance. For example,
imagine a product that requires occasional cleaning as a maintenance procedure. If the
product is highly integrated there is a possibility that dust or dirt will accumulate in sections
that can't be pulled apart or that require special tooling to separate.
From a cost standpoint it might not be practical to produce a product with 100% assembly
efficiency. This requires incurring high fixed costs for expensive equipment and/or tooling.
If the product volume is not high enough, the expense incurred in fixed costs is not justified
by the savings in assembly costs. Similarly, it might be the case that labor cost (the driving
factor in manual assembly) is so low, that the time saved in simpler assembly procedures is
not significant.
Some products do have very high assembly efficiencies. Some small, hand-held or desktop
fans only have five or six parts that easily snap together: a casing for the motor, the motor
and shaft, a set of blades that is press fitted into the shaft, and a cover. Some computer
mice are also quite simple if their circuit board is considered as a separate sub-assembly
and its assembly is not accounted for in the assembly time of the mouse. Spray bottles (like
those used in household cleaners) also have high assembly efficiency; two or three
injection-molded parts and no fasteners comprise the entire product.
It may even be possible to design a simple product with greater than 100% assembly
PRODUCT DESIGN
efficiency using one or more of the following tricks: Produce the entire product with only
one component (e.g., a nail, paper clip, or eraser). Consider using break-away joints when
parts need to be removed for repair or recycling. Consider molding hinges into plastic
AND
components instead of using separate parts when they need to have relative motion.
DEVELOPMENT
TQ 13.3
Is it possible to determine what a product really costs once it is put into production? If so,
how might you do this.
There are two broad limitations which make it impossible to determine what a product
really costs in production. These are: 1) variation and 2) shared resources.
1. Variation:
Any system as complex as a manufacturing process is subject to many types of variation.
Parts being produced by the process will have variations in true cost, For example, there
are variable true labor rates due to workers’ differing performance and costs to the firm,
variable costs of energy to power machines during various periods of the day, product
liability costs incurred by faulty products, etc. These variations are so many and so complex
that it is impossible to track them all. Therefore, it is not really possible to determine the
exact cost of even the most simple products. The best we can hope for is some aggregate
average cost.
2. Shared Resources:
Many products flow through a production system, and so there are many resources they
must share, including production personnel, machinery, floor space, engineering attention,
etc. It is very difficult to allocate shared resource expenses properly to each product, which
is why we simply "charge overhead" instead. This can only be accurate in the aggregate,
not for each individual product. However, by using activity-based cost accounting
techniques, we can aggregate less than with traditional accounting systems, and we can
obtain somewhat higher accuracy of tracking costs.
Fortunately, the exact cost of a product is not necessary for management to be able to
make good decisions. These decisions rely heavily on the specific and general knowledge
associated with the systems and members of the organization that are involved in formal or
informal collection of production cost data. For a facility with a single product with
dedicated equipment and a single customer, measuring the monthly or quarterly expenses
associated with operating the plant and dividing by the number of units produced will give
PRODUCT DESIGN
a very accurate estimate of the unit cost of the product. While the process becomes
considerably more difficult for a complex plant with multiple product lines and considerable
shared indirect resources, good management is still able to make effective decisions if they
AND
are attentive to appropriate information and they have a sound business strategy.
DEVELOPMENT
TQ 13.4
Can you propose a set of metrics that would be useful for the team to predict changes in
the actual costs of supporting production? To be effective, these metrics must be sensitive
to changes in the design that affect indirect costs experienced by the firm. What are some
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of the barriers to the introduction of such techniques in practice?
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Support costs are related to the demands on production support functions. To predict
changes in these costs due to a particular product design, we can consider the product’s
demands on the drivers of support costs. Certainly the categories of support functions and
their associated drivers would be different for each firm, however some typical ones might
be:
AND
and its products involved 30 new processes over that period, then the rate for this driver
would become $25,000 per new process. Future designs could use this information.
DEVELOPMENT
In fact, the scheme above is basically the way that an activity-based costing (ABC) system
functions. Many firms have now adopted such techniques and feel comfortable about their
ability to track costs of production better than with the traditional systems. However, the
implementation of such a scheme requires difficult decisions to be made about which
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drivers are important and about which of the firm's costs should be associated with each
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more accurate than
earlier systems.
There is no "correct" answer to this exercise; it is a hands-on exercise. Some of the things
you can learn about the chair are: geometric relations involving folding/unfolding,
appearance of the geometry, stackability, and materials utilization. Some of the things one
cannot learn from the paper prototype are: the projected weight, strength, and stiffness of
the chair; and the comfort of the chair.
EX 14.2
Position the chair prototype described in Exercise 1 on the plot in Exhibit 14-5. For which of
the four major purposes would a product development team use such a prototype?
PRODUCT DESIGN
AND
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The prototype is clearly physical and is more focused than comprehensive. The team
would probably use this type of prototype for learning and for communication.
EX 14.3
Devise a prototyping plan (similar to that in Exhibit 14-14) for investigating the comfort of
different types of handles for kitchen knives.
DEVELOPMENT
approximately the right
shape.
Use at least 30
experimental subjects with
widely varying hand sizes
from 10th percentile female
to 90th percentile male.
AND
EX 14.4
DEVELOPMENT
Position the prototypes shown in Exhibits 14-3, 14-4, 14-6, 14-7, and 14-13 on the plot in
Exhibit 14-5. Briefly explain your reasoning for each placement.
Boeing wing prototype (Exhibit 12-3) -- physical and mid-way between focused and
comprehensive. This prototype was intended to test only the structure, and therefore
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lacked avionics and other systems.
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Bahco screwdrivers (Exhibit 12-3) -- physical and focused. These prototypes were to test
only grip comfort.
Projector (Exhibit 12-3) -- physical and focused. The model was intended to communicate
only appearance (and maybe heft/balance).
Bicycle in SolidWorks (Exhibit 12-12) -- analytical and somewhere between focused and
comprehensive. A solid model can be used for many purposes even though
it is not completely comprehensive.
Urethane casting (Exhibit 12-13) -- physical and comprehensive. These parts were intended
to be used in pre-production prototypes. They are fully "works like" and "looks like"
prototypes.
TQ 14.1
Many product development teams separate the "looks-like" prototype from the "works-like"
prototype. They do this because integrating both function and form is difficult in the early
phases of development. What are the strengths and weaknesses of this approach? For
what types of products might this approach be dangerous?
AND
Exhibit 9, wire wrap example in the text), which reduces overall development time.
DEVELOPMENT
Some weaknesses of separate prototypes are:
Interactions between elements of the product can be missed until the final
production stage, causing expensive redesign and delays.
In any product where the function of the product depends on the physical
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and materials, the THE AUTHORS
true performance INSTRUCTOR
of the product willSITE
not be tested.
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resistance toSITE RESOURCES
shock, vibration, CONTACT
thermal expansion, US
and
electromagnetic interference are dependent upon overall configuration and
materials.
Problems with the fit of parts may arise at the production stage. Without
complicated 3-D solid modeling, it can be hard to visualize and insure that all
pieces of the final product will fit perfectly.
In a high-tech computer system designed for military applications, prototype and test of
separated prototypes may be dangerous. A functioning electronics component may survive
a shock and vibration test on its own but when installed in a case, the response to shock is
modified and the system as a whole may fail, requiring expensive re-design late in the
development process.
Similarly chip design for electronic applications can be proved out in a working prototype
but could fail completely in a production configuration due to electromagnetic interference
between components when they are located in final configurations.
TQ 14.2
Over the past 10 years, several technologies have been developed to create physical parts
directly from computer-aided design files (e.g., stereolithography and selective laser
sintering). How might a team use a technology for extremely rapid fabrication of physical
prototypes during the concept development phase of the product development process?
Might the technology facilitate identifying customer needs, establishing specifications,
generating product concepts, and/or selecting product concepts?
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concepts to be effectively communicated to all members of the team. Physical prototypes
could also be used for screening of the concepts, as potential problems may only become
DEVELOPMENT
apparent through physical prototypes. Analytical designs sometimes do not reveal the
limitations of a design as they cannot reveal phenomena which go beyond the underlying
assumptions of the model. By discovering the limitations of a design through the building of
a prototype the team can concentrate on overcoming these limitations or eliminating
infeasible designs early in the product development process. The team could also show
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the prototypes to consumers and/or lead users and get more valuable customer feedback
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generate INSTRUCTOR
additional SITEfrom customer
concepts RESOURCES CONTACT US
suggestions.
The technology could significantly facilitate identifying customer needs. The customer can
be presented with different physical prototypes through which an assessment of the
essential customer needs is simplified. By seeing and handling an actual physical prototype
the user's real need can be more easily identified. Rapid prototyping during the concept
development phase may pronounce the advantages and disadvantages of different
concepts which are otherwise not readily apparent. Problems in certain designs may come
to light which can then be resolved and improved upon or the concept can be eliminated
from the concept selection list. By having a physical prototype the process of establishing
target specifications is also simplified. The relevant parameters and their ideal magnitude
are easier to identify than in a pure analytical model.
TQ 14.3
Some companies have reportedly abandoned the practice of doing a customer test with
the early prototypes of their products, preferring instead to go directly and quickly to
market in order to observe the actual customer response. For what types of products and
markets might this practice make sense?
This practice may make sense for markets in which customer needs are changing rapidly
and are difficult to evaluate with traditional market research tools such as interviews, focus
groups, and questionnaire. Time is extremely valuable in such markets, and so it is often
better to get something into the market and then iterate quickly based on the market
response, than to take a lot of time to carefully conceive a product that may miss the mark.
This situation can be viewed within the conceptual framework illustrated in Exhibit 7. The
firm does not perceive that the probability of success is dramatically changed by building
and testing a prototype and/or the cost of actually launching the product is low.
PRODUCT DESIGN
TQ 14.4
AND
A drawing is a hybrid of the two types of prototypes. Clearly some aspects of a drawing are
DEVELOPMENT
physical: the objects exist in (two-dimensional) space, they can be laid over one another to
check for interference, objects can be placed on them to examine fit. Yet, the drawing also
has analytical elements: it is a semi-formal, quasi-mathematical, abstraction of geometry,
and it approximates only the geometric attributes of the product.
This approach makes sense when the benefits outweigh the costs. In software, the costs of
assembling the product each day are modest, and so the daily build can be a good
strategy. For most physical goods, a daily build is not feasible. Just the costs of physically
assembling most physical goods make the strategy infeasible, not to mention the time
delays associated with such builds. However, the CAD files describing the product might
be "assembled" each day. This strategy was adopted by Boeing in the development of the
777, and resulted in many of the same benefits reported by Microsoft.
The process of making coffee is composed of four basic steps; raw coffee beans must be
roasted, the roasted coffee beans must then be ground, the ground coffee must then be
mixed with hot water for a certain time (brewed), and finally the liquid coffee must be
separated from the now used and unwanted grounds. I will assume that "making coffee" for
this exercise only involves the grinding and brewing steps. Thus the bean has already been
selected, roasted, etc. I will use the design of experiments (DOE) method described in the
textbook, which follows the following process:
1. Identify control factors, noise factors, and performance metrics
2. Formulate an objective function
3. Develop the experimental plan
4. Run the experiment
5. Conduct the analysis
6. Select and confirm factor setpoints
7. Reflect and repeat
Step #1: Identify the control factors, noise factors, and performance metrics
A product’s functional characteristics can be affected by two categories of factors:
controllable factors (inputs) and uncontrollable factors (noise). The control factors are the
design variables to be varied, and the following are used in this coffee DOE: (A)
Coarseness of grinding (B) Amount of grounds for a set amount of water (C) temperature of
water during brewing (D) duration of time for brewing.
The uncontrollable factors (noise) would include variations in measuring quantities of water
and grounds, variations in operating procedures such as placing the grounds into the filter
PRODUCT DESIGN
and how the filter is installed, different types of drip coffee machines and filters, variations
in water quality, and variations in serving the coffee.
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The performance metric is very subjective, since it largely depends on the individual. Thus,
consumers from the target market (e.g. certain age or demographic) would be collected to
DEVELOPMENT
"taste test" the various trials. Thus a subjective metric of 1 to 5 would be used, where 5 is
the best tasting.
Factor Levels
The coffee machine operator will measure out the prescribed quantity of beans, and then
set the coffee machine to grind and brew the coffee. The paper filter is replaced after each
experiment. The temperature and times are set digitally by the operator and controlled by
the machine.
The experimental plan consists of a design of experiment (DOE) that has four factors, each
PRODUCT DESIGN
with three levels. Thus if all combinations of factors and levels were tested 34 = 81 would
be required (full factorial). Furthermore, repeating these experiments five times to
understand variations (noise) would require 81*5 = 405 trials. This exercise will instead use
AND
a carefully defined subset of experiments that is as small as possible while still identifying
the main effects of each factor (L9 orthogonal array). This design consists of 9 experiments,
DEVELOPMENT
which are listed in the table below as separate rows.
A random selection of consumers will be chosen from the target market. The consumers
PRODUCT DESIGN
will try each experiment trial, but from a random operator (thus they won't have the same
operator each time).
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Step #5: Conduct the analysis
The factor affects will be analyzed using Analysis of Means. This method involves simply
DEVELOPMENT
averaging all the computed objective functions for each factor level. First, the mean,
variance, and signal to noise ratio are calculated using the data for all trials of a single
experiment. Next, the experiments are grouped by factor levels, as shown in Table 2 in
matrix form (example, A1 is used in experiment number 1, 2, and 3. D2 is used in
experiment 2, 6, 7).
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A B C D
1 1, 2, 1, 4, 1, 6, 1, 5, 9
3 7 8
2 4, 2, 2, 2, 6, 7
5, 6 5, 8 4, 9
3 7, 3, 3, 3, 4, 8
8, 9 6, 9 5, 7
AND
Explain why the 1/4-fractional-factorial and orthogonal array plans shown in Exhibit 15-4 are
balanced.
DEVELOPMENT
They are balanced because each factor is tested at every level the same number of times,
during which each other factor is tested the same number of times at each level. For
example, A1 is used half the time, while factors B1, C1, and D1 are all used in half of the A1
trials. This balance is true for each factor level.
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Formulate an appropriate signal-to-noise ratio for the seat belt experiment. Analyze the
experimental data using this metric. Is signal-to-noise ratio a useful objective function in
this case? Why or why not?
The mean and variance is often combined and expressed as a single objective in the form
of a signal-to-noise ratio. Typically the signal-to-noise ratio is maximized, and the following
function is used: s/n = 10*log(mean2/variance). However, in the case of the seatbelt
experiment, the measurement of back angle is a smaller-is-better metric and only the range
is known (not the variance). To maintain a maximization, I inverted the mean and divided by
the range: s/n = 10*log((1/mean)2/range2)). However, the Ford team chose to utilize the
compounded noise approach, which is when selected noise factors are combined to create
several representative or extreme noise conditions. Thus the team tested each row using
the two combinations of the three noise factors representing the best- (N+) and worst-case
(N-) conditions. To combine both noise values, I wrote the metric as: s/n = 10*LOG((1/N-
+1/N+)2/(N--N+)2).
I calculated the s/n for each experiment (Table 3), and the average of the s/n was
calculated using the data for the factor level experiments (Table 4). The metric should be
useful in quickly seeing that a high s/n relates to factor levels with the desirable
combination of both low back angle and variance (range). This is true in all but case B,
where the s/n is shown high for the clearly undesirable case when the back angle and
variance are both larger. This result shows weakness in the s/n metric I am suggesting. If
the setpoint was chosen purely based on which s/n was greater, then the following would
be selected: [A2, B1, C2, D1, E1, F2, G1]. The setpoints shown in bold conflict with the actual
selection made by Ford. Ford made various tradeoffs between performance and variance
when making the final decision. Factors B, C, D, E, and G were chosen to achieve the
desired robustness and factors A and F to increase performance. I'm concluding that it is
PRODUCT DESIGN
not appropriate to only use the s/n as the deciding factor. Instead, the final selection
of setpoints should be made by analyzing the Analysis of Means plots (average, range and
s/n), and then making case-by-case tradeoffs using additional engineering knowledge and
AND
judgment.
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Table 3: DOE results.
A B
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D THE AUTHORS
E F G N-
INSTRUCTOR N+
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g ng
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8
AND 2 2 1 2 1 1 2 0.4
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4 6 0 8
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1 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 5, 1, 2, 7, 1, 3, 5, 1, 3, 6, 1, 4, 5, 1, 4, 6,
4 6 8 7 8 8 7
2 5, 6, 7, 3, 4, 7, 3, 4, 5, 2, 4, 6, 2, 4, 5, 2, 3, 6, 2, 3, 5,
8 8 6, 8 7 7 8
TQ 15.1
If you are able to afford a larger experiment (with more runs), how might you best utilize the
additional runs?
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factorial. This would allow consideration of some interaction effects.
4. Conduct trials at more levels, types, or combinations or noise. This would help us
DEVELOPMENT
understand the effects of noise.
TQ 15.2
Randomizing the sequence of experimental runs ensures that any systematic trend over
the duration of the experiment is not correlated with the systematic changes to the levels
of any factors. For example, the temperature of the room might slowly increase throughout
the day, and the effects of this might be incorrectly attributed to the changes in control
factor A since this factor (typically) moves through its levels once over the non-randomized
sequence of the DOE.
However, for some experiments, changing certain factors may be so difficult that all trials at
each level of that factor are run together and only partially randomization may be achieved.
One way to guard against this type of bias is by running an additional experiment at the
end using the selected setpoints, to ensure that the performance is still superior. This is
referred to as a "confirmation run".
TQ 15.3
In a balanced experiment, each factor level is used the same number of times. This not
only facilitates analysis of means (using simple averaging, rather than weighted averages),
but it also assures that the experimental space is explored in a balanced manner. An
unbalanced experiment would explore one portion of the space more completely and
other areas less so. For example, a center-weighted experiment (moving one factor at a
time away from the center point) does not explore the edges of the space at all.
PRODUCT DESIGN
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EX 16.2
Draft a claim for the self-stick notepad invention marketed by 3M Corporation as the Post-it
note.
The claims are a set of numbered phrases that precisely define the essential elements of
the invention. The patent owner can prevent others from practicing the invention described
by the claims only. The rest of the patent application is essentially background context for
the claims.
Here is my claim for the self-stick Post-it note: A note taking device, comprising a stack of
paper and an adhesive for joining the paper to each other or other objects. Said adhesive
allows the piece of paper to be stuck and unstuck multiple times, and does not leave a
residue.
PRODUCT DESIGN
EX 16.3
AND
Here are the claims for the patent in Exercise 1 (taken from a Google Patent search):
DEVELOPMENT
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EX 16.4
Generate one or more product concepts that are very different from the Coffin and
Sorensen inventions to address the problem of handling a hot coffee cup and that don’t
PRODUCT DESIGN
infringe the Coffin and Sorensen patents.
Concept #1: The coffee sleeve completely encloses the hot coffee cup. It can be thought of
AND
as a "cup in a cup", where the sleeve is a larger cup with foam stand-offs on the inside that
isolate the heat from the outer cup, and act as a wedge to prevent slipping between the
DEVELOPMENT
two cups.
Concept #2: A plastic ring with a handle is used to hold the hot coffee cup. The ring would
have a wedge shape to securely capture the cup.
TQ 16.1
Controversy erupted in 1999 when the J.M. Smucker Company sued a Michigan
bakery, Albie’s, for infringing on its patent by marketing a crustlesspeanut butter and jelly
sandwich crimped on the edges (See U.S. patent 6,004,596.) Albie’s argued that the patent
was issued in error because the invention was obvious. Look up the Smucker patent. Do
you believe that the Smucker’s invention was nonobvious? Why or why not?
PRODUCT DESIGN
Patent law defines obvious inventions as those that would be clearly evident to those with
"ordinary skill in the art" who faced the same problem as the inventor. In this case, the
problem is that some people don't like the crust of the peanut butter sandwich. Children
AND
often don't like the crust because it is tougher to chew and has a different taste, and for
this reason it is common for parents to remove the crust for their kids. Crimped edges
DEVELOPMENT
would be useful in preventing the peanut butter and jelly from oozing out into the child's
hands - though it's unlikely that many parents actually crimp the edges because a special
tool or procedure is required. I would argue that parents have an "ordinary skill in the art"
of sandwich making, and the solution of removing the crust (and crimping the edges) is
obvious to them. In addition to being crustless and crimped, Smucker's patent had a claim
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relating to putting peanut butter on both pieces of bread with the jelly in the center to
prevent itREGISTER FOR
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through SITEThoughRESOURCES
the bread. CONTACT
this solution may be US
less obvious, their
patent was rejected in 2003 due to prior art (e.g. Albie claimed that a similar sandwich has
been a popular dish in northern Michigan since the nineteenth century).
TQ 16.2
Inventors might describe but not claim an invention because their disclosure becomes part
of the prior art and therefore prevents others from patenting these alternative approaches
to their actual patented claims.
Sample Answer:
EX 17.2.
Identify opportunities for innovation or areas of recent innovation in the service process
PRODUCT DESIGN
described in Exercise 17.1.
Sample Answer:
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Process Step Innovation
DEVELOPMENT
Advertising Online marketing, on-demand trailers
Comparison Online seller offers and compares times, pricing, and amenities at all
Shopping nearby theatres
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Seating Better seats, seats for couples, family seating, actuated seats to feel the
bass sounds, device charging (and silencing)
Departure Uber or taxi service is ready and waiting after the film
EX 17.3.
List five products that benefitted from the introduction of necessary or complementary
services in terms of market success and customer satisfaction.
Sample Answer:
Product Service
DEVELOPMENT
Pitney Bowes mailing
system
Mail room service
TQ17.1.
What are the differences and similarities between the product development process and
the process of designing services? Illustrate your answer with representative development
process diagrams.
Sample Answer:
An online image search for publicly available product development process diagrams finds
hundreds of examples. However most are from consultants and academics. Finding
diagrams from service and product firms takes more advanced searching but did yield
some results. Two examples are shown below (with URLs).
Similarities:
At the high level, most of the processes found are very similar and follow the
process laid out in the textbook.
There is a specific phase at the start of the process for concept development. This
is followed by detailed design and testing before implementation.
Differences:
At the high level, the primary difference is use of the terms “service” and “solution”.
Most of the service development processes named fewer detailed methods.
TQ17.2.
Draw the Zipcar process flow diagram in a way that explicitly delineates process flows for
customer actions, visible employee actions, back-office employee activities, and IT-based
systems. What is the relationship between the company’s service process flow and the
customer’s service experience?
Sample Answer:
Zipcar has a customer-centric process, as illustrated by the process flow diagram below,
which is coded (per legend) to differentiate between customer, employee, and IT system
actions. Zipcar customers may not realize that so many activities are taking place behind
the scene to handle the vehicles an to support each customer transaction.
PRODUCT DESIGN
AND
DEVELOPMENT
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TQ17.3.
Sample Answer:
Automobile retailers face the trade-off of sales versus service pricing. Say they have the
option to price (and sell) the vehicle between $20,000 and $25,000, with a corresponding
profit of $0 and $5,000, respectively. They also expect (most) of their sales customers to
return for service. Let’s say the profit margin on service could range from 10% to 90%,
depending how they price the service and parts. Further assume that customers consume
$10,000 of service cost over the time they own the vehicle, representing a service profit
range of $1,000 to $9,000. Of course, they would love to reap maximum profit from both
sales and service. However they know that the higher they price the sales, the fewer sales
they will win, losing out also on the service. Similarly, the higher they price the service, the
fewer customers will return for service.
Based on certain assumptions of elasticity to sales price and to service price, we can
develop a table showing expected profit for various margin combinations. For the
parameters used, profit is maximized with sales and service margins of 10% and 75%,
respectively.
PRODUCT DESIGN
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Some of the many challenges in implementing this approach in practice include the
following: HOME ABOUT THE AUTHORS INSTRUCTOR SITE
In a perfect world, you would never accept a negative NPV project because you could
perfectly price all incremental cash flows associated with a project. (Some might argue that
the role of a firm is to manage risk for their investors at the expense of positive NPV
projects. However, financial theory shows that it is much easier for individual investors to
diversify than it is for a firm.)
Projects often possess economic impacts which do not lend themselves to quantifiable
present value analysis. The following summarizes possible reasons firms might accept
negative NPV projects.
2) Positive Externality with Related Products–A project may have negative NPV but could
have applications that are complementary to other products in the organization's product
line. For example, development of razor blade handles could be a negative NPV project.
However, development of razor blade handles may lead to increased sales of blades and
shaving cream.
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manufacturing VCR's was unfavorable. However, this market emerged and developed into
a highly profitable niche.
DEVELOPMENT
4) Environmental Policies–Firms may take on negative NPV projects if the qualitative
benefits to the environment outweigh the negative NPV. Measuring the value of the
environment saved is very difficult. However, organizations may base project decisions on
ethical grounds.
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5) Competitive FOR INSTRUCTOR
Response–Firms SITEon negative
may take RESOURCES
NPV projects CONTACT USsignaling
as a form of
to competitors. These projects may seek to game with competitors in markets of strategic
importance. For example, Prof. Pindyck (MIT) discusses the importance of signaling: He
describes a situation where a company committed to a negative NPV project in order to
convince competitors that the firm was prepared to flood the market with its product and
drive price and profits into the cellar. This action was designed to create a barrier to entry
which could only be overcome by new technology in conjunction with a strong learning
curve effect.
7) Dynamic Economic Environment–Some projects have negative NPV because the bulk of
their profits are realized at a time far in the future. If the discount rates rise, these NPV
become negative. Some managers will pursue negative NPV projects in the hope that
discount rates will ultimately fall in future periods. (Alternately one can use the term
structure of interest rates to mitigate this problem. However, predicting future interest rates
is risky and may come down to the acceptance of a project which shows negative NPV at
the current cost of capital.)
Basically, the above situations can be considered as "spending" rather than investment.
The negative NPV shows how much it costs for buying goodwill or paying to build a core
competence, etc. Finally, it may be possible to consider some of these effects in the NPV
analysis. The difficulty is to quantify the beneficial effects. For example, you would need to
compute NPV for the group of projects that benefit from the development of a core
competence.
EX 18.2
PRODUCT DESIGN
Build a quantitative model to analyze the development and sale of a bicycle light. Assume
that you could sell 20,000 units per year for five years at a sales price (wholesale) of $20
AND
per unit and a manufacturing cost of $10 per unit. Assume that production ramp-up
expenses would be $20,000, ongoing marketing and support costs would be $2,000 per
DEVELOPMENT
month, and development would take another 12 months. How much development
spending could such a project justify?
EX 18.3
Can you think of successful products that would never have been developed if their
AND
creators had relied exclusively on a quantitative financial model to justify their efforts? Do
these products share any characteristics?
DEVELOPMENT
(Based on a solution by Vikram Mehta)
There are many "high risk" projects that assume customers will demand something that
cannot be expressed with certainty in advance. Established firms may choose to have a
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portfolio of projects including some of this type of "risky" projects.
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Government research funding (in the US and many other countries) provides seed capital
for companies that are developing new technologies. Without this funding, many ventures
would not flourish. In the US, the government has often stepped in to provide incentives for
the private sector to get involved in new commercial directions. History has shown that
some ventures would have paid for themselves (eventually), but without the help of the
government they would never have taken off.
TQ 18.2
One model of the impact of delay in product innovation is that sales are simply shifted later
in time. Another model is that some of the sales are pushed beyond the "window of
opportunity" and are lost forever. Can you suggest other models for the implications of an
extension of product development time? Is such an extension ever beneficial?
There are several possible models of the impact of a delay in product launch:
Shift Model:
PRODUCT DESIGN
For some products, there might be no change in the demand pattern, only the sales begin
and end later as result of a development delay.
AND
Window-of-Opportunity Model:
DEVELOPMENT
This model assumes that there are product life-cycle effects in place even in absence of
the firm’s offering. As a result, delayed introduction results in lost sales at the beginning
and no change in the end of the product’s sales life.
All-Or-Nothing Model:
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This model assumesFOR
thatINSTRUCTOR SITEthe first
only the firm with RESOURCES
product to marketCONTACT US
enjoys significant
sales. Other later entrants make no sales at all.
This model assumes that if the project is delayed, other projects within the firm will become
more attractive investments and the delayed project will be canceled.
This model optimistically assumes that a delay in development will allow the team to utilize
newer technology in the product, offering superior performance and quality, resulting in
greater sales.
This model assumes that when a competitor launches a product, their experience will help
to identify which features in fact customers find desirable. Then the team can use this
information to fine tune their own product’s features. Alternatively, a competitor can
emerge in one particular segment of the market and this information can be used to assure
that a different segment is reached with the new product. The result may be greater sales
in either case.
TQ 18.3
How would you use the quantitative analysis method to capture the economic performance
of an entire line of products to be developed and introduced over several years?
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presented in the chapter, modified and expanded to consider the entire line.
DEVELOPMENT
For example, to build a basic financial model, rather than considering each element of the
line as a stand-alone project, one could estimate the development costs required to
produce the next element in the line. This estimate will reflect that learning from previous
elements in the line and re-use of many components will reduce development costs for
subsequent elements in the line. Similarly, ramp-up costs, marketing and support costs,
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production costs can all be expected to be lower for subsequent elements of the line as a
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other elements, or economyCONTACT
of scale US
considerations. Finally, sales revenues must consider that elements in the line may
cannibalize or stimulate sales of other elements in the product line.
With the revenues and expenses of each element of the product line aggregated, the
product line project, from a cash flow standpoint, appears similar to a single product
analysis. Note that this assumes that the product line is similar enough that a single
discount rate can be used for the entire line. This assumption depends on the similarity of
the product line. For example, a line of computers would all have the same discount factor,
but a line of computer peripherals, such as disk drives, monitors, and printers, would likely
have different discount factors.
Although aggregating the cash flows has simplified the analysis somewhat, performing the
sensitivity analysis will be much more difficult. To facilitate decisions regarding individual
products within the line, it would be helpful to keep separate "line items" on the
spreadsheet for each product. Consideration of such factors such as delaying development
time or reducing development costs, now has effects on both the product element
considered but the rest of the line as well. Thus all the interactions considered in
developing the base financial model must be reconsidered during the sensitivity phase.
While performing the sensitivity analysis may be more difficult with an entire line of
products, it is perhaps more important to use the sensitivity analysis to reach a fundamental
understanding of how assumptions in the development of the line will affect overall line
profitability. Tremendous insights may be obtained in terms of the order products should
be introduced, the timing of introductions, and whether some elements of the line should
or should not be produced.
Finally, although the sensitivity analysis seems to consider almost every combination of
outcomes, other qualitative effects must still be considered just as they would if this were a
PRODUCT DESIGN
single product being considered. For example, the quantitative analysis must still be
viewed/reconsidered in light of spill-over effects, competitive responses and market
effects. The qualitative analysis, in conjunction with the sensitivity analysis, may lead to
AND
greater insight on both the timing and composition of the product line.
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Sample AnswersAND
to Exercises and Thought
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Questions: Chapter 19
EX 19.1
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The tasksREGISTER
for preparing a dinner (along with the normal
FOR INSTRUCTOR SITE
completion times)
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might include:
CONTACT US
AND
cooking) can be conducted in parallel
Tasks F and G (place the rice in a serving dish and mix casserole ingredients) can
DEVELOPMENT
be conducted independently
EX 19.2
Prepare a PERTHOME
chart for theABOUT
tasks inTHE
Exercise 1. How fast INSTRUCTOR
AUTHORS can one person prepare this
SITE
dinner? What if there were two people?
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The first step to prepare a PERT chart is to understand how the different tasks interact with
one another.
We also want the rice and casserole to be completed at roughly the same time. We
therefore do not want to start cooking the rice too early: we have a sequential and time
dependency of these two tasks.
Most of the tasks in the preparation of our dinner are exclusive: they cannot be undertaken
at the same time as another task by only one person. Only two tasks allow for a
simultaneous completion of other tasks by one person:
Bake the casserole.
Cook rice.
Tasks can be performed in parallel with these non-exclusive ones only. This is what will be
done to save time.
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The analysis enables us to draw a PERT chart for our dinner preparation. Each box
represents a task and the associated time to complete it.
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The critical path is the preparation of the casserole (bold lines on the graph): the two
sequential tasks require 35 minutes. Note that the PERT representation does not embody
any assumptions about resource constraints. A single person cannot complete the dinner
in 35 minutes, because all of the other tasks cannot be completed within the 25 minutes
the casserole bakes. A single person would require 39 minutes to complete the dinner.
Two people can prepare the dinner in 35 minutes, because available resources no longer
constrain the project; the critical path does. The preparation would also be much more fun!
EX 19.3
What strategies could you employ to prepare dinner more quickly? If you thought about
dinner 24 hours in advance, are there any steps you could take to reduce the time
between arriving home the next day and serving dinner?
Some of the strategies for preparing (this) dinner more quickly include:
Increasing the oven temperature and/or pre-cooking the casserole ingredients in
the microwave.
Mixing the casserole ingredients in the baking dish (assuming a bowl would be
used).
Assuming the casserole time is reduced, the rice time could be reduced by using
quick-cooking rice or perhaps substituting couscous or a thin pasta.
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EX 19.4
DEVELOPMENT
Interview a project manager (not necessarily from product development). Ask him or her to
describe the major obstacles to project success.
Lack of a clear
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Meddling by senior managers.
Team members with dual allegiances (as sometimes arises in matrix organizations).
Inadequate resources.
TQ 19.1
When a task on the critical path (e.g., the fabrication of a mold) is delayed, the completion
of the entire project is delayed, even though the total amount of work required to complete
the project may remain the same. How would you expect such a delay to impact the total
cost of the project?
The critical path defines the shortest amount of time required to complete a set of tasks,
some of which may be performed in parallel and some of which depend upon the
completion of other tasks. If a task in the critical path of a project were delayed, the
completion of the project would also be delayed. However, the actual amount of work
required to complete the tasks would remain unchanged. Although there may be no
additional work performed, because the total project completion time is increased, the total
cost of the project is definitely impacted.
An increase in project completion time will result in an increase in the following costs:
• Payment to workers: As project completion time increases, workers must be kept for a
longer duration. For example, if the design of a mold is delayed by one week, all workers
specific to the fabrication and debug of the mold, certification of the cartridge, and other
tasks further along the pipeline will be needed for an extra week. In addition, workers
specific to these tasks may not be able to perform any useful tasks while waiting on the
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delay. Therefore, there is also a decrease in productivity.
• Rental of equipment: The costs required to maintain and operate certain equipment will
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be increased as a result of a delay in the critical path. Again, with the example of a delay in
the design of a mold, any equipment or machinery required after the design stage will have
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to be maintained for an extra week. This may include not only the rental costs of the
equipment itself, but also the payment of workers or other support systems to maintain and
operate the equipment. Also, as most equipment is specific to one task, any equipment
required after the delay is of little use during the delay.
• Loss of Competitive Edge: A severe delay in the completion of a project could result in a
competitor releasing a similar product earlier. In this case, the potential sales and a
competitive edge are lost which could be very costly. Although this is not a direct cost of
the project, it is ultimately a key consideration. Loss of sales means a loss in revenue,
which might have been necessary in order to justify the project.
It is unrealistic to believe that a project will reach completion without some form of delay.
Hence, precautions may be taken to ensure that minimum additional costs are incurred.
This can be done by hiring workers who are skilled in more than one task. Thus, if there is a
delay at one stage of the development, workers at later stages can move in to help reduce
delay. Managers must first realize that delays in their schedules are likely to occur, and
then they must take active steps to ensure that a small delay does not cripple the system.
TQ 19.2
This chapter has focused on the "hard" issues in project management related to tasks,
dependencies, and schedules. What are some of the "soft," or behavioral, issues related to
project management?
Many of the problems I have seen stem from competing individual interests in the project.
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While the firm's interests may be well understood and explicitly espoused by everyone
involved in the project, there are always individual motivations that must be considered
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when diagnosing a group's interpersonal dynamics. Individual personality styles, varying
levels of experience and competence, and shortfalls of leadership ability can also inhibit
group performance. In my experience, conflicting individual motivations have been the
most prevalent sources of difficulty and also the most difficult ones to resolve.
Conflicts between individual motivations will almost certainly arise at some point in the new
product development process. It is my belief that successful project managers will
"inoculate" the group to these conflicts by bringing them to the surface sooner, rather than
later in the process. If there are "irreconcilable" differences between group members, it
would be best to find them out before investing a lot of the project's time into the team
members. Bringing in a new engineer or marketing person halfway through the project will
not only slow this particular function, it will probably slow down all of the team members.
Another reason to surface conflicts early is that pressure on the group will be lowest early
in the project. Managing interpersonal conflict has a much higher likelihood of succeeding
if the group (and the project manager) do not feel the pressures that arise at the end of the
development project.
TQ 19.3
What would you expect to be some of the characteristics of individuals who successfully
lead project teams?
This is a very broad and open question. It certainly has been the subject of hundreds of
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books and studies. It would not be surprising to find academic departments at military
academies devoted to identifying and teaching what makes a good leader. Perhaps some
of the characteristics of good leaders are "natural," arising from genetic make-up or early
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development. Others can be taught and learned through practice and experience. In no
way is this list comprehensive nor can it be absolute as the final blend of leadership
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characteristics will be different in every individual. I will try to highlight some of the traits
that I believe are very important for successfully leading a project team.
One of the most important characteristics of a good leader is the ability to communicate
well with others. Communication is the key to any successful project and it must start from
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the top. The team leader needs to be able to communicate a vision and a direction to the
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team understand the
goals of the project and the paths to be taken to arrive at those goals in order for the team
to be effective and efficient. The leader also needs to communicate well with people
outside of the project team. This ensures that the team is receiving proper support within
the organization and that the team is informed of any direction changes that need to take
place because of changing market conditions.
The leader should also be a good motivator of people and be able to identify the strengths
and weaknesses of each of the team members. He/she needs to understand what is
important to the people on the team and what will cause team members to excel in order
to provide the best conditions for the success of the team. At the same time, a good leader
should be able to make the tough decisions that may be unpopular but are in the best
interests of the project. To this end, if the leader demonstrates a strong track record for
making fair and just decisions, the acceptance of the unpopular decisions will be much
greater.
A good leader also needs the ability to step back from the every-day activities and take a
system view of the project in order to identify where things are going well and where
changes need to be made. These changes include changing personnel, bringing in outside
resources, refocusing efforts as well as modifying the project scope or schedule. The ability
to detach oneself from the work group is very difficult to do. A strong leader is typically well
versed in many subjects and thus has a broad background in areas such as financial
management, human resource management, and information systems. He/she also
benefits from strong technical skills such as an engineering or science background. This
broad understanding will allow the leader to take a systems view as previously discussed.
Finally, the successful leader is proactive in the manner in which the project is led. He/she
displays good problem solving skills as well as a willingness to assume responsibility. A
good leader is self-confident and energetic and is willing to do routine tasks such as
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budgeting and reports in addition to the exciting tasks that go along with project
leadership.
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TQ 19.4
DEVELOPMENT
Under what conditions might efforts to accelerate a product development project also lead
to increased product quality and/or decreased product manufacturing costs? Under what
conditions might these attributes of the product deteriorate when the project is
accelerated?