Product Design and Development: A Comprehensive Guide

Posted on Jun 11, 2024 in Other subjects

Product Organization

Individuals can be classified according to function (marketing/design/etc.) or product. Individuals can be linked by relationships (reporting or financial) or physical layout.

Organizational Structures:

• Functional organization: Divided into functions, e.g., engineering department, sales department (customized products).
• Project organization: Divided into projects with people from every function (start-ups).
• Lightweight Project Matrix: Weak project links, more focus on individual departments (derivative products).
• Heavyweight project matrix: Strong project links, first split by project, then by function (new technology/platform products).

Customer Needs Process

1. Gather raw data from customers (interview, focus group, survey), document everything.
2. Interpret the raw data in terms of customer needs. Write need statements: should not be a solution (what the product does, not how), specificity, positive, attributes, avoid “must/should.”)
3. Organize the needs into a hierarchy of primary, secondary.
4. Establish the relative importance of the needs.
5. Reflect on the results and the process.

Benefits of a Well-Structured Selection Process

• Get a more customer-focused process (objective).
• Competitive design (by benchmarking).
• Faster product introduction to market.
• Effective group decision-making.

Consists of concept screening (narrowing down the number of concepts) and concept scoring (ranking concepts). We follow the same steps for both:

1. Prepare Selection Matrix.
2. Rate Concepts.
3. Rank Concepts.
4. Combine and Improve Concepts.
5. Select one or more concepts.

Product Architecture

Product architecture = after separating the product by function groups, we combine these elements of the product into physical chunks/building blocks.

Modularity = 1 chunk will have ~1 function = interactions between different chunks are well defined (Swiss army knife).

Integral architecture = opposite of modular architecture, it takes more than 1 chunk to perform a function, boundaries between the chunks are hard to locate.

Breaking down the intangible need into specific and measurable components and establishing precise metrics for each attribute, you can create a set of specifications that can be used to evaluate and improve the front suspension’s appearance.

Design for Environment (DFE)

(DFE): method to minimize or eliminate environmental impacts of a product over its life cycle. Environmental performance is based on:

• Environmentally friendly materials.
• Recycled content.
• Recyclability.
• Clean energy.
• Emissions.
• Returnable/recyclable packaging.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

1. Materials.
2. Production.
3. Distribution.
4. Use.
5. Recovery.

DFE Process:

1. Set the DFE Agenda: Drivers, Goals, and Team.
2. Identify Potential Environmental Impacts.
3. Select DFA Guidelines.
4. Apply DFE Guidelines to Initial Product Design.
5. Assess the Environmental Impacts.
6. Refine the product Design to Reduce or Eliminate the Environmental Impacts.

Design for Manufacturing (DFM)

DFM = putting emphasis on manufacturing issues when designing the product. Can help lower cost without lowering quality.

DFM Steps:

1. Estimate manufacturing costs: total unit cost = (setup cost + tooling cost)/volume + variable cost.
2. Reduce the costs of components (try to use standard parts, minimize component).
3. Reduce the costs of assembly (use DFA rules, reduce the number of parts, make parts symmetrical, self-aligning (chamfered), secure part immediately after insertion (snap fit instead of screws, nuts, and bolts).
4. Reduce the costs of supporting production (avoid high tolerance).
5. Consider the impact of DFM decisions on other factors (time and quality).

Prototyping

Uses of Prototypes:

• Learning.
• Communication.
• Integration.
• Milestones.

Types of Prototypes:

• Focused Prototype: Implement one or a few attributes. Answer specific questions.
• Comprehensive Prototype: Implement many or all attributes. Opportunities for testing and milestones.

Prototypes may reduce the risk of costly iteration. It may also enable more rapid completion of subsequent steps.

Rapid Prototyping Methods:

• Rapid prototyping: Build parts in layers based on CAD.
• Virtual Prototype: 3D CAD models.

Project Management

• Cost Variance: CV = EV – AC, used to identify problems early (monitor project – identify the source of the problem – develop solutions and implement – update project plan).
• Schedule Variance: SV = EV – PV.
• CPI: EV/AC, CPI > 1: under budget, CPI = 1: on budget.
• SPI: EV/PV, SPI > 1: ahead of schedule, SPI = 1: on schedule.
• NPV: All the money you expect to make from the investment and translating the return into today’s $.

Industrial Design (ID)

ID: User-driven products benefit more from ID (occurs during customer needs identification) than technology products (occurs during concept testing).

Technical performance is most important, ID is limited to packaging, etc. (e.g., hard drive). External appearance is most important for differentiation and pride of ownership (e.g., office chair, Apple laptop).

Benefits of ID:

• Product appeal.
• Customer satisfaction.
• Stronger brand identity.
• Product differentiation.

ID of a product can increase or decrease the manufacturing cost depending on factors such as material selection, design complexity, manufacturing process, and tooling and equipment.

Intellectual Property

• Patent: A temporary monopoly granted by a government to an inventor to exclude others from using an invention.
• Trademark: An exclusive right granted by a government to a trademark owner to use a specific name or symbol.
• Trade secret: Information used in a trade or business that offers its owner a competitive advantage and that can be kept secret (e.g., the formula of Coca-Cola).
• Copyright: An exclusive right granted by a government to copy and distribute an original work of expression, whether literature, music, art, entertainment, or software.

Product Development

Independent decision variables are not used for product specifications because they do not provide a comprehensive & consistent description of the product’s requirements & may result in incomplete or inconsistent specifications.

S-curve: In the early phase, there is a lot of uncertainty about the technology. At this point, the technology is not yet fully developed, & it is not clear how it will perform or what its potential applications might be. Position B on the S-curve is in the growth phase. At this point, the technology has been developed & is being widely adopted. A company at position A may be more cautious about investing in products based on that technology (risks). A company at position B may be more aggressive about investing in products based on that technology.

“80% of cost is in the design phase” underscores the critical role of the design phase in the success of a project & highlights the need for careful planning & execution in this phase to minimize costs & ensure a high-quality final product.

Risk is an uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, may have a positive or negative impact on the project objectives. An issue, on the other hand, is a problem or challenge that has already occurred & is impacting the project’s progress or outcomes negatively. Risk management is a proactive process aimed at preventing potential problems from occurring, while issue management is a reactive process focused on resolving problems that have already occurred. Risks can impact the project plan by creating delays, increasing costs, or altering the scope of work. Issues, on the other hand, can result in changes to the project plan to address the problem or mitigate its impact on the project’s objectives.

Sales Forecast: Q = N x A x P, where Q = annual sales, N = # of annual purchases, A = awareness x availability (fractions), P = probability of purchase (surveyed), P = (Cdef * Fdef) + (Cprob * Fprob).

House of Quality (QFD)

tool is 2 translate the Voice of the Customer (VOC) into specific technical requirements 4 a product or service

Advantages QFD: Reduction of Product Design Time.Cost Reduction.Early Exposure of Design Trade-Offs.Written Documentation of Design Decisions.Reduction in Errors & Corrections. Clarity 4 Decisions.Incorporation of a Collective Experience of multicultural Capable of Sound Decisions.Many different phases of QFD: – Requirements vs specs – Specs vs concept designs – Concept designs vs parts requirement – etc.

The aim of the DFM is to achieve a high-quality product while keeping manufacturing

costs to a minimum. Reduced waste is one way to achieve this. This could be

accomplished by reducing the amount of material and energy used (for example, in

manufacturing and transportation), both of which are DFE guidelines.

2. Both DFM and DFE analyze the entire bill of material.

3. Both DFM and DFE require cross functional teams to work in the design and

throughout the entire development process.

4. Both DFM and DFE has guidelines to compare the designs and encourages to come

up with better design.

5. Both DFM and DFE drive innovation by applying constraints, as a result both require

high level of creativity.

6. Both DFM and DFE increases the marketability of the product.

Three Types of Modularity: 1.Slot-Modular: each of the interfaces between chunks is of different type (automobile radio, plugs behind tv – hdmi, vga) 2.Bus-Modular: common bus to which the other chunks are connect via the interface (electrical power bar) 3.Sectional-Modular: all interfaces of the same kind, no single element that all the other chunks attach to (our project) Establishing Modular Architecture: 1.Schematic parts (functional elements) 2.Cluster elements (chunks) 3.geometic layout 4.incidental interactions Establishing General Architecture: Functional decomposition diagram: system requirements>sub-system requirements >sub- requirements Platform Architecture: Differentiation Plan – how multiple versions of a product are different Commonality Plan – how multiple versions of a product are same physically

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS VARIANTS:

Technology-Push Product: New tech, find market (Teflon sheet)

Platform Product: existing ecosystem (consumer electronics)

Process-Intensive Product: product tied to process (foods)

Customized Prodt.: variation of existing config. (motors, batteries)

High Risk Prodt: technical/market uncertainties (space, pharma)

Quick-Build Prodt: rapid iterations (cell phone, software)

Complex Prodt: subsystems in parallel (plane, car)

The aim of the DFM is to achieve a high-quality product while keeping manufacturing

costs to a minimum. Reduced waste is one way to achieve this. This could be

accomplished by reducing the amount of material and energy used (for example, in

manufacturing and transportation), both of which are DFE guidelines.

2. Both DFM and DFE analyze the entire bill of material.

3. Both DFM and DFE require cross functional teams to work in the design and

throughout the entire development process.

4. Both DFM and DFE has guidelines to compare the designs and encourages to come

up with better design.

5. Both DFM and DFE drive innovation by applying constraints, as a result both require

high level of creativity.

6. Both DFM and DFE increases the marketability of the product.