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Ivo Dewit

University of Antwerp, Product Development, Post-Doc

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As recent co-founder of Service Design Network (SDN) Belgium, Ivo Dewit is principal research fellow (postdoc) at the Department of Product Development, University of Antwerp. His current project is 'product service system (PSS) design in the front-end of innovation (FEI) with a focus on experiencal values / meaningful design-driven innovation.'

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Papers by Ivo Dewit

Implementation of sustainable innovations and business models 1

Implementation of sustainable innovations and business models

Product-service-system design thinking for port healthcare: a case study with container lashers in the port of Antwerp

Strategic Design Research Journal, Apr 7, 2023

The port of Antwerp executes its container lashing with specialized dockworker crews called conta... more The port of Antwerp executes its container lashing with specialized dockworker crews called container lashers. These container lashers train in the port training center, OCHA, in order to execute container lashing safely and efficiently. Container lashing is considered labor intensive. Due to the future trends within maritime transportation, the interest in optimized ergonomic training provided for dockworkers rises. A User-Centered Design approach is implemented to gather insights to build a Product-service-system (PSS) solution in a multidisciplinary research context. In order to develop a meaningful PSS, clinical and cultural insights are required. This paper presents the research framework of Design Inclusive Research (DIR) to collect cultural insights from container lashers. Subsequentially, it elaborates on the different stages of DIR to the extent of defining and executing the design tools. For this study, Cultural Probes and user journey maps, in combination with in-depth interviews, are applied to gather, synthesize, and present the information to stakeholders in a validation workshop. The proposed design tools and framework delivered an array of contextual information, leading to a broader understanding of the container lashers' culture and generating impactful solutions.

From Meaning to Expression: A Dual Approach to Coupling

Designs, May 23, 2023

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more

Optimising the Product-Service System for Scooter-Sharing in Cities

DS 117: Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE 2022), London South Bank University in London, UK. 8th - 9th September 2022, 2022

A Product-Service System Approach to Light Therapy for Treatment of Seasonal Depression

AHFE international, 2022

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), better known as seasonal depression, is categorized as a seaso... more Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), better known as seasonal depression, is categorized as a seasonal form of depressive disorder. In SAD, patients are affected by the lack of light they receive during specific seasons. Physiological mechanisms, at the root of the disorder can be treated using bright light therapy (BLT). In daily therapy sessions, the patient is exposed to a strong light source directed toward the eyes. Although this therapy appears to be an effective nonpharmaceutical treatment for SAD patients, there are some contextual elements at play that cause adherence and user experience to remain substandard. In this article, we analyze the specific needs and desires of people who suffer from SAD to gain insight into how the light therapy market is currently failing. Through in-depth interviews, diary interviews and field research, insights were gathered to identify users' needs and experiences. After a brief analysis of the technical specifications and market segments of light therapy devices, the findings were synthesized to support the design process of a new light therapy system. This article contributes to the literature on light therapy and SAD, providing a new user-centered perspective to the theoretical range of research papers.

How can comparative judgement become an effective means toward providing clear formative feedback to students to improve their learning process during their product-service-system design project?

This study responds to calls to further investigate ways to make feedback more effective for stud... more This study responds to calls to further investigate ways to make feedback more effective for students in the context of higher education. More specifically it scrutinizes the feedback practice, adapted to the exceptional reality of a partly on Campus, partly online semester-long Product-Service System (PSS) design project for first Master students of X at the University of Y. To do so, an established model of feedback (Hattie & Timperley, 2007) is used as a framework to seek answers to the research question: which types (and levels) of feedback are generated when applying Comparative Judgement (CJ) to guide the students' and teachers' feedback formulation? Following the model, first three types of feedback: feeding up; feeding back; and feeding forward and second, four levels of feedback are discerned: task; process; selfregulatory and self. The current study describes how first year Master students (n=72) and lecturers (n=4) apply CJ to formulate feedback. We evaluate which types and levels of feedback are formulated and received by the students, both towards and from their peers and teachers. Additionally, based on a post hoc survey and reflection paper, we list the strengths and weaknesses of CJ as a method to help students to formulate, interpret and receive feedback. Finally, we identify various opportunities to improve CJ based feedback during product development cycles and its impact on learning and self-assessment of the own project process and (intermediate) results quality, and metacognitive strategies for learning.

The front-end of product service system design : a case analysis

International Conference on Service Sciences, 2014

ABSTRACT In recent years product-service systems (PSS) receive substantially more attention in in... more ABSTRACT In recent years product-service systems (PSS) receive substantially more attention in innovation literature. Manufacturers increasingly seek new value in service addition and service providers explore the integration of tangible elements in their offering. Current advancements in electronics, information and communication technology (ICT) have made it possible to combine products and services in an innovative way. However, the integral character of these hybrids can make the design process rather complex, merging a diversity of disciplines and their underlying processes such as; electronics design, software design, service design and product design. The paper brings forward seventeen visualized PSS concepts, interaction with product and service elements in their context and intended experience. The concepts serve as input to distill several PSS strategies and underlying characteristics. The results enable us to propose a PSS continuum to elaborate and further refine existing PSS typologies, applied in the front-end of innovation.

New Footing for Service Design: Roots of Meaning

DS 117: Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE 2022), London South Bank University in London, UK. 8th - 9th September 2022, 2022

Innovative organisations worldwide are part of a rapidly evolving world concerning innovation, di... more Innovative organisations worldwide are part of a rapidly evolving world concerning innovation, digitalisation and economic growth. Consequentially, manufacturing companies are seeing opportunities when exploring the new field of product-service systems (PSS) and are excelling in these. With regards to the liquefying advantage and valuable flexibility of servitization, there is still an underaddressed early exploration phase that primarily focuses on the mere service component. This lack of research attention might hinder organisations from developing PSS. Nonetheless, it acts as an opportunity to address servitization at an earlier development stage without compromising on radicality. The existing literature is abundant with tools and methods to optimise the PSS design process, but this paper focuses on the integrative design of PSS and proposes to continue onward from the early servitization component and service-based innovation literature. This paper redirects the spotlight on the intangible component and the impact of a meaningful user experiences in the early stages of the design process. These contributions aim to avoid designing for a strictly product-oriented world and turn towards a human-fuelled existence, instead of floating along the current consumer-minded wave. Through radical service design, meaning will prevail and harbour our human needs and drives, compelling the excessive tangible products to take a step backwards and in doing so creating a positive ecological effect.

PSS design : define

Expansion of Service Design Academics in Belgium: The Groundwork for a Curriculum Based on Contemporary Industry Needs

DS 117: Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE 2022), London South Bank University in London, UK. 8th - 9th September 2022, 2022

The Belgian design scene is not unfamiliar with the concept of service design and has hosted some... more The Belgian design scene is not unfamiliar with the concept of service design and has hosted some leading-edge companies throughout the years, pushing the field forward. The next step in the development of the field is the expansion of the academic aspect of service design within Belgium. The topic of service design is already addressed in existing design programmes, though it is yet to be a focus of study on its own. This paper helps to expand the range of study programmes at the University of Antwerp and contributes to shaping the service design landscape in Belgium. The Department of Design Sciences at the University of Antwerp provides students with extended interdisciplinary skills and knowledge, leading them into the world of design. The department now seeks to create an additional master's programmes with a curriculum catered to service design providing graduates of this programme with all the necessary skills to be at the top of their game when they start their careers in service design. To ensure continuity between what the university delivers and what the job market expects and desires, the programmes will be developed from the ground up. The university, for this study, has worked in collaboration with current leaders in the field, providing their expertise and requirements for the future of service design. Insights were obtained by means of workshops and collaborative projects with students and experts in the service design scene, as well as building on existing literature and current educational programmes across the world.

Understanding product-service systems in a sharing economy context – A literature review

Procedia CIRP, 2018

In today's business environment, the trend towards more product variety and customization is unbr... more In today's business environment, the trend towards more product variety and customization is unbroken. Due to this development, the need of agile and reconfigurable production systems emerged to cope with various products and product families. To design and optimize production systems as well as to choose the optimal product matches, product analysis methods are needed. Indeed, most of the known methods aim to analyze a product or one product family on the physical level. Different product families, however, may differ largely in terms of the number and nature of components. This fact impedes an efficient comparison and choice of appropriate product family combinations for the production system. A new methodology is proposed to analyze existing products in view of their functional and physical architecture. The aim is to cluster these products in new assembly oriented product families for the optimization of existing assembly lines and the creation of future reconfigurable assembly systems. Based on Datum Flow Chain, the physical structure of the products is analyzed. Functional subassemblies are identified, and a functional analysis is performed. Moreover, a hybrid functional and physical architecture graph (HyFPAG) is the output which depicts the similarity between product families by providing design support to both, production system planners and product designers. An illustrative example of a nail-clipper is used to explain the proposed methodology. An industrial case study on two product families of steering columns of thyssenkrupp Presta France is then carried out to give a first industrial evaluation of the proposed approach.

Design for Siblings of Children in Need of Intensive Care

DS 117: Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE 2022), London South Bank University in London, UK. 8th - 9th September 2022, 2022

Having a sibling with an illness or disability can be very stressful. Siblings in this context ne... more Having a sibling with an illness or disability can be very stressful. Siblings in this context need sufficient support, otherwise this can have a negative impact on the long-term well-being of the siblings. Today we see all too often that these siblings are a kind of forgotten group. Parents are often very busy caring for their sick or disabled child and siblings often fade into the background. As a result, siblings often push themselves to the side and have difficulty expressing their emotions because they do not want to be a burden to their parents. Therefore, the right support is needed to promote siblings' mental wellbeing, self-expression, and skills. Despite the various studies already conducted, the current support system is still often inadequate. There is a lack of recognition of organizations that support siblings in this context, even though there is a substantial need for them. Funding and recognition are still often a problem today. In this paper, the needs and problems of siblings are examined through qualitative research. Based on the collected insights, a list of requirements was composed that can help designers to support siblings in expressing their feelings and stimulate communication between parents and child. This paper contributes to the literature on the well-being of siblings of children with illnesses or disabilities, by looking at the problem from a different angle. In this way, an attempt is made to prevent mental problems in the long run and to offer adequate support.

The Gateway to Student Life Experience a Product-Service Design Approach

When thinking of attending a Higher Education Institution (HEI), a whole new experience comes to ... more When thinking of attending a Higher Education Institution (HEI), a whole new experience comes to mind. Finding lodging, eating at the student restaurant, getting support during times where things get difficult, participating in fraternity life, and so much more, are all comprised in a term that we coin 'the student life experience' (SLX). This experience starts the moment you apply for an HEI and holds just as much value for your studies, as the actual studies themselves. At the University of Antwerp, auxiliary services provide necessary means for students and their experience in-and outside of the lecture hall. This wide range of services is essential to the quality of the university. Optimizing these services, makes a university stand out amongst others. Not only is it important to understand that balance and in particular to optimize the perception and interaction regarding the Student Information Point (STIP) that acts as a gateway to these services. The paper proposes a product-service design approach rooted in broad student involvement and open communication.

Can Comparative Judgement Improve Product Development and Product-Service System Design for Students

One issue within current product development literature entails, both with students and with prof... more One issue within current product development literature entails, both with students and with professionals, the reliable scaling, and the objective assessment of products. This article will attempt to describe a way how master's students at the University of Antwerp, within a product development case, can both assess each other, assess the process of product development, and assess the final product using comparative judgement (CJ). This, while achieving learning goals described at master level. Our evaluation was anchored by use of Comproved, a validated instrument designed to comparatively evaluate products of students, during the design process (formative) and when uploading the final deliverables (summative) for the course. The current study evaluates how first year Master students (n=72) apply CJ using an online tool, Comproved (Comproved.com) during a semester-long group project on Product-Service System (PSS) design. Based on post hoc questionnaire details and interviews, we will list the advantages and the disadvantages of CJ, as stated by students. Finally, we will list the potentials of CJ during product development cycles and their impact on product quality, reliability of judgement and metacognitive strategies for learning.

Lempi : "do you remember that moment there?" Nonverbal stories of memorable locations in long-distance relationships

People can connect differently through NVC (Triverio, 2011). NVC helps when partners do not have ... more People can connect differently through NVC (Triverio, 2011). NVC helps when partners do not have any stories to tell but they just want to feel close to each other when physically separated (Hassenzahl, 2011) and it can increase relatedness experience (Janssen, Bailenson, IJsselsteijn, & Westerink, 2010). Implementing NVC provides a new medium with possibilities for new adaptations and future usage. This can radically improve the comfort and quality of the communication experience (Janssen, IJsselsteijn, & Westerink, 2010). Solutions should be "communication experiences" orientated rather than "mobile devices" (Hassenzahl, 2011). Hassenzahl (2010, p.8) defines an experience as: "an episode, a chunk of time, that one went through, sights and sounds, feelings and thoughts, motives and actions closely knitted together, stored in memory, labeled, relived and communicated to others. Experience is a story, emerging from dialogue of a person with her or his world through action"

Supporting frame for experience design in front-end methodology

International Conference on Service Sciences, 2014

Product Service System Design

In recent years product service systems (PSS) receive substantially more attention in innovation ... more In recent years product service systems (PSS) receive substantially more attention in innovation literature. Manufacturers increasingly seek new value in service addition and service providers explore the integration of tangible elements in their offering. Current advancements in electronics, information and communication technology (ICT) make it possible to combine products and services in innovative and interactive ways that add significantly more value to the user’s experience. However, the integral character of these hybrids can make the design process rather complex, merging a diversity of disciplines and their underlying processes such as; electronics design, software design, service design and product design. Therefore, a specific PSS design tool - facilitating the process of tightly integrating product and service - was created and tested in educational setting, action research and document analysis served as research methods. The research brings forward visualized PSS concepts with context dependent requirements for product and service interaction and their intended user experience. The results enable us to propose a PSS continuum to elaborate and further refine existing PSS typologies, applied in the front-end of innovation. Furthermore they serve as input to distill several PSS strategies and underlying characteristics for experience value representation.

Roadmap and Toolbox for the Ideation Stage of the Development Process of Product Service Systems

DS 78: Proceedings of the 16th International conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE14), Design Education and Human Technology Relations, University of Twente, The Netherlands, 04-05.09.2014, 2014

Product service systems (PSS) provide an opportunity to create innovative interactions between co... more Product service systems (PSS) provide an opportunity to create innovative interactions between consumers, the products and services they use and the providers offering these products. In contrast to traditional services related to products, the service component of a PSS significantly adds value to the experience of the consumer. Within the context of this paper, we add 'smart' to the PSS, because advances in information and communication technology have made it possible to combine products and services in innovative ways. Although PSS introduces new elements to a design process that require a thorough rethinking of how designers should relate to this specific kind of products, the main challenge is to manage the variety of underlying design processes. Especially in relation to the front end of innovation, there is a need for new and adapted tools in order to explore emerging PSS opportunities. In this paper, we report on a ten weeklong project. This project was targeted at first master students in product development, as a case to explore how existing service design toolsmodified with a specific PSS focus-can be introduced in the early stages of PSS concept creation and definition. We use the creativity support index (CSI) as a metric to evaluate the tools used. The paper brings forward several lessons learned related to the implementation of the adjusted tools for a PSS design project.

Toolkit That Supports the Development of a Sustainable Product-Service System

DS 117: Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE 2022), London South Bank University in London, UK. 8th - 9th September 2022, 2022

This study results from a master thesis for the Department of Product Development of The Universi... more This study results from a master thesis for the Department of Product Development of The University of Antwerp. The thesis focuses on a toolkit that provides support in the design process of a PSS, namely the product-service system design toolkit 1. In this toolkit, there is hardly any focus on sustainability, but rather on the interaction with the end-user. To integrate this sustainability aspect-considering people, planet and profit-the Sustainable Innovation System (SIS) toolkit of OVAM 2 is used as input. The opportunity of this master thesis is to work out a possible synergy of both toolkits. This type of toolkit is hardly explored in the current market. This paper will first find out how both toolkits are used and what pitfalls there are. Various research methods have been used to map out the findings: a literature exploration, analysis of existing evaluations, in-depth interviews, a focus group, online questionnaires, a workshop, and project guidance. The triangulation ensures that the results are as close to reality as possible. This information is summarized and translated into drivers for the solution to be designed. After this, a proposal for the solution is being presented, which is a digital library of design tools. This study thus contributes to a concise human and economic analysis of design tools in general, and a proposalspecifically for the PSS design toolkit and the SIS toolkitof automated project guidance for design students and practitioners. The online tool platform emerges as the best solution for the abovementioned problems and considers five design drivers that guide the design process, namely: design track support, autonomous use, reduced complexity, universal use, and easy integration.

Implementation of sustainable innovations and business models 1

Implementation of sustainable innovations and business models

Product-service-system design thinking for port healthcare: a case study with container lashers in the port of Antwerp

Strategic Design Research Journal, Apr 7, 2023

The port of Antwerp executes its container lashing with specialized dockworker crews called conta... more The port of Antwerp executes its container lashing with specialized dockworker crews called container lashers. These container lashers train in the port training center, OCHA, in order to execute container lashing safely and efficiently. Container lashing is considered labor intensive. Due to the future trends within maritime transportation, the interest in optimized ergonomic training provided for dockworkers rises. A User-Centered Design approach is implemented to gather insights to build a Product-service-system (PSS) solution in a multidisciplinary research context. In order to develop a meaningful PSS, clinical and cultural insights are required. This paper presents the research framework of Design Inclusive Research (DIR) to collect cultural insights from container lashers. Subsequentially, it elaborates on the different stages of DIR to the extent of defining and executing the design tools. For this study, Cultural Probes and user journey maps, in combination with in-depth interviews, are applied to gather, synthesize, and present the information to stakeholders in a validation workshop. The proposed design tools and framework delivered an array of contextual information, leading to a broader understanding of the container lashers' culture and generating impactful solutions.

From Meaning to Expression: A Dual Approach to Coupling

Designs, May 23, 2023

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more

Optimising the Product-Service System for Scooter-Sharing in Cities

DS 117: Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE 2022), London South Bank University in London, UK. 8th - 9th September 2022, 2022

A Product-Service System Approach to Light Therapy for Treatment of Seasonal Depression

AHFE international, 2022

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), better known as seasonal depression, is categorized as a seaso... more Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), better known as seasonal depression, is categorized as a seasonal form of depressive disorder. In SAD, patients are affected by the lack of light they receive during specific seasons. Physiological mechanisms, at the root of the disorder can be treated using bright light therapy (BLT). In daily therapy sessions, the patient is exposed to a strong light source directed toward the eyes. Although this therapy appears to be an effective nonpharmaceutical treatment for SAD patients, there are some contextual elements at play that cause adherence and user experience to remain substandard. In this article, we analyze the specific needs and desires of people who suffer from SAD to gain insight into how the light therapy market is currently failing. Through in-depth interviews, diary interviews and field research, insights were gathered to identify users' needs and experiences. After a brief analysis of the technical specifications and market segments of light therapy devices, the findings were synthesized to support the design process of a new light therapy system. This article contributes to the literature on light therapy and SAD, providing a new user-centered perspective to the theoretical range of research papers.

How can comparative judgement become an effective means toward providing clear formative feedback to students to improve their learning process during their product-service-system design project?

This study responds to calls to further investigate ways to make feedback more effective for stud... more This study responds to calls to further investigate ways to make feedback more effective for students in the context of higher education. More specifically it scrutinizes the feedback practice, adapted to the exceptional reality of a partly on Campus, partly online semester-long Product-Service System (PSS) design project for first Master students of X at the University of Y. To do so, an established model of feedback (Hattie & Timperley, 2007) is used as a framework to seek answers to the research question: which types (and levels) of feedback are generated when applying Comparative Judgement (CJ) to guide the students' and teachers' feedback formulation? Following the model, first three types of feedback: feeding up; feeding back; and feeding forward and second, four levels of feedback are discerned: task; process; selfregulatory and self. The current study describes how first year Master students (n=72) and lecturers (n=4) apply CJ to formulate feedback. We evaluate which types and levels of feedback are formulated and received by the students, both towards and from their peers and teachers. Additionally, based on a post hoc survey and reflection paper, we list the strengths and weaknesses of CJ as a method to help students to formulate, interpret and receive feedback. Finally, we identify various opportunities to improve CJ based feedback during product development cycles and its impact on learning and self-assessment of the own project process and (intermediate) results quality, and metacognitive strategies for learning.

The front-end of product service system design : a case analysis

International Conference on Service Sciences, 2014

ABSTRACT In recent years product-service systems (PSS) receive substantially more attention in in... more ABSTRACT In recent years product-service systems (PSS) receive substantially more attention in innovation literature. Manufacturers increasingly seek new value in service addition and service providers explore the integration of tangible elements in their offering. Current advancements in electronics, information and communication technology (ICT) have made it possible to combine products and services in an innovative way. However, the integral character of these hybrids can make the design process rather complex, merging a diversity of disciplines and their underlying processes such as; electronics design, software design, service design and product design. The paper brings forward seventeen visualized PSS concepts, interaction with product and service elements in their context and intended experience. The concepts serve as input to distill several PSS strategies and underlying characteristics. The results enable us to propose a PSS continuum to elaborate and further refine existing PSS typologies, applied in the front-end of innovation.

New Footing for Service Design: Roots of Meaning

DS 117: Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE 2022), London South Bank University in London, UK. 8th - 9th September 2022, 2022

Innovative organisations worldwide are part of a rapidly evolving world concerning innovation, di... more Innovative organisations worldwide are part of a rapidly evolving world concerning innovation, digitalisation and economic growth. Consequentially, manufacturing companies are seeing opportunities when exploring the new field of product-service systems (PSS) and are excelling in these. With regards to the liquefying advantage and valuable flexibility of servitization, there is still an underaddressed early exploration phase that primarily focuses on the mere service component. This lack of research attention might hinder organisations from developing PSS. Nonetheless, it acts as an opportunity to address servitization at an earlier development stage without compromising on radicality. The existing literature is abundant with tools and methods to optimise the PSS design process, but this paper focuses on the integrative design of PSS and proposes to continue onward from the early servitization component and service-based innovation literature. This paper redirects the spotlight on the intangible component and the impact of a meaningful user experiences in the early stages of the design process. These contributions aim to avoid designing for a strictly product-oriented world and turn towards a human-fuelled existence, instead of floating along the current consumer-minded wave. Through radical service design, meaning will prevail and harbour our human needs and drives, compelling the excessive tangible products to take a step backwards and in doing so creating a positive ecological effect.

PSS design : define

Expansion of Service Design Academics in Belgium: The Groundwork for a Curriculum Based on Contemporary Industry Needs

DS 117: Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE 2022), London South Bank University in London, UK. 8th - 9th September 2022, 2022

The Belgian design scene is not unfamiliar with the concept of service design and has hosted some... more The Belgian design scene is not unfamiliar with the concept of service design and has hosted some leading-edge companies throughout the years, pushing the field forward. The next step in the development of the field is the expansion of the academic aspect of service design within Belgium. The topic of service design is already addressed in existing design programmes, though it is yet to be a focus of study on its own. This paper helps to expand the range of study programmes at the University of Antwerp and contributes to shaping the service design landscape in Belgium. The Department of Design Sciences at the University of Antwerp provides students with extended interdisciplinary skills and knowledge, leading them into the world of design. The department now seeks to create an additional master's programmes with a curriculum catered to service design providing graduates of this programme with all the necessary skills to be at the top of their game when they start their careers in service design. To ensure continuity between what the university delivers and what the job market expects and desires, the programmes will be developed from the ground up. The university, for this study, has worked in collaboration with current leaders in the field, providing their expertise and requirements for the future of service design. Insights were obtained by means of workshops and collaborative projects with students and experts in the service design scene, as well as building on existing literature and current educational programmes across the world.

Understanding product-service systems in a sharing economy context – A literature review

Procedia CIRP, 2018

In today's business environment, the trend towards more product variety and customization is unbr... more In today's business environment, the trend towards more product variety and customization is unbroken. Due to this development, the need of agile and reconfigurable production systems emerged to cope with various products and product families. To design and optimize production systems as well as to choose the optimal product matches, product analysis methods are needed. Indeed, most of the known methods aim to analyze a product or one product family on the physical level. Different product families, however, may differ largely in terms of the number and nature of components. This fact impedes an efficient comparison and choice of appropriate product family combinations for the production system. A new methodology is proposed to analyze existing products in view of their functional and physical architecture. The aim is to cluster these products in new assembly oriented product families for the optimization of existing assembly lines and the creation of future reconfigurable assembly systems. Based on Datum Flow Chain, the physical structure of the products is analyzed. Functional subassemblies are identified, and a functional analysis is performed. Moreover, a hybrid functional and physical architecture graph (HyFPAG) is the output which depicts the similarity between product families by providing design support to both, production system planners and product designers. An illustrative example of a nail-clipper is used to explain the proposed methodology. An industrial case study on two product families of steering columns of thyssenkrupp Presta France is then carried out to give a first industrial evaluation of the proposed approach.

Design for Siblings of Children in Need of Intensive Care

DS 117: Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE 2022), London South Bank University in London, UK. 8th - 9th September 2022, 2022

Having a sibling with an illness or disability can be very stressful. Siblings in this context ne... more Having a sibling with an illness or disability can be very stressful. Siblings in this context need sufficient support, otherwise this can have a negative impact on the long-term well-being of the siblings. Today we see all too often that these siblings are a kind of forgotten group. Parents are often very busy caring for their sick or disabled child and siblings often fade into the background. As a result, siblings often push themselves to the side and have difficulty expressing their emotions because they do not want to be a burden to their parents. Therefore, the right support is needed to promote siblings' mental wellbeing, self-expression, and skills. Despite the various studies already conducted, the current support system is still often inadequate. There is a lack of recognition of organizations that support siblings in this context, even though there is a substantial need for them. Funding and recognition are still often a problem today. In this paper, the needs and problems of siblings are examined through qualitative research. Based on the collected insights, a list of requirements was composed that can help designers to support siblings in expressing their feelings and stimulate communication between parents and child. This paper contributes to the literature on the well-being of siblings of children with illnesses or disabilities, by looking at the problem from a different angle. In this way, an attempt is made to prevent mental problems in the long run and to offer adequate support.

The Gateway to Student Life Experience a Product-Service Design Approach

When thinking of attending a Higher Education Institution (HEI), a whole new experience comes to ... more When thinking of attending a Higher Education Institution (HEI), a whole new experience comes to mind. Finding lodging, eating at the student restaurant, getting support during times where things get difficult, participating in fraternity life, and so much more, are all comprised in a term that we coin 'the student life experience' (SLX). This experience starts the moment you apply for an HEI and holds just as much value for your studies, as the actual studies themselves. At the University of Antwerp, auxiliary services provide necessary means for students and their experience in-and outside of the lecture hall. This wide range of services is essential to the quality of the university. Optimizing these services, makes a university stand out amongst others. Not only is it important to understand that balance and in particular to optimize the perception and interaction regarding the Student Information Point (STIP) that acts as a gateway to these services. The paper proposes a product-service design approach rooted in broad student involvement and open communication.

Can Comparative Judgement Improve Product Development and Product-Service System Design for Students

One issue within current product development literature entails, both with students and with prof... more One issue within current product development literature entails, both with students and with professionals, the reliable scaling, and the objective assessment of products. This article will attempt to describe a way how master's students at the University of Antwerp, within a product development case, can both assess each other, assess the process of product development, and assess the final product using comparative judgement (CJ). This, while achieving learning goals described at master level. Our evaluation was anchored by use of Comproved, a validated instrument designed to comparatively evaluate products of students, during the design process (formative) and when uploading the final deliverables (summative) for the course. The current study evaluates how first year Master students (n=72) apply CJ using an online tool, Comproved (Comproved.com) during a semester-long group project on Product-Service System (PSS) design. Based on post hoc questionnaire details and interviews, we will list the advantages and the disadvantages of CJ, as stated by students. Finally, we will list the potentials of CJ during product development cycles and their impact on product quality, reliability of judgement and metacognitive strategies for learning.

Lempi : "do you remember that moment there?" Nonverbal stories of memorable locations in long-distance relationships

People can connect differently through NVC (Triverio, 2011). NVC helps when partners do not have ... more People can connect differently through NVC (Triverio, 2011). NVC helps when partners do not have any stories to tell but they just want to feel close to each other when physically separated (Hassenzahl, 2011) and it can increase relatedness experience (Janssen, Bailenson, IJsselsteijn, & Westerink, 2010). Implementing NVC provides a new medium with possibilities for new adaptations and future usage. This can radically improve the comfort and quality of the communication experience (Janssen, IJsselsteijn, & Westerink, 2010). Solutions should be "communication experiences" orientated rather than "mobile devices" (Hassenzahl, 2011). Hassenzahl (2010, p.8) defines an experience as: "an episode, a chunk of time, that one went through, sights and sounds, feelings and thoughts, motives and actions closely knitted together, stored in memory, labeled, relived and communicated to others. Experience is a story, emerging from dialogue of a person with her or his world through action"

Supporting frame for experience design in front-end methodology

International Conference on Service Sciences, 2014

Product Service System Design

In recent years product service systems (PSS) receive substantially more attention in innovation ... more In recent years product service systems (PSS) receive substantially more attention in innovation literature. Manufacturers increasingly seek new value in service addition and service providers explore the integration of tangible elements in their offering. Current advancements in electronics, information and communication technology (ICT) make it possible to combine products and services in innovative and interactive ways that add significantly more value to the user’s experience. However, the integral character of these hybrids can make the design process rather complex, merging a diversity of disciplines and their underlying processes such as; electronics design, software design, service design and product design. Therefore, a specific PSS design tool - facilitating the process of tightly integrating product and service - was created and tested in educational setting, action research and document analysis served as research methods. The research brings forward visualized PSS concepts with context dependent requirements for product and service interaction and their intended user experience. The results enable us to propose a PSS continuum to elaborate and further refine existing PSS typologies, applied in the front-end of innovation. Furthermore they serve as input to distill several PSS strategies and underlying characteristics for experience value representation.

Roadmap and Toolbox for the Ideation Stage of the Development Process of Product Service Systems

DS 78: Proceedings of the 16th International conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE14), Design Education and Human Technology Relations, University of Twente, The Netherlands, 04-05.09.2014, 2014

Product service systems (PSS) provide an opportunity to create innovative interactions between co... more Product service systems (PSS) provide an opportunity to create innovative interactions between consumers, the products and services they use and the providers offering these products. In contrast to traditional services related to products, the service component of a PSS significantly adds value to the experience of the consumer. Within the context of this paper, we add 'smart' to the PSS, because advances in information and communication technology have made it possible to combine products and services in innovative ways. Although PSS introduces new elements to a design process that require a thorough rethinking of how designers should relate to this specific kind of products, the main challenge is to manage the variety of underlying design processes. Especially in relation to the front end of innovation, there is a need for new and adapted tools in order to explore emerging PSS opportunities. In this paper, we report on a ten weeklong project. This project was targeted at first master students in product development, as a case to explore how existing service design toolsmodified with a specific PSS focus-can be introduced in the early stages of PSS concept creation and definition. We use the creativity support index (CSI) as a metric to evaluate the tools used. The paper brings forward several lessons learned related to the implementation of the adjusted tools for a PSS design project.

Toolkit That Supports the Development of a Sustainable Product-Service System

DS 117: Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE 2022), London South Bank University in London, UK. 8th - 9th September 2022, 2022

This study results from a master thesis for the Department of Product Development of The Universi... more This study results from a master thesis for the Department of Product Development of The University of Antwerp. The thesis focuses on a toolkit that provides support in the design process of a PSS, namely the product-service system design toolkit 1. In this toolkit, there is hardly any focus on sustainability, but rather on the interaction with the end-user. To integrate this sustainability aspect-considering people, planet and profit-the Sustainable Innovation System (SIS) toolkit of OVAM 2 is used as input. The opportunity of this master thesis is to work out a possible synergy of both toolkits. This type of toolkit is hardly explored in the current market. This paper will first find out how both toolkits are used and what pitfalls there are. Various research methods have been used to map out the findings: a literature exploration, analysis of existing evaluations, in-depth interviews, a focus group, online questionnaires, a workshop, and project guidance. The triangulation ensures that the results are as close to reality as possible. This information is summarized and translated into drivers for the solution to be designed. After this, a proposal for the solution is being presented, which is a digital library of design tools. This study thus contributes to a concise human and economic analysis of design tools in general, and a proposalspecifically for the PSS design toolkit and the SIS toolkitof automated project guidance for design students and practitioners. The online tool platform emerges as the best solution for the abovementioned problems and considers five design drivers that guide the design process, namely: design track support, autonomous use, reduced complexity, universal use, and easy integration.

CHAPTER 5 - PSS design toolkit | Cases

Product-Service System design, a synthesis approach , 2019

This thesis places an integrated approach to PSS design at the center. Therefore, we delineate a ... more This thesis places an integrated approach to PSS design at the center. Therefore, we delineate a PSS logic and associated constraints (relevant requirements) to support the design process, and create a PSS design toolkit (actionable approach) to enable synthesis between product and service, rather than maintaining the dichotomy. With an emphasis on context, interrelationships and the whole, we prepare future generations of designers for challenges associated with product service system design.