Product Development

In general, the Product Development can be defined as "creating, innovating, or developing entirely
a new product , or presenting an existing product with enhanced utility, improved features, more
appealing design, better quality and reliability to satisfy the requirements of its end-users."

Meaning of Product Development

Product means a goods, service, idea or object created as a result of a process and offered to serve a
need or satisfy a want. Development means the act or process of growing, progressing, or
developing.
Product Development is a process of improving the existing product or to introduce a new product
in the market. It is also referred as New Product Development.

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A product may be a consumer product such as mobilephones, televisions or an Industrial product,
e.g., a lathe, an overhead bridge crane, etc.
Development is carried out after applied research which follows pure research.
Development involves design/redesign and fabrication of new or modified product and then testing
it to find its usefulness.
Product Research and Development are concerned with all aspects of the product design and
applications including its,
• Functional efficiency
• Quality
• Unexplored uses
• Investigation of materials and possible substitutes
• Utilization of waste products, and
• Standardization and customer satisfaction.

It is essential to design a product before starting its manufacture.

The idea for new or improved products comes from many sources, such as
• Customer’s suggestions and complaints.
• R & D department.
• Other competitor products in the market.

Objectives of Product Design

The objectives of designing the product may be summarized as follows:
• The first objective of designing is to create attention in products for increasing the sale
potentials.
• To enlarge the importance of product from customers’ point of view.
• To make the product more effective and create more utility in the product for the consumer.
• Produce better quality at the lowest possible price.

Product Development Procedure

The various stages involved in selecting and developing the product may be listed as:
1. Venture new product ideas
2. Screening of ideas - The various project ideas are then carefully screened. Poor ideas are
dropped and through the process of elimination, only the most promising, feasible and
profitable ideas are selected for further detailed investigation and evaluation.
 3. Concept development - All product ideas selected after preliminary investigation
(screening) are subjected to detailed investigation and analysis. The purpose is to develop
ideas into mature product concepts
4. Product analysis
5. Product design and development program
6. Test marketing
7. Commercialization.

Requirements (or Objective) of a Good Product Design

It is not possible to specify exactly what constitutes a good design, but the essential requirements
are that it should bring:
(a) Customer satisfaction
(b) An adequate profit.

a) In order to achieve customer satisfaction:

• The product should function correctly.
• It should possess desired degree of accuracy.
• It should have required standard of reliability.
• Product design should be such that it is easy to achieve accessibility for servicing.
• Product design should obtain good space utilization.
• Product should be sufficiently rugged to withstand all but exceptionally rough handling.
• Product should have pleasant appearance. Colours play an important role in product
design.
• Product should be of reasonable price to compete other products in the consumer
market.

b) Making adequate profit means:

• It should be easy to manufacture the product within the available resources.
• Manufacturing process should be decided on the basis of the product quantity to be
manufactured. Small parts on mass scale may be produced by Die casting rather than the
sand casting.
• The use of standard component parts wherever possible can lead to great saving.
• A well-designed product will consist of minimum number of parts.
• Good product design will call for minimum number of operations.
• Good product design should not extend the time.

Principles of Good Product Design

Factors involved in good product design are:
• Function
• Repairability
• Reliability
• Aesthetics
• Durability
• Producibility
• Simplicity
• Compact

1. Function
The product must be designed in such a way that it optimally performs the main task or function for
which it is purchased by a buyer. In other words, the product must satisfy the needs and wants of the
consumer.
For e.g. The main function of an Air Conditioner (AC) is to provide quick cooling of a room. So,
AC must be designed in such a way that it can cool a room as fast as technologically possible. If it
doesn't meet basic expectations, the consumers won't buy it.

2. Repairability
The product must be designed in such a way that it can be easily repaired whenever necessary
during a malfunction. The product repairs must be done quickly that too at a low repair cost.
Consumers usually don't buy those costly products, which are either very expensive to repair /
maintain or those who take a longer time and more money for repairing.

3. Reliability
Reliability means dependability on a product. Consumers prefer to purchase and use often those
products which perform their main function or task optimally for a longer period without any
annoying malfunctions, breakdowns or failures. In short, a product must perform quite well and
give trouble-free service for a decent amount of time. It must not need constant repairs and/or
frequent maintenances. It is so, since repairs often turn costly and are very time consuming.
Reliability is crucial for consumer durables and office equipments. A reliable product gains
consumers' trust, loyalty and this creates its goodwill in the competitive market. Therefore,
reliability is an important factor to be kept in mind while designing a product.

4. Aesthetics
Aesthetics must be kept in mind while designing a product. It refers to, how the product looks,
feels, sounds, tastes or smells. That is, the product must look, feel, sound, taste or smell very good.
It must be attractive, compact and convenient to use. Its packaging must also be made graphically
appealing and colorful. If this aspect is not considered, product will fail in the market. This factor is
very important, especially in case a product is designed for and targeted to the young generation
that is emerging with a modern mindset and current trends.

5. Durability
Durability refers to the life of a product. A durable product performs flawlessly for a longer period.
It is a sign of a good-quality product. Consumers want their products to have a longer life. They do
not want to replace their products repeatedly. This factor is very crucial for durable and costly
products like televisions, refrigerators, cars, so on. Therefore, durability is another important
requirement that must be kept in mind while designing a product.

6. Producibility
The product must be designed in such a way that it can be produced in large quantities with ease at
a minimum production cost. The production department must be able to produce the product easily,
quickly, in ample quantities and at a low production cost. The production process must not be very
complex, and it must not require costly machines to produce the product.

7. Simplicity

The design of the product must be very simple. The simpler a design, the easier, it is to produce and
use (handle). Simple products are also economical and reliable. The product must have the least
number of operations without affecting its functionality.
8. Compact
The product must be small; it must occupy less space, and must have lower weight. In other words,
it must be very compact. The company must try to make its products as small as possible. Today,
everything is turning smaller. Big sized cell phones are now out of fashion. In the 1950s, computers
were as huge as spacious rooms. However, today we have laptops and palmtop computers. Most
products can be made compact. Still, this cannot be done for all products. In case of televisions, it is
just the opposite. Today people want bigger televisions. Similarly, there is a limit on small size. We
cannot have a phone which is so tiny that it requires a microscope to see its keypad.

Types of Product Design

• Functional Design: Functional design involves developing an idea into a tough model of
the proposed products. This necessitates first making a rough sketch of the proposed
products to give some ideas of their shape and of the parts necessary to accomplish their
purpose. Then, the designer makes drafting room sketches of the individual part’s incorrect
dimensions and then a full sketch of proposed products. After this experimental models are
prepared. Before moving on to a product design, the models of the proposed products should
be thoroughly tested to make sure that they will function properly for a certain period and
under varying conditions.
• Aesthetic Design: Before production on a commercial scale is undertaken, another type of
design must be integrated with the functional design and it is aesthetic design or style or
fashion design for market acceptability. The emphasis on styling has become a functional
design during recent years. It is not enough to be sure that the functional design of the
proposed is good and economical, but it should be appealing to the customer’s eyes and
inducing them to buy the product.
• Production Design: Generally the functional design is translated to production design to
make it easy to manufacture. Production design means a design that may result in affecting
the economics without affecting its functional efficiency. As soon as the product has been
taken fully tested to determine whether it is functioning correctly, it must be checked to see
if any design changes can be made that will affect economies when the item is produced but
will not affect its functional efficiency. In carrying out production design, any special tools,
jigs, or fixtures needed in production should be noted and their designing should be carried
out by the tool department.
• Packing Design: Different packing materials can be used to suit the consumer’s needs and
to maintain the chemical properties of the product. The product designer should use as far as
possible standard parts or assemblies to reduce the cost of production because standard parts
in some cases may be purchased cheaper from outside firms specializing in their
manufacture. The product designer should also know the possibility of simplification and
diversification of the product.

Importance of Product Design

The importance of product design is explained through the following points:
• It is a critical factor in organizational success because it sets the characteristics, features, and
performance of the service or good that consumers demand.
• It plays a vital role in lowering the cost of manufacture for competitive advantage.
• Product design is important in making more profits by attracting more customers through its
design and packaging.
• To enter into the new prospective business through related diversification, product design is
essential.
• It can also be an important mechanism for coordinating the activities of key supply chain
participants.
• Product design is an essential activity for firms competing in a global environment.
• Product design shapes the product’s quality. It defines the way that and service functions.