18MEO02 -

PRODUCT
DESIGN AND
DEVELOPMENT

Presented by,
D. Kesavan,
AP/MECH
 18MEO02 - PRODUCT DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

UNIT 1 BASICS OF PRODUCT DESIGN

Introduction – Classification, Specifications of Products, Product life cycle.
Introduction to product design & development, A generic development process, concept
development: the front-end process, adapting the generic product development process, the AMF
development process, the AMF organization.

UNIT 2 IDENTIFYING CUSTOMER NEEDS - PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS

Gathering raw data from customers, interpreting raw data in terms of customer needs,
organizing the needs into a hierarchy, establishing the relative importance of the needs and
reflecting on the results and the process. Specifications, establish specifications, establishing
target specifications, setting the final specifications.
UNIT 3 CONCEPT GENERATION, SELECTION & TESTING
Overview of methodology, concept screening, concept scoring, caveats. Purpose of
concept test, choosing a survey population and a survey format, communicate the
concept, measuring customer response, interpreting the result, reflecting on the results
and the process.
UNIT 4 PRODUCT ARCHITECTURE -DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURING &
ASSEMBLY
Meaning of product architecture, establishing the architecture, platform planning,
related system level design issues. Assessing the need for industrial design, industrial
design process, managing the industrial design process. Definition, estimation of
manufacturing cost, reducing the cost of components, assembly, supporting
production, impact of DFM on other factors.
UNIT 5 PROTOTYPING, PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS Prototyping
basics, principles of prototyping technologies, planning for prototypes, Elements of
economic analysis. Sensitive analysis, project trade-offs, qualitative analysis.
Understanding and representing task, baseline project planning, accelerating projects,
project execution, project evaluation.
 UNIT 2
IDENTIFYING CUSTOMER NEEDS -
PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS
Product Development Process

Concept System-Level Detail Testing and Production

Planning Design
Development Design Refinement Ramp-Up

(Initial) (Typically with reviews after each)

Identifying
Customer Needs
Customer Needs Process
1. Define the Scope
• Mission Statement
2. Gather Raw Data
• Interviews
• Focus Groups
• Observation
3. Interpret Raw Data
• Need Statements
4. Organize the Needs
• Hierarchy
5. Establish Importance
• Surveys
• Quantified Needs
6. Reflect on the Process
• Continuous Improvement
 Types of Customer Needs
• Direct Need
• concern about product, easy to determine

• Latent Need
• requires probing to find
• maybe not product related but use/system related

• Constant Need
• intrinsic to the product

• Variable Need
• removed by a technology change

• General Need
• applies to all customers
 1. Define the Scope

Mission Statement and Technical Clarifications

• Focus Design Efforts
• Define Project Goals
(measurable)
• Involve development/design
team in business
case/analysis
• Project Schedule
• Tasks, timelines, milestones
• Provide guidelines for design
process
Customer Needs Example:
Cordless Screwdrivers

?
 Product Description
• A hand-held, power-assisted device for installing threaded
fasteners
Key Business Goals
• Product introduced in 4th Q of 2000
• 50% gross margin
• 10% share of cordless screwdriver market by 2004

Mission Primary Market

• Do-it-yourself consumer

Statement Secondary Markets

• Casual consumer
• Light-duty professional
Assumptions
Example: • Hand-held
• Power assisted
Screwdriver Project • Nickel-metal-hydride rechargeable battery technology
Stakeholders
• User
• Retailer
• Sales team
• Service center
• Production
 2. Gather Raw Data

Gather Data From Customers

• Interviews
• In customer environment

• Focus Groups
• Groups of 8-12 customers

• Observing Product in Use

 Data Gathering Methods and Outcomes
METHOD APPROACH OUTPUTS ISSUES

Good for concept

Structured 1-2 hour Time consuming
User research and
detailed one-on-one and interviewer
interviews understanding user
interviews can bias
perceptions

Exploration of Small samples,

Focus 2-3 hour facilitated requirements and can be difficult to
groups group discussion reactions - to known relate to new
products products

Comparison of Refining requirements,

Concept Possible
responses to product assessing potential,
testing proposals ranking preferences
disclosure of IPR

Scenarios Potential product ideas

Group sessions to Relies on a good
or product changes,
& role inspire new ideas
good for 'new to world'
group and strong
playing through role play facilitation
products

Interviews or group Possible

Lead user discussion
Potential product ideas
disclosure of IPR

Exploring requirements,
Observation Direct observation of Should use in real
understanding product
product in use in real situations.
& user / task environments, used by
weaknesses, provides
Encourages team
analysis input to concept
real users participation
generation

From: http://www.betterproductdesign.net/guide/users.htm, accessed

June 6, 2004
Choosing the ‘Customer’
• Often the case that:
• One person buys it,
• Another uses it,
• Someone else services it,Etc.

• Talk to each group !

Identify Lead Users
• Customers who experience needs before the majority of
the market.
• Benefit from product innovations,
• Can clearly state emerging needs,
• Have already invented solutions.
Context Free Questions
• Context-free Product questions

• When and why do you use this product ?

• Walk us through using it.

• What do you like about it?

• What issues do you consider in purchasing?

• What improvements would you recommend?

Context Free Questions
• Meta questions

• Am I asking too many questions?

• Is there anything else I should be asking you?

• Is there anyone else I should be talking to?

Documenting Customer Data
• Audio, Video Recording
• Notes
• Photography
 3. Interpret the Data

Raw Data –to– Needs Statements

1. What , not How.

2. Express need as specifically as raw data.
3. Use positive, not negative phrasing.
4. Avoid ‘must’ and ‘should’.
4. Organize the Needs
 Steps

needless
4. Organize the Needs

Organized
List of
Customer
Needs
 5. Establish Importance

Establish Relative Priorities

1. Agreement of Team Members
2. Further Surveys of Customers

• Establish Rankings on 1 to 5 Scale

• 1. feature is undesirable – would not consider a product with this feature
• ……
• 5. feature is critical – would not consider a product without this feature
 Example
• For each of the following thermostat features, please indicate on a
scale of 1 to 5 how important the feature is to you.

• Please use the following scale:

1. Feature is undesirable. I would not consider a product with this

feature.
2. Feature is not important, but I would not mind having it.
3. Feature would be nice to have, but is not necessary.
4. Feature is highly desirable, but I would consider a product without it.
5. Feature is critical. I would not consider a product without this feature.
6. Reflect on the Process
• The team must challenge its results to verify that they are
consistent with the knowledge and intuition the team has
developed through many hours of interaction with
customers.

Questions?
• Have we interacted with all of the important types of
customers in our target market?
• Did we involve everyone within our own organization who
needs to deeply understand customer needs?
• How might we improve the process in future efforts?
Product Specifications
Concept Development Process
Mission Development
Statement Identify Establish Generate Select Test Set Plan Plan
Customer Target Product Product Product Final Downstream
Needs Specifications Concepts Concept(s) Concept(s) Specifications Development

Perform Economic Analysis

Benchmark Competitive Products

Build and Test Models and Prototypes

Target Specs Final Specs

Based on customer needs Based on selected concept,
and benchmarking feasibility, models, testing,
and trade-offs
What are specifications?
• Specifications spell out in precise, measurable
detail what the product has to do.

• Specifications represent an clear agreement on

what the team will attempt to achieve in order
to satisfy the identified customer needs.

• Must include regulatory and agency approval

requirements
 Mobile Specs
Display Connectivity
Screen size 5.00inches Wi-Fi Yes
Wi-Fi standards 802.11 b/g
Touchscreen Yes supported
Resolution 720x1280 pixels GPS Yes
Camera Bluetooth Yes, v 4.00
Rear camera 13-megapixel NFC No
Infrared No
Rear flash Dual LED
USB OTG No
Front camera 5-megapixel Headphones 3.5mm
Hardware FM No
Processor 1.2GHz quad-core Number of SIMs 1
Wi-Fi Direct No
Processor make Qualcomm Snapdragon 410
RAM 2GB Mobile High-Definition No
Link (MHL)
Internal storage 16GB
GSM/CDMA GSM
Expandable storage Yes 3G Yes
Expandable storage 4G/ LTE Yes
microSD
type Supports 4G in India No
Spec vs. Specs

• A spec consists of a metric, a unit, and

a value
• Specs has a set of spec.
• Example:
metric → “Screen size of a mobile”
value → “5”
Unit – “inches”
Target vs. Final Specs
• Target specs: the hope and aspiration of the design
(ideal and marginal)

• Refined specs: trade-offs among different desired

characteristics.
• Intermediate specs

• Final specs
• It is in the project’s contract book

11/05/2024
The Product Specs Process
1. Set Target Specifications
• Based on customer needs and benchmarks
• Develop metrics for each need
• Set ideal and acceptable values
2. Refine Specifications
• Based on selected concept and feasibility testing
• Technical and economic modeling
• Trade-offs are critical
3. Reflect on the Results and the Process
• Critical for ongoing improvement
 Procedure for establishing target
specifications
1. Identify a list of metrics and measurement units that
sufficiently address the needs
2. Collect the competitive benchmarking information
3. Set ideal and marginally acceptable target values for
each metric (using at least, at most, between,
exactly, etc.)
4. Reflect on the results and the process

11/05/2024
 Setting target values
• Set ideal and marginally acceptable target
values for each metric.
– At least X
– At most X
– Between X and Y
– Exactly X
– A set of discrete values
 Benchmarking
• No product development team can expect to
succeed without ‘benchmarking’ the project against
competing products.

• Benchmarking is the practice of comparing business

processes and performance metrics to industry
bests and best practices from other companies.
 Process for setting the final
specifications
1. Develop technical models to assess technical feasibility. The input is
design variable, and the output is a measurement using a metric.
2. Develop a cost model of the product.
3. Refine the specifications, making tradeoffs, where necessary to form
a competitive map.
4. “Flow down” the final overall specs to specs for each subsystem
(component and part).
5. Reflect on the results to see
Whether the product is a winner, and/or
How much uncertainty there is in the technical and cost model, or
Whether there is a need to develop a better technical model.
Product Specifications Example:
Mountain Bike Suspension Fork
Start with the Customer
Needs
Establish Metrics and Units
Link Metrics to Needs
Benchmark on Customer Needs
Benchmark on Metrics
Assign Marginal and Ideal Values
Concept Development Process
Mission Development
Statement Identify Establish Generate Select Test Set Plan Plan
Customer Target Product Product Product Final Downstream
Needs Specifications Concepts Concept(s) Concept(s) Specifications Development

Perform Economic Analysis

Benchmark Competitive Products

Build and Test Models and Prototypes

Target Specs Final Specs

Based on customer needs Based on selected concept,
and benchmarking feasibility, models, testing,
and trade-offs
Set Final Specifications
Exercise
Metric Exercise: Identify five possible metrics and
the unit of measure for a customer need.