MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN

UNIT III:
PRODUCT CONCEPTS
A: Concept generation, product configuration, concept evaluation and selection,
product embodiments.
B: Quality function deployment, product design specification, physical prototypes-
types and technique, dimensional analysis, design of experiments.

CONCEPT GENERATION
A product concept is an approximate description of the technology, working
principles, and form of the product. It is a concise description of how the product
will satisfy the customer needs. A concept is usually expressed as a sketch or as a
rough three-dimensional model and is often accompanied by a brief textual
description.

Concept generation is the process of creating ideas for designing a product

based on the target specifications and requirements. These ideas describe the design
and working principles of the product, along with how it can meet the customer
requirements. The concept generation phase starts with analyzing the customer
requirements from different angles and results in developing a final design for the
product. You may illustrate the proposed design as a 3D model, blueprint or rough
drawing. Creativity and problem-solving skills are vital for this process.

For example, concept generation had typically consumed less than 5 percent
of the budget and 15 percent of the development time in previous nailer
development efforts.

Here are the steps involved in generating concepts for product design:
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
1. Analyze the problem: The first step in the concept generation process
involves understanding the customer's concerns. The customer may tell you
about the type of product they want, but they may not have all the required
information.
2. Study the existing solutions: Whether the customer finds no solution or wants
a customized solution, learning about existing solutions to similar problems can
make the concept generation process easier. Customizing an existing solution
with relevant functions is often faster and more cost-effective than developing
a new product.
3. Consider new solutions: Once you find a few solutions, you can customize
them to fit the specifications of the project. You may explore those solutions
further to determine which ones to pursue or create a new one. Consider
generating a minimum of three solutions.
4. Review and rank the concepts: After you've developed several concepts for
the product, it's time to explore them further and keep only the best ones. You
can do this in several rounds. For example, you first can remove the concepts
that look too similar or those that are beyond the resources of the organization.
5. Choose the best concept: The final step involves choosing a winning concept.
Companies usually do this through a team decision. You may decide to choose
a hybrid of two or more concepts.
Techniques for concept generation
The following are the important techniques for concept generation:
1. Brainstorming: Brainstorming is a popular technique for concept generation. It
can help you generate many ideas through a group exercise. Create a group of
five to 10 members with a designated leader, including people from different
backgrounds, to get diverse ideas. Describe the problem and the solution
criteria to the group, and encourage suggestions.
2. Reverse brainstorming: Reverse brainstorming is a form of brainstorming
where you encourage group members to think of problems instead of solutions.
It's based on the assumption that our minds have a natural tendency to see
problems more easily than solutions.
3. Whiteboarding: This technique uses a whiteboard to organize ideas as they
come and prevents the team from forgetting them. It's also helpful for
expressing an idea as a sketch or a diagram. This is a tool that works well with
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
brainstorming. For example, you can start a brainstorming session and write the
ideas on the whiteboard.
4. Mind mapping: A mind map is a diagram that visually represents information
with a clear relationship between elements and the core concept. The image of
the main concept is in the center and the associated ideas are around it. You can
represent the surrounding ideas as branches, images or plain text.

A Five-Step Method

Step 1: Clarify the Problem

 Clarifying the problem consists of developing a general understanding and then

breaking the problem down into subproblems if necessary.

 The mission statement for the project, the customer needs list, and the
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
preliminary product specification are the ideal inputs to the concept
generation process, although often these pieces of information are still being
refined as the concept generation phase begins.

 Ideally the team has been involved both in the identification of the customer
needs and in the setting of the target product specifications. Those members of
the team who were not involved in these preceding steps should become
familiar with the processes used and their results before concept generation
activities begin.

As stated before, the challenge was to “design a better handheld roofing nailer”. The
scope of the design problem could have been defined more generally (e.g., “fasten
roof- ing materials”) or more specifically (e.g., “improve the speed of the existing
pneumatic tool concept”). Some of the assumptions in the team’s mission statement
were:

 The nailer will use nails (as opposed to adhesives, screws, etc.).

 The nailer will be compatible with nail magazines on existing tools.

 The nailer will nail through roofing shingles into wood.

 The nailer will be handheld.

The target specifications included the following:

 Nail lengths from 25 millimeters to 38 millimeters.

 Maximum nailing energy of 40 joules per nail.

 Nailing forces of up to 2,000 newtons.

 Peak nailing rate of one nail per second.

 Average nailing rate of 12 nails per minute.

 Tool mass less than 4 kilograms.

 Maximum trigger delay of 0.25 second.

 Decompose a Complex Problem into Simpler Subproblems

 Many design challenges are too complex to solve as a single problem and
can be use- fully divided into several simpler subproblems.

 For example, the design of a complex product like a document copier can
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
be thought of as a collection of more focused design problems.

 Dividing a problem into simpler subproblems is called problem

decomposition. There are many schemes by which a problem can be
decomposed. Here we demonstrate a functional decomposition and also list
several other approaches that are frequently useful.

Some useful techniques for getting started are:

 Create a function diagram of an existing product.

 Create a function diagram based on an arbitrary product concept already

generated by the team or based on a known subfunction technology. Be sure to
generalize the dia- gram to the appropriate level of abstraction.

 Follow one of the flows (e.g., material) and determine what operations are
required. The details of the other flows can be derived by thinking about their
connections to the initial flow.

Functional decomposition is only one of several possible ways to divide a problem

into simpler subproblems. Two other approaches are:

 Decomposition by sequence of user actions: This approach is often useful for

products with very simple technical functions involving a lot of user
interaction.

 Decomposition by key customer needs: This approach is often useful for

products in which form, and not working principles or technology, is the
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
primary problem.

 Focus Initial Efforts on the Critical Subproblems

 The goal of all of these decomposition techniques is to divide a complex

problem into simpler problems such that these simpler problems can be
tackled in a focused way.

 Once problem decomposition is complete, the team chooses the

subproblems that are most critical to the success of the product and that are
most likely to benefit from novel or creative solutions.

 This approach involves a conscious decision to defer the solution of some

of the subproblems.

 For example, the nailer team chose to focus on the subproblems of storing/
accepting energy, converting the energy to translational energy, and
applying the translational energy to the nail.

Step 2: Search Externally

 External search is aimed at finding existing solutions to both the overall
problem and the subproblems identified during the problem clarification step.
 While external search is listed as the second step in the concept generation
method, this sequential labeling is deceptive; external search occurs
continually throughout the development process.
 Implementing an existing solution is usually quicker and cheaper than
developing a new solution.
 The external search for solutions is essentially an information-gathering
process.

 Interview Lead Users

 While identifying customer needs, the team may have sought out or
encountered lead users.

 Lead users are those users of a product who experience needs months or
years be- fore the majority of the market and stand to benefit substantially
from a product innovation.

 Frequently these lead users will have already invented solutions to meet
their needs.
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
 Lead users may be sought out in the market for which the team is
developing the new product, or they may be found in markets for products
implementing some of the subfunctions of the product.

 Consult Experts

 Experts with knowledge of one or more of the subproblems not only can
provide solution concepts directly but also can redirect the search in a more
fruitful area.

 Experts may include professionals at firms manufacturing related products,

professional consultants, university faculty, and technical representatives of
suppliers.

 These people can be found by calling universities, by calling companies, and

by looking up authors of articles.

 While finding experts can be hard work, it is almost always less time
consuming than re-creating existing knowledge.

 Search Patents

 Patents are a rich and readily available source of technical information

containing detailed drawings and explanations of how many products
work.

 The main disadvantage of patent searches is that concepts found in recent

patents are protected, so there may be a royalty involved in using them;
however, patents are also useful to see what concepts are already protected
and must be avoided or licensed.

 Concepts contained in foreign patents without global coverage and in

expired patents can be used without payment of royalties.

 Search Published Literature

 Published literature includes journals; conference proceedings; trade
magazines; government reports; market, consumer, and product
information; and new product announcements.

 Literature searches are therefore very fertile sources of existing solutions.

MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
 Electronic searches are frequently the most efficient way to gather
information from published literature.

 Searching the Internet is often a good first step, although the quality of the
results can be hard to assess.

 Benchmark Related Products

 In the context of concept generation, benchmarking is the study of existing

products with functionality similar to that of the product under development
or to the subproblems on which the team is focused.

 Benchmarking can reveal existing concepts that have been implemented to

solve a particular problem, as well as information on the strengths and
weaknesses of the competition.

 At this point the team will likely already be familiar with the competitive
and closely related products.

 Products in other markets, but with related functionality, are more difficult
to find.

Step 3: Search Internally

 Internal search is the use of personal and team knowledge and creativity to
generate solution concepts.
 This activity may be the most open-ended and creative of any task in product
development.
 We find it useful to think of internal search as a process of retrieving a
potentially useful piece of information from one’s memory and then adapting
that information to the problem at hand.
 This process can be carried out by individuals working in isolation or by a
group of people working together.
Five guidelines are useful for improving both individual and group internal
search:

1. Suspend judgment: In most aspects of daily life, success depends on an ability

to quickly evaluate a set of alternatives and take action. For example, none of
us would be very productive if deciding what to wear in the morning or what to
eat for breakfast involved an extensive period of generating alternatives before
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
making a judgment.

2. Generate a lot of ideas: Most experts believe that the more ideas a team
generates, the more likely the team is to explore fully the solution space.
Further, each idea acts as a stimulus for other ideas, so a large number of ideas
has the potential to stimulate even more ideas.
3. Welcome ideas that may seem infeasible: Ideas that initially appear infeasible
can often be improved, “debugged,” or “repaired” by other members of the
team. The more infeasible an idea, the more it stretches the boundaries of the
solution space and encourages the team to think of the limits of possibility.
Therefore, infeasible ideas are quite valuable and their expression should be
encouraged.

4. Make plenty of sketches: Spatial reasoning about physical objects can be

challenging. Text and verbal language are inherently inefficient vehicles for
describing physical entities. Whether working as a group or as an individual,
abundant sketching materials should be available.

5. Build sketch models. Simple, physical models can quickly be created to

express concepts using foam, clay, cardboard, 3-D printing, and other media.
Three-dimensional sketch models are particularly helpful for problems
requiring a deep understanding of form, user interface, and spatial
relationships.

Step 4: Explore Systematically

 As a result of the external and internal search activities, the team will have
collected tens or hundreds of concept fragments—solutions to the subproblems.
 Systematic exploration is aimed at navigating the space of possibilities by
organizing and synthesizing these solution fragments.
 One approach to organizing and synthesizing these fragments would be to
consider all of the possible combinations of the fragments associated with
each subproblem; however, a little arithmetic reveals the impossibility of this
approach.

Concept Classification Tree

The concept classification tree is used to divide the entire space of possible
solutions into several distinct classes that will facilitate comparison and pruning.
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
The classification tree provides at least four important benefits:

1. Pruning of less promising branches: If by studying the classification tree the

team is able to identify a solution approach that does not appear to have much
merit, then this approach can be pruned and the team can focus its attention on
the more promising branches of the tree.

2. Identification of independent approaches to the problem: Each branch of the

tree can be considered a different approach to solving the overall problem.
Some of these ap- proaches may be almost completely independent of each
other. In these cases, the team can cleanly divide its efforts among two or more
individuals or task forces.

Step 5: Reflect on the Solutions and the Process

Although the reflection step is placed here at the end for convenience in presentation,
reflec- tion should in fact be performed throughout the whole process. Questions to ask
include:

 Is the team developing confidence that the solution space has been fully
explored?

 Are there alternative function diagrams?

 Are there alternative ways to decompose the problem?

 Have external sources been thoroughly pursued?

 Have ideas from everyone been accepted and integrated in the process?

PRODUCT CONFIGURATION

Product Configuration is the function of selecting and arranging parts in a

combination that can be produced and delivered to fulfil a specific customer request.
Product Configuration can be performed manually by a salesperson or a sales engineer
or automatically by a software solution.
Product Configuration is different from tailoring in how the configuration is
prepared – the questions asked and the selection and arrangement of parts follow a
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
predefined logic allowing other business functions to be well-prepared for efficient
execution of the order.
Product Configuration is different from a sales catalogue in that the selection is
interactive. The salesperson or configurator asks questions and either ask further
questions or suggests an attractive solution based on the replies. No complete solution
or combination is defined in advance. The offered solution and combination are a
result of each specific combination of needs and responses.
Benefits of Product Configuration

There are many benefits associated with product configuration, that can support both
manufacturing and sales processes, such as:
 Simplifying complex products: some products, particularly in the B2B space,
have numerous features, options, capabilities, and calculations involved, which
can result in businesses thinking their product is too complicated for
eCommerce channels.
 Quicker ideation and completion: businesses can shorten the process
between imagining a new configured product idea and visual proof of concept,
to manufacturing
 Capture product expert knowledge: a configurator can capture and embed
the knowledge of the best product specialists, and make that information
available to everyone, so even a new starter or someone with low technical
skills will be able to quickly offer the best solution to customers as they have
all the information they could need
 Optimal specifications: depending on a customers’ requirements, salespeople
can proactively provide the best and most accurate price based on what the
customer values most
 Faster quotes: the process of product configuration enables organizations to
generate quicker quotes with easy configuration selection, that are more
accurate and tailored to customer needs
 Accurate orders: Despite the challenges that complex or highly-configured
product systems can encounter, a fully-integrated system that combines
manufacturing with automatic product specifications means that human error is
reduced and customers can be confident in the accuracy of their order
Types of Product Configuration
1. Geometrical
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
 Geometrical configuration is about positioning objects to create a layout of
e.g., a production line.
 The layout must fulfill given rules of functionality (e.g., have the right
production sequence).
 The layout must also be free from collisions, both internally in the
configured product, but also with any existing objects such as pillars, other
equipment, etc.
 A typical task of a geometrical configurator is also to adjust parametric
objects, perhaps to bridge the gap between two machines with a conveyor.
 CAD software with predefined functional blocks or a geometrical
configurator could be the tool to use.
 Two examples of publicly available geometrical configurators are IKEA's
Kitchen Planner, and Elfa's Storage Planner.

2. Functional

 Functional configuration is about selecting a correct solution given a set of

requirements or needs.
 Based on the required performance, functions, and features, the configurator
selects and dimensions the different parts of the products (modules) and
ensures that they are compatible and that the combination of parts performs
according to the requirements.
 The input to the configurator can be needs-based, e.g., enter your electricity
cost and get the optimal configuration.
 The input can also be solution-based, where the input is a selection of
available variants or options, and the user must decide the best choice.
 An example of a publicly available functional product configurator
is Scania's truck configurator.
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN

Importance of Product Structure to Enable Product Configuration

For all non-product-based businesses, it is key to not let the back-end systems
work with fixed products, while the front end works with dynamic configurations.
From the sales side, we would like to get a competitive advantage from flexibility.
Therefore it will be crucial that the internal processes are set up to handle flexibility
without being overwhelmed. This brings a challenge to the traditional product
structure, where a BOM is the basis for a product. How can we efficiently generate the
information needed to produce the order?

Many existing systems used in the industrial operation rely on having BOMs that are
fixed to be able to generate plans for material purchasing, assembly, etc. A
workaround has been to create Super BOMs. Super BOMs are overloaded
representations of a product, typically containing all possible options that can be
added. Once the real BOM is to be generated based on the actual order, lines of the
Super BOM are removed to represent the actual product to build. However, for more
complex products, where the structure is different for each order, this approach is
problematic.

CONCEPT EVALUATION
A concept evaluation service is a strategy to understand consumers’ needs,
thoughts, and feelings regarding potential products, mock-ups, prototypes. This
market research methods provides concrete evidence to guide you toward a
triumphant market entrance. These market research strategies primarily come in two
forms:

(i) Qualitative: Our qualitative concept evaluation strategies include personal

interviews as we strive to understand how users react to your products or
services. This method gains a direct understanding of aspects that appeal to and
displease your audience.

(ii) Quantitative: We Collect valuable insights and data from a large selection of
participants, providing you with numerical values to paint a clear picture of
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
how your creations satisfy their wants and needs. An example of this involves
using surveys to ask individuals to rate their experience on a scale of one to ten.

This requires,

1. A ranked set of criterions on which each concept is rated,

2. a reference design that is used as a control and against which comparisons are
made, and

3. selection of method to rank concepts with respect to the criteria that is both
effective and efficient.

The ranking of concepts leads to determining which concept is most likely to

succeed and should move ahead in the new product development process. Concept
fitness is defined as a parameter overall rating that beats all the other available
concepts, with respect to the requirements.

Importance of Concept Evaluation

 Concept evaluation helps us choose the best among many concepts.

 It provides us with different methods to measure the concept fitness based on

which its lanes down one particular concept according to our required criterion.

 The most fit concept is hence chosen.

 Since fitness doesn’t have an objective scale for measurement therefore

concepts are compared or ranked or both to assess the most fit concept in all
terms.

 The concept rated best in comparison or ranked first I called the most fit
concept.

 Concept evaluation is very important due to concept fitness.

 It is a general assumption that all criterion is important and have equal

weightage everywhere, but in some cases it’s different.
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN

(i) Basic Decision Matix: A decision matrix is a series of values in columns and
rows that allow you to compare possible solutions visually by weighing
variables based on importance.
(ii) Feasibility judgement: A feasibility study is designed to help decision-
makers determine whether or not a proposed project or investment is likely to
be successful.
(iii) GO/NOGO screening: A go/no-go test is a two-step verification process that
uses two boundary conditions, or a binary classification.
(iv) Advanced Decision Matrix: The Pugh Matrix is an advanced decision-
making method that compares each alternative against a baseline called the
datum.
(v) Weighted Decision Matrix: The weighted decision matrix is a great business
tool that allows you to make unemotional and calculated decisions.
(vi) Analytical Hierarchy Process: The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is one
of the most popular and widely employed multicriteria methods.
Measurement Scale for Concept Evaluation

 The ranking of concepts with respect to a reference design we have to be able

to assign values with some confidence, predicting that one concept is better
than another.
 Therefore, a kind of quantitative scale captures the range of values with which
we assess the concepts.
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
 The range of the scale for concept evaluation is small in the range of single
digit numbers mostly for easier analysis.
 Since the concepts are vaguely defined at this point so the level of precision
available in a large-range scale will lead to unnecessary assessments.
 On the other hand, a concept evaluation scale with too few values doesn’t work
too, otherwise it becomes difficult to distinguish sufficiently well between the
alternative concepts.
Value Meaning
-2 Much less fit than the reference
-1 Slightly less fit than the reference
0 Roughly of equal fitness as the reference
+1 Slightly more fit than the reference
+2 Much more fit than the reference

 A five-point scale has been rated good for providing sufficiently fine
measurements without being overly precise. The scale is linear and ranges from
-2 to +2 mostly.

CONCEPT SELECTION
Concept selection is an activity in the product design process, where alternative
concepts are compared and a decision is made to select the alternative(s) which
proceed into the later phases of design. Several authors have raised concept selection
as one of the most critical issues in design. There are at least three remarkable
challenges in concept selection. First, the nature of available information is usually
based on subjective perceptions and speculations, and accurate calculations are
seldom available. Second, the stake-holders, users, designers and producers, can have
conflicting requirements concerning e.g., product design and manufacturing, or
product performance and sales price. And third, the freezing of product concept can
have far-reaching effects on product costs and customer satisfaction, which can only
be fixed with additional costs and time.
All teams use some method for choosing a concept
 External decisions: Concepts are turned over to the customer, client, or some
other external entity for selection.
 Product Champion: An influential member of the product development team
chooses a concept based on personal preferences.
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
 Intuition: The concept is chosen by its ‘feel’. Explicit trade-off criteria are not
used. Concept just ‘seems better’.
 Multi voting: Each member of the team votes for several concepts. The
concept with the most votes wins.
Benefit of concept selection
• Customer‐focused product
• A competitive design
• Better product‐process coordination
• Reduced time to product introduction
• Effective group decision making
• Documentation of the decision process
In the concept select on, a two‐stage concept selection methodology, the first stage is
called concept screening and the second stage is called concept scoring.
Stages, concept screening and concept scoring, follow a six‐step process
which are the team through the concept selection activity.
The steps are:
• Prepare the selection matrix
• Rate the concept
• Rank the concept
• Combine and improve the concept
• Select one or more concept
• Reflect on the result and the process.
Concept Screening: Concept screening is based on a method developed by the late
Struart Pugh in the 1980 and is often called Pugh concept selection (Pugh, 1990). The
purposes of this stage are to narrow the number of concepts quickly and to improve
the concepts.
Step 1: Prepare the selection matrix
 Enter concept variants
 The same level of detail
 Graphical and/or textual representation
 Choose selection criteria
 Consider use of primary customer needs
 Consider use of enterprise needs (price, manufacturability, etc.)
 Choose criteria that differentiate your concepts
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
 List criteria of similar importance
 Do not list unimportant criteria
 Choose reference concept
 Could be industry standard, best-in-class benchmark, top seller, an early concept,
a new concept or one of the considered concepts
 Pick a reference that will allow you to differentiate your concepts
Step 2: Rate the concept
 Rate the concepts - assign relative scores
 “Better than” (+)
 “Same as” (0)
 “Worse than” (-)
 Use objective metrics if possible
Step 3: Rank the concept
 The sum of all the “better than” “same as” and “worse than”
Step4: Combine and improve the concept
 Is there a concept that is generally good but degraded by one bad feature? Can a
minor modification improve the overall concept while remaining distinct from the
other concepts?
 Are there two concepts which can be combined to preserve the “better than” qualities
while eliminating the “worse than” qualities?
Step 5: Select one or more concept
 The number of concepts selected for further review will be limited by team resources
(personnel, money, and time)
 The team must clarify which issues need to be investigated further before a final
selection can be made.
o Another round of concept screening?
o Will concept scoring be applied next?
Concept Scoring Concept scoring is used when increased resolution will better
differentiate among competing concept. In this stage, the team weights the relative
importance of the selection criteria and focuses on more refined comparisons with
respect to each criterion. The concept scores are determined by the weighted sum
ratings. In this part there are three concepts that will be scoring to choose the
compressor concept, which is suitable to use for vehicle refuelling appliance system.
Step 1: Prepare the selection matrix
 Choose selection criteria
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
 Consider more detailed selection criteria
 Include importance weights for the criteria
 1 to 5
 allocating 100% among all
 Enter concepts
 Choose reference concept
 Different reference concepts may be used for each criterion to avoid scale
compression
 Average performance concept, benchmarked concept, target values for product
specifications
Step 2: Rate the concept
 Choose scale ( 1 to 5, or 1 to 9)
 Reference point is in the middle
 Assign relative scores to the concepts
 For each criterion consider the performance of each concept relative to the
reference point
Step 3: Rank the concept
 Calculate weighted scores by multiplying the raw scores by the criteria weights
Step4: Combine and improve the concept
 Look for changes and combinations that improve the concept
Step 5: Select one or more concept
 Check sensitivity of selection to the importance weightings and ratings.
 Consider uncertainty about ratings
 The goal of concept selection is NOT TO SELECT the best concept.
 The goal of concept selection is TO DEVELOP the best concept.
 So remember to combine and refine the concepts to develop better ones.

EMBODIMENT DESIGN

What is Embodiment design

Embodiment design is one of the main stages of the product design process in
which, the main engineering product design concept is developed as per the product
design specification (PDS) and economic criteria to a stage where subsequent detailed
design can lead directly into production.
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN

The embodiment product design phase of an engineering product design follows the
concept design phase where various concepts are generated and evaluated to produce a
single final concept.
In some sections of literature, this phase is also referred to as preliminary
design or system-level design. The term Embodiment design is coined by Pahl and
Beitz (2006) and adopted mostly by modern European engineering product design
managers. Concept design followed by Embodiment design and detailed design is
more suitable for an engineering product design hence this article uses these terms
although there are various product design process models.

The output from the Concept design might vary from simple block diagrams
(figure 2) to very early prototypes concepts. It depends on what type of product
development the company is pursuing.

Embodiment design phases

Embodiment design is a complex process as many design activities must be

simultaneously performed, some of the design activities need to be repeated several
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN

times with changing data and any changes in one section will influence another
section of the design.
Every engineering product design is different and adds this to the above
challenges, precisely the reason why it’s very difficult to have strict set-out plans for
the embodiment design phase.
So, at the embodiment stage of new product development, an abstract design
concept will get moulded into a system or product that works and can be
manufactured within the allocated unit cost.

 Product architecture
 Design configuration
 Parametric design
Product architecture
Product architecture also referred to as System-level design is, outlining
and allocating physical components or entities to the function of a product.
Physical elements are defined and arranged to satisfy the overall product
requirement specification and are usually called modules.
 MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
System-level design is defined by how each subcomponent or modules interact
with each other at a product level and the function of each subcomponent. Product
architecture is vital to any product development as it would impact the product
evaluation and the cost of the product.
Product architecture can fall into two categories or
styles. Modular and Integral.
 Modular

In modular design, overall product purpose or system-level function is

subdivided into smaller single functions or individual operations and allocated to
single parts or sub-assemblies called modules.

 Integral

Integral product architecture is where the functions of the engineering product

are carried out by a combination of parts that are not organized in a structured manner.
Hence, the functional implementation is achieved by one or very few modules where
components perform multiple functions.
Design configuration
In design configuration, shape and general dimensions or sizes are established
to the components that are defined in product architecture. It is largely dependent on
the three-dimensional constraints that define the envelope in which the product
operates and the product architecture. This would be a preliminary selection of
material, manufacturing process, modelling, sizing of parts etc.
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN

Design configuration, sometimes referred to as form, develops from its function and
strongly depends on available material and its manufacturing techniques.
The design configuration phase should involve the following steps;

 TRS or Product design specification (PDS) review

 Identify and define the space constraints

 Identify and define the interfaces and connections between the components

 Maintain functional independence of an assembly or the components to ensure

that changes should affect only a single function

 Identify and eliminate or reduce parts by either removing them or combing a

few parts together

Parametric design

The main objective of the Parametric design is to allocate values to design

variables to produce the best possible product design or functional component by
considering both the technical and economical requirements. This aspect of the design
is much more analytical than conceptual or design configuration.
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN

Design variable is an attribute of a part whose value is under the control of the
designer – these are typically dimension, tolerance, material, surface finish, heat
treatment etc.
The main objective of parametric design is to set values for the design variables
that will produce the best possible design considering both the performance and cost.
Parametric design is also about setting the dimensions and tolerances to maximize
quality and performance and minimize the cost.

QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT

The average consumer today has a multitude of options available to select from
for similar products and services. Most consumers make their selection based upon a
general perception of quality or value. Consumers typically want “the most bang for
their buck”. In order to remain competitive, organizations must determine what is
driving the consumer’s perception of value or quality in a product or service. They
must define which characteristics of the products such as reliability, styling or
performance form the customer’s perception of quality and value. Many successful
organizations gather and integrate the Voice of the Customer (VOC) into the design
and manufacture of their products. They actively design quality and customer
perceived value into their products and services. These companies are utilizing a
structured process to define their customer’s wants and needs and transforming them
into specific product designs and process plans to produce products that satisfy the
customer’s needs. The process or tool they are using is called Quality Function
Deployment (QFD).

What is Quality Function Deployment (QFD)

Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a process and set of tools used to
effectively define customer requirements and convert them into detailed engineering
specifications and plans to produce the products that fulfill those requirements. QFD
is used to translate customer requirements (or VOC) into measurable design targets
and drive them from the assembly level down through the sub-assembly, component
and production process levels. QFD methodology provides a defined set of matrices
utilized to facilitate this progression.
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
QFD was first developed in Japan by Yoji Akao in the late 1960s while
working for Mitsubishi’s shipyard. It was later adopted by other companies including
Toyota and its supply chain.
Effective communication is one of the most important and impactful aspects of
any organization’s success. QFD methodology effectively communicates customer
needs to multiple business operations throughout the organization including design,
quality, manufacturing, production, marketing and sales.

There are several additional benefits to using Quality Function Deployment:

 Customer Focused:
 QFD methodology places the emphasis on the wants and needs of the
customer, not on what the company may believe the customer wants.
 The Voice of the Customer is translated into technical design
specifications.
 During the QFD process, design specifications are driven down from
machine level to system, sub-system and component level requirements.
 Finally, the design specifications are controlled throughout the
production and assembly processes to assure the customer needs are met.
 VOC Competitor Analysis:
 The QFD “House of Quality” tool allows for direct comparison of how your
design or product stacks up to the competition in meeting the VOC.
 This quick analysis can be beneficial in making design decisions that could
place you ahead of the pack.
 Shorter Development Time and Lower Cost:
 QFD reduces the likelihood of late design changes by focusing on product
features and improvements based on customer requirements.
 Effective QFD methodology prevents valuable project time and resources from
being wasted on development of non-value added features or functions.
 Structure and Documentation:
 QFD provides a structured method and tools for recording decisions made and
lessons learned during the product development process.
 This knowledge base can serve as a historical record that can be utilized to aid
future projects.
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
 Companies must bring new and improved products to market that meet the
customer’s actual wants and needs while reducing development time.
How to Implement Quality Function Deployment (QFD)
The Quality Function Deployment methodology is a 4-phase process that
encompasses activities throughout the product development cycle. A series of
matrices are utilized at each phase to translate the Voice of the Customer to design
requirements for each system, sub-system and component.

The four phases of QFD are:

i. Product Definition: The Product Definition Phase begins with collection of

VOC and translating the customer wants and needs into product specifications.
It may also involve a competitive analysis to evaluate how effectively the
competitor’s product fulfills the customer wants and needs. The initial design
concept is based on the particular product performance requirements and
specifications.
ii. Product Development: During the Product Development Phase, the critical
parts and assemblies are identified. The critical product characteristics are
cascaded down and translated to critical or key part and assembly
characteristics or specifications. The functional requirements or specifications
are then defined for each functional level.
iii. Process Development: During the Process Development Phase, the
manufacturing and assembly processes are designed based on product and
component specifications. The process flow is developed and the critical
process characteristics are identified.
iv. Process Quality Control: Prior to production launch, the QFD process
identifies critical part and process characteristics. Process parameters are
determined and appropriate process controls are developed and implemented.
In addition, any inspection and test specifications are developed. Full
production begins upon completion of process capability studies during the
pilot build.
Effective use of QFD requires team participation and discipline inherent in the
practice of QFD, which has proven to be an excellent team-building experience.
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN

PRODUCT DESIGN SPECIFICATION

What is a Product design specification (PDS)?

A product design specification (PDS) is a document that contains all the

requirements, constraints and specifications that a new product must adhere to. It
should be a clear list with detailed information outlining every aspect of the design
brief and fulfil SMART criteria (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and
testable).
The document will be referred to throughout the design process to ensure
that any changes comply with the original specification and remain in scope for that
specific project.
Why is a product design specification important?

Writing a strong product design specification increases the chances of producing an

effective product by providing clarity to all stakeholders at every stage.
The PDS is a single document that details what the product needs to do,
look like and deliver for the end user. Having this document will guarantee that design
teams have clear expectations for the finished product and ensure that all parties
are working with the same understanding of exactly what the product will be – saving
time and money.
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
PDS Checklist
While many of these aspects will be universally included in product design
specifications, each different project will demand its own, specific considerations.
Preparing this information before writing will help you to create an effective and
understandable product design specification document.
Each product design specification should cover the following points:
 An overview explaining the products’ place in the market and intentions behind
its creation
 Performance considerations
 Target audience
 Financial and time restrictions
 Questions/considerations
Functional requirements
 Product life span: Product lifetime or product lifespan is the time interval
from when a product is sold to when it is discarded. Product lifetime is slightly
different from service life because the latter considers only the effective time
the product is used.

 Quantity: A quantity button is a form used to enter or select a number. This is

best used when the user needs to choose the quantity of a selected item

 Maintenance: A maintenance-centric design takes into consideration the

operation and future maintenance of products. This ensures that we can
meet maintainability objectives in a quick, easy and affordable manner.

 Packaging: Product packaging design refers to the creation of the exterior of

a product. That includes choices in material and form as well as graphics,
colors and fonts that are used on wrapping, a box, a can, a bottle or any kind of
container.

 Shipping: In product management, ship means releasing a basic, usable version

of a product to gather feedback from users, rather than focusing on bringing a
'complete' package to market.

 Size and weight restrictions: In order to design or improve a warehouse

solution, it is important to know the physical size and weight of your items.

 Manufacturing process: Design is the first step in manufacturing, and it is

MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
where most of the important decisions are made that affect the final cost of
a product.

 Aesthetics: Aesthetics is a core design principle that defines a design's pleasing

qualities. In visual terms, aesthetics includes factors such as balance, color,
movement, pattern, scale, shape and visual weight. Designers use aesthetics to
complement their designs' usability, and so enhance functionality with
attractive layouts.

 Ergonomics: Ergonomics in product design means making sure the product

fits the people who will be using it most effectively. The ergonomics of a
product is crucial because if the product doesn't fit your customer, so it doesn't
meet their needs, the product fails in its purpose.

 Reliability: Reliability is the probability that a product will continue to work

normally over a specified interval of time, under specified conditions. For
example, the mouse on your computer might have a reliability of 0.990 (or
99%) over the next 1000 hours.

 Safety and standards: Safety standards are voluntary guidelines that specify
the best practices and requirements for product design, testing, certification,
and documentation. Safety regulations are mandatory rules that enforce the
legal obligations and responsibilities of manufacturers, distributors, and users
of products.

 Testing: Testing is the best way to see how your ideas, prototypes, and
products perform in real environments with real users.

 Disposal/recycling: Design for Recycling (also known as DfR) is a concept

that focuses on integrating recycling and waste management into product
design. It involves using materials, components, and processes that minimize
environmental impact throughout the product life-cycle, from manufacture to
end-of-life.

PHYSICAL PROTOTYPE
Product prototype
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
A product prototype is the first version or test version of a product. You’ve
probably seen a prototype before. The material or way the prototype gets created
depends on what you want to test.

For example, if you want to test its dimensions, only the physical space will
need to be tested to ensure all the parts aren’t too big or too small. This type of
prototype will probably be hollow and not functional.
Usually, most types of prototypes break down into two categories. So,
Prototypes are either used to test functionality or test aesthetics.
Aesthetic Prototypes
Aesthetic prototypes are what they sound like. It is testing the product’s
looks. Dimensions, ergonomics, and visual design. These prototypes can be helpful
for presentations or photos since they’re built to look “pretty.”
Functionality Prototypes
Functionality-oriented prototypes test mechanisms, durability, reliability,
and material strengths. These usually look a bit rougher and “prototype-y” because
they are merely used for functionality tests, so appearance isn’t a priority.
Popular Physical Prototyping Methods

There are many methods and processes of creating prototypes. Here are the
most popular.

3D Printing

Technology has come a long way in the last two decades. One of the
marvelous inventions introduced to the world is 3D Printers. These machines can
print any part or full model with many different materials. Some commonly used
materials are PLA plastics, silicones, nylons, and many more.
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
Below are some examples of various items that are 100% 3d printed.
Depending on the size, a prototype can be printed in one go or printed into multiple
parts and then assembled.
DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS

Dimensional analysis is the analysis of the relationships between

different physical quantities by identifying their base quantities (such
as length, mass, time, and electric current) and units of measure (such as miles vs.
kilometres, or pounds vs. kilograms) and tracking these dimensions as calculations or
comparisons are performed. The conversion of units from one dimensional unit to
another is often easier within the metric or the SI than in others, due to the regular 10-
base in all units.
Commensurable physical quantities are of the same kind and have the same
dimension, and can be directly compared to each other, even if they are expressed in
differing units of measure, e.g. yards and metres, pounds (mass) and kilograms,
seconds and years.
Incommensurable physical quantities are of different kinds and have different
dimensions, and can not be directly compared to each other, no matter what units they
are expressed in, e.g. metres and kilograms, seconds and kilograms, metres and
seconds. For example, asking whether a kilogram is larger than an hour is
meaningless.

Any physically meaningful equation, or inequality, must have the same

dimensions on its left and right sides, a property known as dimensional homogeneity.
Checking for dimensional homogeneity is a common application of dimensional
analysis, serving as a plausibility check on derived equations and computations. It also
serves as a guide and constraint in deriving equations that may describe a physical
system in the absence of a more rigorous derivation.

The concept of physical dimension, and of dimensional analysis, was introduced

by Joseph Fourier in 1822.[1]

DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS
Design of experiments (DOE) is a systematic, efficient method that enables
scientists and engineers to study the relationship between multiple input variables (aka
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
factors) and key output variables (aka responses). It is a structured approach for
collecting data and making discoveries.
 To determine whether a factor, or a collection of factors, has an effect on the
response.
 To determine whether factors interact in their effect on the response.
 To model the behavior of the response as a function of the factors.
 To optimize the response.
Ronald Fisher first introduced four enduring principles of DOE in 1926: the
factorial principle, randomization, replication and blocking. Generating and analyzing
these designs relied primarily on hand calculation in the past; until recently
practitioners started using computer-generated designs for a more effective and
efficient DOE.
DOE is useful:
 In driving knowledge of cause and effect between factors.
 To experiment with all factors at the same time.
 To run trials that span the potential experimental region for our factors.

 In enabling us to understand the combined effect of the factors.

To illustrate the importance of DOE, let’s look at what will happen if DOE does NOT
exist.
Experiments are likely to be carried out via trial and error or one-factor-at-a-time
(OFAT) method.
Trial-and-error method

Test different settings of two factors and see what the resulting yield is.
Say we want to determine the optimal temperature and time settings that will
maximize yield through experiments.
How the experiment looks like using trial-and-error method:
1. Conduct a trial at starting values for the two variables and record the yield:

2. Adjust one or both values based on our results:

MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
3. Repeat Step 2 until we think we've found the best set of values:

One factor at a time (OFAT) method

Change the value of the one factor, then measure the response, repeat the
process with another factor.
In the same experiment of searching optimal temperature and time to maximize yield,
this is how the experiment looks using an OFAT method:
1. Start with temperature: Find the temperature resulting in the highest yield, between
50 and 120 degrees.
1a. Run a total of eight trials. Each trial increases temperature by 10 degrees (i.e.,
50, 60, 70 ... all the way to 120 degrees).
1b. With time fixed at 20 hours as a controlled variable.
1c. Measure yield for each batch.

2. Run the second experiment by varying time, to find the optimal value of time
(between 4 and 24 hours).
2a. Run a total of six trials. Each trial increases temperature by 4 hours (i.e., 4, 8,
12… up to 24 hours).
2b. With temperature fixed at 90 degrees as a controlled variable.
2c. Measure yield for each batch.
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN

3. After a total of 14 trials, we’ve identified the max yield (86.7%) happens when:
 Temperature is at 90 degrees; Time is at 12 hours.

As you can already tell, OFAT is a more structured approach compared to trial and
error.
But there’s one major problem with OFAT: What if the optimal temperature and
time settings look more like this?
MBA OPEN ELECTIVE: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN

We would have missed out acquiring the optimal temperature and time settings based
on our previous OFAT experiments.