Capstone Step 3 
3/2020 
─ 
Collin McGarty, Addison Deal, Tyler Nettelman 
CAT tech.  
245 San Marin Drive  
Novato, CA 94945 
 

Overview 
At the beginning of the step three process, we needed to decide what the 5 most
important criteria would be for our speaker amplifier to meet. We decided that durability, sound
output, price, aesthetic, and weight were the most important criteria that we needed to meet.

Criteria 1
Durability is very important for our product. The amp needs to be able to withstand
normal day to day wear and tear. Ideally, we’d also like our product to be able to
withstand a large drop.

Criteria 2
Sound output is probably the most important aspect of our amp. We need to be able to
increase the decibel levels of the iPhone speaker without diminishing any of the sound
quality. We can measure the decibel output by using a decibel meter.

 
 

1 
   

  

Criteria 3 
The price of our product is the third factor that we came up with in our brainstorming
session. We need to set a price point that is not super expensive, but still high enough so
that we can continue to make the product with good materials and keep up the standards
of the product.

Criteria 4 
Next is the aesthetics of our product. Ideally, we would like to create a product with the
“Apple” aesthetic to go with our iPhone. This would include a sleek, smooth design that
meshes well with the phone. But, while we do want to make our phone look good, the
actual performance of our product is most important.

Criteria 5
Lastly, we would like to focus a lot on the weight of our product. Nobody will want to
carry around the attachment if it is too heavy and not practical. Therefore, it is one of our
main focuses. This will likely be achieved through the materials and shape of the product
that we design. 

Criteria Weighting Chart 

This chart demonstrates how important each criteria is. We gave each criteria a value 
between 0 and 1 based on how important each one is. All of these values summed 
together must equal 1. 
Evaluation Criteria Weight

Criteria 1 - Durability 0.10

Criteria 2 - Sound Output 0.30

Criteria 3 - Price 0.20

Criteria 4 - Aesthetics 0.15

2 
   

  

Criteria 5 - Weight 0.25

Total: 1

Decision Matrix 
Now that we have determined what aspects are most important to us, we can give the 
concept a value for each criteria. We will rate how well it performs each criteria on a scale 
from 0-10, where 0 is totally useless and 10 is perfect. We then multiply these values by the 
weight of the criteria and then add all the values together for each concept to find which 
one is best. Below is our filled out matrix. 
 

Criteria Evaluation Weight Concept 1 Concept 2 Concept 3

Criteria

Val / Wt. x Val / Wt. x Val / Wt. x

Val Val Val

Criteria 1 Durability 0.10 4 / .4 9 / .9 6 / .6

Criteria 2 Sound 0.30 8 / 2.4 9 / 2.7 7 / 2.1

Output

Criteria 3 Price 0.20 9 / 1.8 3 / .6 4 / .8

Criteria 4 Aesthetics 0.15 7 / 1.05 4 / .6 9 / 1.35

Criteria 5 Weight 0.25 8/2 3 / .75 7 / 1.75

Total: 1 7.65 5.55 6.6

3 
   

  

Conclusion 
After determining our most important criteria and adding value to order which we 
would focus on the most, we were able to determine the preferred design concept. After 
comparing all 3 scores, design concept 1 came out to be our clear winner. Design 1 is a 
simple and sleek design that focuses on portability and cheap pricing over durability. We 
also feel that with an ergonomic design, the sound output will be great. Another thing we 
learned from this is that we should definitely steer away from a stand design because that 
is a massive factor in bringing down the score of design 2. Using all 3 scores, we may want 
to take some design concepts from numbers 2 and 3 to add upon the lower scores of 
concept 1 such as improved durability and aesthetics. 

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