8/9/2021 Outline-07 - PRODUCT DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

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PRODUCT DESIGN AND

DEVELOPMENT

Teaching Chapter 7: Concept Generation

Timing

This session should be taught during the first portion of the course. It should fall after the topic of customer needs but before concept
selection. Concept generation can be covered either before or after product specifications. Of course it is most useful for the students if
each of these topics is presented in class before their project work reaches these stages.

Objectives and Strategy

This session discusses the concept generation activity of concept development. The main messages of this session include the benefits of
a structured process and the value of multiple perspectives in the process. Students should realize that although concept generation is a

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creative activity, it also requires structured exploration and investigation through many sources.

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We have found that these objectives can be achieved through the combination of the text reading, a discussion of the principles and
method involved, and an in-class exercise. One can open this class session by stating that "today we are going to develop a patentable
new technology". (This refers to the exercise. We have always done an in-class exercise, and in every case at least one of the concepts
generated could be patented.) By following the method presented in the text, we can highlight some of the important principles of
concept generation and work through an exercise in class.

Session Outline

The session can follow this flow:

Introduction to Concept Generation
Review of the Concept Generation Method
Principles and Caveats
Concept Generation Exercise and Discussion

Introduction to Concept Generation

It is helpful to begin the class by placing the concept generation activity within the context of the entire concept development process.
Exhibit 7-2 can be used as a slide to illustrate the relationship between concept generation and the other front-end activities. It should be
emphasized that concept generation is an essential component of the development process. Concept generation is also relatively
inexpensive, yet has a huge impact on product quality.

Review of the Concept Generation Method

The five-step concept generation method can be reviewed by discussing each of the activities shown in Exhibit 7-3. A list of the points
described below can be developed on the board as the method is reviewed.

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​Principles and Caveats

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While the
following points are presented

in the chapter, it is useful
generation.
to discuss these principles of concept

Functional Decomposition

Complex problems must be broken down into simpler constituent subproblems. This strategy is also useful for simple problems.
The function diagram is useful for documenting this step. Note that function diagrams are not unique; several decompositions may
be found for a given problem.
Explore Solutions for the Subproblems

It is generally helpful to consider solutions to the subproblems in addition to (or instead of) the entire problem at once. This
strategy allows solutions from various sources and related problem domains to be incorporated.
Explore Externally

It is essential to search for solutions from sources outside the team, such as lead users, experts, patents, literature, and
competitive products.
Internal Concept Generation

Most students will be familiar with the process of brainstorming. Their experience can be leveraged by reviewing the tips for idea
generation given in the chapter: analogies, wish and wonder, related stimuli, unrelated stimuli, goals, and the gallery method.
Balance Individual and Group Search

It has been shown that individuals generate ideas more quickly than groups do, so we recommend that teams devote some time
to generating solutions individually. However the group interaction is critical for refinement, combination, and critique of the
solution fragments. Group sessions should therefore be a major part of the concept generation activity for improvement of the
concepts and for building team consensus that the solution space has been adequately explored.
Quantity Breeds Quality

The team’s best ideas are not likely to be found within the first few solutions considered. Rather, the best ideas are probably
distributed uniformly over time. The selected concept is just as likely to be found among the second 20 solution concepts as
within the first 20.
Overlapping and Iteration

While the concept development process shown in Exhibit 7-2 appears purely sequential, in fact there are usually parts of the

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concept generation process beginning during customer needs analysis. (For example, external search may involve collecting ideas
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from lead users and other customers
interviews.)
during the customer Conversely, the customer
needs list may perhaps require
modification on the basis of new capabilities considered during concept generation. Also, the concept selection process may
involve substantial refinement of the concepts, thus repeating some portion of the concept generation activity.
Systematic Exploration

This step is particularly valuable when the problem has been successfully decomposed into subproblems. However for some
simple or highly integrated products, the team may find it more useful to consider entire concepts from the start, rather than
combining solution fragments. Systematic exploration can be illustrated using Exhibits 7-7 to 7-13 or using the exercise described
below.
Reflection

Encourage teams to reflect upon the process used and to improve upon it. Continuous improvement is an essential part of the
product development process.

Props

Products displaying creative solutions to problems are useful to display in class, such as:
Brookstone Cork Popper that uses air pressure to remove wine bottle corks.
Post-It Notes

The in-class exercise requires several examples of vegetable peelers. This exercise works well, but several others are possible. We have
done essentially the same exercise with parmesan cheese graters, ice-cream scoops, and water filters for backpacking.

In-Class Exercise

This exercise generally takes 30-40 minutes, however it is extremely helpful for illustration of the method. We have successfully run this
exercise using several topics, including vegetable peelers, ice cream scoops, and garlic presses. It is useful to choose a topic that the

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students understand well enough to contribute in class without prior research. The vegetable peeler concept generation exercise is
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Several Vegetable Peelers Used for the Concept Generation Exercise

Step 1. Clarify the Problem

Write the problem statement on the board: "Design a better vegetable peeler." Motivate the problem with a story about a kitchen store
employee who says that "none of the peelers works for everyone in every situation". Show a variety of available peelers.

Translate a few customer statements as a warm up and to further motivate the problem. The following statements can be made up as a
slide for this purpose. (We describe this as the "voice of the neighborhood" to imply that this represents a much abbreviated customer
needs analysis.)
"Carrots and potatoes are very different."
"I cut myself with this one."
"I just leave the skin on."

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"I'm left-handed. I use a knife."

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"This one is fast, but it takes a lot off."

"How do you peel a squash?"
"Here's a rusty one."
"This looked OK in the store."

Then present or develop a list of the key customer needs, such as the following:
The peeler peels a variety of produce.
The peeler works both right and left handed.
The peeler creates minimal waste.
The peeler saves time.
The peeler is durable.
The peeler is easy to clean.
The peeler is safe to use and store.
The peeler is comfortable to use.
The peeler stays sharp or is sharpenable.

​Ask each student to write down a function diagram for the function "Peel produce for household food preparation." Then after a few
minutes, develop a reasonable function diagram on the board, such as the one shown below. At this point it becomes clear why the
assumptions must be documented as well. A list of assumptions can be developed simultaneously. We recommend encouraging the class
to limit the problem scope to hand-powered devices.

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Choose a subset of the subfunctions upon which to focus concept generation. The class will usually agree that the important subfunctions
are these three:
manipulate vegetable
apply (hand) power
separate skin

Step 2. External Search

It is useful to simply discuss how external search might be conducted for such a product. Students should list the appropriate types of lead
users (e.g., good cooks, professional chefs, vegetarians), related technologies (e.g., how peaches are peeled for canning), experts (e.g., in
food technology), literature (e.g., catalogs, food journals), etc.

Step 3. Internal Search

Split the class into sections for each of the important subfunctions developed earlier. Ask the students to individually generate 10
concepts for their assigned subfunction. After about five minutes, have each student quickly present one concept. List or sketch these on
the board by subfunction group. This is a good time to emphasize that concepts are often expressed best using a short (2-3 words) title
and a simple sketch.

Step 4. Systematic Exploration

Combine some of the interesting subfunctions into product concepts. Sketch a few of the concepts on the board. Sometimes we show a

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commercially available apple peeling machine which exemplifies one of the more promising combinations.

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​Step 5. Process Reflection

Allow the class to critique the method and the solution concepts developed. They will be impressed with what they were able to achieve
as a group in 30 minutes. In actual projects, this process may take several weeks.

Copyright 2019 Karl Ulrich, Steven Eppinger, and Maria Yang

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