2-1-Product Development

Process

Abdulaziz M. El-Tamimi
 Activities of product development

• Identifying an opportunity or demand for a new

product
• Creating the technical specifications for the new-
product idea
• Developing the production process to produce the new
product
• Fabricating the new product
• Distributing the new product
Sequential Approach to product development

Customers

Market Design Manufacturing

Production
Analysis Analysis Analysis

Series of Engineering
Changes
Integrated Approach to product development

Customers

Market Design Manufacturing

Production
Analysis Analysis Analysis

Analyzing, process planning.

Ergonomics, reliability,
DBASE
manufacturability, assembly,
testing, Costing,
 Generic Product Development

• A set of ongoing activities that an organization must

perform to conceive, manufacture, and sell a product
• Are the result of a multidisciplinary effort that
includes marketing, research, engineering design,
quality assurance, manufacturing, and a whole chain
of suppliers
• Comprises all strategic planning, capital investments,
and management decisions
 Generic Product Development Process

Concept System-Level Detail Testing and Production

Planning
Development Design Design Refinement Ram-Up

Customer

0. Planning (“Phase zero”): cooperate strategy including assessment of

technology developments and market objectives. The output is the project mission
statement, which specifies the target market for the product, business goals, key
assumptions, and constraints.
1. Concept Development [Front-Ends}: The needs of the target market [customer
needs and specification] are identified, alternative product concepts are generated
and evaluated, and one or more concepts are selected for further development and
testing.
2. System-level Design: define product architecture and its components. The output
usually includes a geometric layout of the product, a functional specification of each
of the product’s subsystems, and a preliminary process flow diagram for the final
assembly process.
 Generic Product Development Process

Concept System-Level Detail Testing and Production

Planning
Development Design Design Refinement Ram-Up

Customer

3. Detail Design: Complete specification of the geometry, materials, and tolerances of

all of the unique parts in the product and the identification of all of the standard
parts to be purchased from suppliers. A process plan is established and tooling is
designed for each part to be fabricated within the production system. The output is
the control document of the product, including the assembly of the product.
4. Testing and Refinement: Construction and evaluation of multiple preproduction
versions of the product. [Alpha prototypes & Beta prototypes ].
5. Production Ramp-up: The product is made using the intended production system
to train work force and to work out any remaining problems in the process.
 The tasks and responsibilities for each phase

Marketing Function
Concept System-Level Testing and Production
Planning Detail Design
Development Design Refinement Ramp-Up

Marketing
 Articulate  Collect  Develop plan  Develop  Develop  Place early
market customer for product marketing plan. promotion and production
opportunity. needs. options and launch with key
extended materials. customers.
 Define market  Identify lead
product family.
segments. users.  Facilitate field
testing.
 Identify
competitive
products.
 The tasks and responsibilities for each phase

Design Function
Concept System-Level Testing and Production
Planning Detail Design
Development Design Refinement Ramp-Up

Design
 Consider  Investigate  Generate  Define part  Reliability testing.  Evaluate
product feasibility of alternative geometry. early
 Life testing.
platform and product product production
 Choose
architecture. concepts. architectures.  Performance output.
materials.
testing.
 Assess new  Develop  Define major
 Assign
technologies. industrial sub-systems  Obtain
tolerances.
design and interfaces. regulatory
concepts.  Complete approvals.
 Refine
industrial design
 Build and test industrial  Implement
control
experimental design. design changes.
documentations.
prototypes.
 The tasks and responsibilities for each phase

Manufacturing Function
Concept System-Level Testing and Production
Planning Detail Design
Development Design Refinement Ramp-Up

Manufacturing
 Identify  Estimate  Identify  Define piece-  Facilitate supplier  Begin
production manufacturing suppliers for part ramp-up. operation of
constraints. cost. key production entire
 Refine fabrication
components. processes. production
 Set supply  Assess and assembly
system.
chain strategy. production  Perform  Design processes.
feasibility. make-buy tooling.
 Train work force.
analysis.
 Define quality
 Refine quality
 Define final assurance
assurance
assembly processes.
processes.
scheme.
 Begin
procurement
of long-lead
tooling.
 The tasks and responsibilities for each phase

Other Function
Concept System-Level Testing and Production
Planning Detail Design
Development Design Refinement Ramp-Up

Other Functions
 Research:  Finance:  Finance:  Sales: Develop
Demonstrate Facilitate facilitate sales plan.
available economic make-buy
technologies. analysis. analysis.

 Finance:  Legal:  Service:Identif

Provide Investigate y service
planning goals. patent issues. issues.

 General
Management:
Allocate project
resources.
Concept Development: The Front-End Process

• Identifying customer needs • Setting final specifications

• Establishing target
specifications
• Concept generation
• Concept selection
• Concept testing
• Project planning
• Economic analysis
• Benchmarking of
competitive products
• Modeling and prototyping
 How can product development be specified?

1) Technology vs Market Driven:

a) Technology driven products are those that arise out of a new technology
or scientific discovery which are of a small fraction of new products.
Examples
 Air travel (due to the invention of airplanes)
 Light bulb (due to development of electricity and vacuum sealed bulbs)
 cell phone (due to development of communication )
b) Market driven products are the majority of product designs (where, the
designer identifies customer needs for a product, and systematically
develops a product satisfying such needs), this involves modification of
an existing product. Examples
 PC Laptop computer;
 Electronic diary PDA
 How can product development be specified?

2) Revolutionary vs. Evolutionary:

a) Revolutionary products are generated by new technology. they may be
technological breakthroughs, market driven, or, often both. Examples
 Semiconductor transistors (first developed by William Shockley et al in AT&T
Bell Labs, USA).
 4-stroke internal combustion engine (by Nikolaus Otto in 1876, and still used in
almost all modern automobiles)

b) Evolutionary products are developed from an existing design to

improve some aspect(s). Product improvement is done by using ideas
based on: (Human factors; Using New Materials; Using New Manufacturing
Techniques; New Design; Mass customization; Using New Clever Packaging;
etc.). Most modern products have been developed this way. Examples
 Microsoft™ Internet Explorer (copied and improved from Netscape)
 Pilot™ ball-point pens (for an interesting historical note of Ball-point pens; see
book by Mike Baxter, Product Design, Chapman and Hall )
Adapting the Generic Product Development Process

• Summary of variants of generic development process.

Generic Technology Platform Process
Customized
(Market Pull) Push Products Intensive

Description The firm begins with The firm begins The firm assumes Characteristics of New products
a market opportunity, with a new that the new the product are are slight
then finds technology, then product will be built highly constrained variations of
appropriate finds an around an by the production existing
technologies to appropriate established process. configurations.
meet customer market. technological sub-
needs. system.
Distinctions Planning phase Concept Both process and Similarity of
with respect involves matching development product must be projects allows
technology and assumes a developed together for a highly
to generic
market. Concept technology platform. from the very structured
process development beginning, or an development
assumes a given existing production process.
technology. process must be
specified from the
beginning.
Examples Most sporting goods, Gore-Tex rainwear, Consumer Snack foods, Switches,
furniture, tools. Tyvek envelopes. electronics, cereal, chemicals, motors,
computers, printers. semiconductors. batteries,
containers.
Adapting the Generic Product Development Process

• Summary of variants of generic development process.

High-Risk Quick-build
Complex Systems
Products products

Description Technical or market Rabid modeling and System must be

uncertainties create prototyping enables decomposed into several
high risks of failure many design-build- subsystems and many
test cycles components
Distinctions with Risk are identified Detail design and Subsystems and
respect to early and tracked testing phases are components are
throughout the repeated a number of developed by many
generic process
process-Analysis times until the teams working in parallel,
and testing activities product is completed followed by system
take place as early or time/budget run integration and validation
as possible outs
Examples Pharmaceuticals, Software, cellular Airplanes, jet engines,
space systems phones automobiles
Product Development Process Flows