BAM 158 Operations Management

Student Activity Sheet Module #8

Name: Class number:

Section: Schedule: Date:

Lesson Title: Familiarizing the Phases in Product Design & Materials:

Development and Design Considerations SAS
Lesson Objectives:
At the end of this module, I should be able to: References:
1. Describe the phases in product design and development Operations Management with Total
2. Discuss other design considerations Quality Management, 2019 edition
by Stevenson and Defeo (textbook)

Productivity Tip:

A. LESSON PREVIEW/REVIEW
1) Introduction
Today is another day! New module, new topics, and new you.

Continuing the lesson about product and service design, aside from legal, ethical, and
environmental considerations discussed from the previous module, designers must also take into
account other considerations and these topics will be discussed in this module momentarily. Just a
reminder that next meeting will be Quiz 2. Be prepared!

Let’s have just few minutes of your time trying to recall what you have learned from your previous
module. Complete the statement.

Product and service design is a focal point in the quest for sustainability. Key aspects include
c ,e , and t .

2) Activity 1: What I Know Chart, Part 1

First, let us test what you already know about the topic. Try answering the questions below by
writing your ideas under the column “What I Know”. Writing keywords or phrases that you think are
related to the questions will do. You may start.

What I Know Questions: What I Learned (Activity 4)

What is standardization?

What is reliability when it comes to

a product or service?

When can you say that a product

is reliable?

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 BAM 158 Operations Management
Student Activity Sheet Module #8

Name: Class number:

Section: Schedule: Date:

B. MAIN LESSON
1) Activity 2: Content Notes
LO1: Describe the phases in product design and developmentOther
Design Considerations
1. Strategies for Product or Service Life Stages – most, but not all, products and services go
through a series of stages over their useful life, sometimes referred to as their life cycle, as
shown in the figure.

A product/service has a certain lifespan and it goes

through a cycle. Different phases of this cycle call for
different strategies.

 Introduction – when a product o service is

introduced, potential buyers may suspect that
price will drop after the introductory period. So it is
important to have a reasonable forecast of initial
demand so an adequate supply of product or service capacity is in place.
 Growth – over time, design improvements and increasing demand yield higher reliability
and lower costs, leading the growth in demand, so it is important to obtain accurate
projections of the demand growth rate and how long that will persist and then to ensure
that increasing demand coincides with the capacity increase.
 Maturity – in this phase, demand levels off. Few, if any, design changes are needed.
 Decline – in this phase, decisions must be made whether to discontinue a product or
service and replace it with new ones or abandon the market, or to attempt to find new uses
or new users for the existing product or service.

In every phase, forecasts of demand and cash flow are key inputs for strategy.

Examples of products that do not exhibit life cycle are wooden pencils, paper clips, nails, knives, forks
and spoons, drinking glasses, and similar items. However, most new products do.

Some service life cycles are related to the life cycle of products. For example, as older products are
phased out, services such as installation and repair of the older products also phase out.

Some products pass through various stages in a relatively short period while others take
considerably long. Often, it is a matter of the basic need for the item and the rate of
technological change.

LO2: Discuss other design considerations

2. Degree of Standardization
Standardization – refers to the extent to which there is an absence of variety in a product,
service, or process.

Standardized products are made in large quantities of identical items such as calculators,
computers, milk, ballpen, paper, sardines, etc.

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 BAM 158 Operations Management
Student Activity Sheet Module #8

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Section: Schedule: Date:

Standardized service implies that every customer or item processed receives essentially the
same service.
For example is an automatic car wash. Each car, regardless of how clean or dirty it is, receives
the same service.

Standardization carries a number of important benefits as well as certain disadvantages.

Standardized products are immediately available to customers. But lack of variety might be
less appealing to customers. Thus, designers must consider important issues related to
standardization when making choices.

3. Mass customization
In contrast with the standardization just mentioned earlier is mass customization. This one is a
strategy of producing basically standardized goods or services, but incorporating some degree
of customization in the final product or service.

Customers might look for a variety from a product but still want it at a low cost. The question
now is will the producers be able to address this issue; being able to provide a variety of
products without losing the benefits of standardization?

One tactic that would make this possible is the delayed differentiation.

Delayed differentiation – is a process of producing, but not quite completing, a product or

service until customer preferences are known. It is a postponement tactic.

Let’s say for an example. Produce a piece of furniture, but do not stain it; the customer chooses
stain.
Another one is mass produce base models of automobile. Then add minor customizations when
the car is already ordered.

Another one is modular design.

Modular design – this is a form of standardization in which component parts are grouped into
modules that are easily replaced or interchanged. This is more of like collaboration between
the designer creating a product and the consumer implementing it to suit his/her needs. The
best example of a modular design is computers. This approach is also being applied in the
construction industry.

4. Reliability
It is the ability of a product, part, or system to perform its intended function under a prescribed
set of conditions. The term “failure” is used to describe a situation in which an item does not
perform as intended.
For example, a smoke alarm might fail to respond to the presence of smoke, it might sound an
alarm that is too faint to provide an adequate warning, or it might sound an alarm even though no
smoke is present.

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 BAM 158 Operations Management
Student Activity Sheet Module #8

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Section: Schedule: Date:

5. Robust design
It is a design that results in products or services that can function over a broad range of
conditions. The more robust a product or service, the less likely it will fail due to a change in
the environment in which it is used or in which it is performed.
Do you want to know if your pen is robust or not? Then wait until the ink gets empty. If it stops
writing after a few months, then your pen is not robust.

6. Degree of Newness
Product or service design changes and the degree of change affect the newness of the
product or service to the market and to the organization. It could be a modification of an
existing product or service, expansion of an existing product line, clone of a competitor’s
product or service, or a new product or service.

Have you heard of this foldable phone, the recent development by one of the famous brands of
smartphone? It is a phone that can be fold and it shrinks into a much smaller square when it’s
closed. This is so new in the market.

7. Quality Function Deployment

This is an approach that integrates the “voice of the customer” into both product and service
development. The purpose of QFD is to ensure that customer requirements are factored into
every aspect of the process. Obtaining input from customers is essential to assure that they
will want what is offered for sale.

8. The Kano Model

It is a theory of product and service design developed by Dr. Noriaki Kano, a Japanese
Professor, who offered a perspective on customer perceptions of quality different from the
traditional view that “more is better”.

2) Activity 3: Skill-building Activities

Let’s have a drill!

Exercise 1: A number of fast-food chains, after their success with offering their customers fresh
salads, and in an effort to downplay the image of selling unhealthy foods, began adding fresh fruit
plates to their menus. At about some time, and seemingly in direct conflict with this “healthy”
strategy, several other fast-food chains began offering fat- and calorie-laden items to their menus.

a. Compare these two widely different approaches (first approach, fresh fruit plates; second
approach, fat- and calorie-laden items), and predict the chances of each one’s success. Consider
several factors such as price, customer preferences, etc.

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 BAM 158 Operations Management
Student Activity Sheet Module #8

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Section: Schedule:_____________________________________ Date: _____________________

b. Name some other products that are popular, despite known health risks. (e.g., soda, alcohol)

3) Activity 4: What I Know Chart, Part 2

It’s time to answer the questions in the “What I Know Chart” in Activity 1. Log in your answers in
the “What I Learned” column. Let’s go!

4) Activity 5: Check for Understanding

Let’s check how well you understood the lesson. Choose the best answer. Write the CAPITAL
LETTER of your answer on the blank space provided.

1.Which of the following is an example of a postponement tactic?

A. mass customization
B. standardization
C. process mapping
D. delayed differentiation

2. Which of the following is not an advantage of standardization?

A. The opportunity to freeze design at a very early stage.
B. Fewer parts to deal with in inventory.
C. Reduced training cost and time.
D. Purchasing is more routine.

3.One structured approach for integrating customer requirements into every aspect of
product development is:
A. total quality management.
B. customer satisfaction.
C. quality function deployment.
D. customer integration.

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 BAM 158 Operations Management
Student Activity Sheet Module #8

Name: Class number:

Section: Schedule: Date:
4.The term "degrees of newness" is associated with:
A. average age of employees.
B. average length of time on the job.
C. total years of business experience.
D. degree of design change.
E. average age of the capital equipment.
5.The term "standardization" is closely associated with:
A. customization.
B. high cost.
C. longer lead times.
D. variety.
E. interchangeability.

C. LESSON WRAP-UP
5) Activity 6: Thinking about Learning
Wow, congratulations! You are done with this session. Shade the module number you just
completed.

Did you have challenges learning the concepts in this module? If none, which parts of the module
helped you learn the concepts?

Some question/s I want to ask my teacher about this module is/are:

FAQs

1. What are the main advantages and disadvantages of standardization?

The main advantages of standardization are:
a. Less variety of parts to deal with.
b. Permits standardized training, purchasing, inspection, and material handling. It may also
permit automation.
c. Enables production to stock, which allows filling orders from inventory, and potentially long
production runs.
Among the main disadvantages of standardization are the following:
a. Designs may be “frozen” with too many imperfections remaining.
b. The high cost of design changes increases resistance to improvement.
c. Decreased variety may lessen consumer appeal.

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 BAM 158 Operations Management
Student Activity Sheet Module #8

Name: Class number:

Section: Schedule: Date:

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 BAM 158 Operations Management
Student Activity Sheet Module #8
2. What are the main advantages and disadvantages of modular design?
Modular design refers to viewing a product (and sometimes a service)
as being composed of a number of “chunks” or sections instead of a
collection of individual parts. In effect, it is one form ofstandardization.

Among the advantages of modular design are

1. ease of diagnosis and repair of failures
2. standardization of manufacturing and more routine purchasing
3. inventory control
4. training

The disadvantages of modular design include

1. a decrease in possible variety of the product
2. the possibility of not being able to disassemble a module to replace a
faulty part; and
3. possible resistance to design improvements, particularly minor
ones, if they cannot be readilyincorporated into an existing
configuration.

KEY TO CORRECTIONS

Answers to Skill-Building Exercises:

Exercise 1:
a. Student answers will vary. The first approach (fresh fruit plates) appeals to
health-conscious customers while the second approach (fat- and
calorie-laden items) appeals to less health-conscious customers. Predicting
the success of each approach is difficult and will depend on several factors
(e.g.,price, quality, customer preferences, potential size of market,
transportation considerations, supply factors, etc.).
b. Examples of other popular products with known health risks include
soda, diet soda, cured meats,alcohol, tobacco, etc.

Answers to Check for Understanding:

1. D - Delayed differentiation is a postponement tactic: the process
of producing, but not quitecompleting, a product or service,
postponing completion until customer preferences or
specifications are known
2. A - Standardization doesn't necessarily help in freezing designs early.
3. C - Quality function deployment brings the voice of the
customer into the productdevelopment process.
4. D
5. E

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