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Product Design L2- Development processes and

organizationsDr. Husam Arman

Generic Development Process

The concept Development phase

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

Variants of the Generic Development Process

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Generic Process and Its Variants

• Generic (Market Pull) Products– Firm begins with a market opportunity, then finds

technology to meet customer needs– Examples: tools, sporting goods, furniture

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Generic Process and Its Variants

• Technology-Push Products– Firm begins with a new technology, then finds an

appropriate market– Distinction with generic

• additional activity matching: technology and market• concept development assumes a given technology

– Examples: Gore-Tex rainwear, Tyvek envelopes

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Generic Process and Its Variants

• Platform Products– Firm assumes new product will be built around

same technology as an existing product– Distinction with generic

• concept development assumes a technology platform

– Examples: consumer electronics, computers, printers

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Generic Process and Its Variants

• Process-Intensive Products– characteristics of the product are highly

constrained by the production process– Distinction with generic

• both process and product must be developed together from the beginning, or existing process must be specified from the beginning

– Examples: chemicals, semiconductors, snack foods, cereal

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Generic Process and Its Variants

• Customized (“Parametric”)– New products are slight variations of existing

configurations– Distinction from generic

• similarity of products allows for highly structured development process

• development process almost like a production process

– Examples: switches, motors, batteries, containers

Product development organizations

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Criteria for choosing an organizational structure

• How important is cross-functional integration?• How critical is cutting-edge functional

expertise to business success?• Can individuals from each function be fully

utilized for most of the duration of a project?• How important is product development

speed?

Product Planning

Product Design and DevelopmentKarl T. Ulrich and Steven D. Eppinger

2nd edition, Irwin McGraw-Hill, 2000.

Chapter Table of Contents

1. Introduction2. Development Processes and Organizations3. Product Planning4. Identifying Customer Needs5. Product Specifications6. Concept Generation7. Concept Selection8. Concept Testing9. Product Architecture10. Industrial Design11. Design for Manufacturing12. Prototyping13. Product Development Economics 14. Managing Projects

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Product planning

• Corporations typically plan products many years in advance

• Product planning ensures that products support overall business strategy– Determine mix of new products vs. upgrades– Optimize past experience as leverage into new

products– Decide which market segments to target

PlanningPlanning

Product Development Process

ConceptDevelopment

ConceptDevelopment

System-LevelDesign

System-LevelDesign

DetailDesign

DetailDesign

Testing andRefinement

Testing andRefinement

ProductionRamp-Up

ProductionRamp-Up

Four Phases of Product Development

The product planning phase precedes the product development process.

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The Product Planning ProcessQuestions

• What PD projects will be undertaken?• What mix of new products, platforms, and

derivative products to pursue?• How do the various projects relate to each

other as a portfolio?• What will be the timing and sequence of the

project?

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Mission statement

• What market segments to consider?• What new technologies to incorporate?• What are the manufacturing and service goals and constraints?•What are the financial targets of the project?• What are the budget and time frame for the project?

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Product plan

• The product plan identifies the portfolio of products to be developed by the organization and the timing of their introduction to the market

• The plan may divide projects into four categories: new platforms, derivatives of existing platforms, product improvements, and fundamentally new products

Xerox Lakes Project Example

Xerox Document Centre 265

A Product Plan

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Hodaka

Lakes

H-Net

L-Net

Astro

595 6010 392 393

New Platforms

Derivatives

Improvements

Fundamentally New

Legend

Project

Product Release

Types of product development projects: New product platforms, derivatives of existing platforms, incremental improvements to existing products, and fundamentally new products

The Product Planning Process

Evaluate and Prioritize Projects

Allocate Resources and

Plan TimingPortfolioof

Projects

Multiple Projects

Complete Pre-Project PlanningProduct

PlanMission

Statements

Product Development

Process

Identify Opportunities

1. Identify opportunities2. Evaluate and prioritize products3. Allocate resources and plan timing4. Complete pre-project planning5. Reflect on the results and the process Product “Mission Statement”

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S1. Identify OpportunitiesIdea Sources for New Products

• Marketing and sales personnel• Research and technology development

organizations• Current product development teams• Manufacturing and operation organizations• Current or potential customers• Third parties such as suppliers, inventors, and

business partners.

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S2. Evaluate and Prioritize Projects

• Opportunity funnel can collect 100s or even 1000s of opportunities during a year.

• Select the most promising projects to pursue.

• Basic perspectives to prioritize:– Competitive Strategy, – Market segmentation, – technological trajectories,– and product platforms

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Competitive Strategy

• Technology leadership• Cost leadership• Customer focus• Imitative

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Market Segmentation

• Dividing a market into segments allows the firm to consider the actions of competitors and the strength of the existing products of the firm with respect to each well-defined group of customers.

Market Segment Map

1998 19991997 2000

Department

Workgroup

Personal

40 ppm network

$20k

30 ppm $10k

20 ppm $8k

40 ppm

$16k

65 ppm

$23k

55 ppm

$20k

25 ppm $9k

30 ppm $10k

25 ppm $10k

35 ppm $15k

20 ppm $7k

40 ppm $20k

60 ppm network

$35k

LegendXerox

product

competitor product

potential competitor

65 ppm network

$31k

Year ofRelease

Hodaka Project

Lakes Project Lakes

Extensions

Hodaka Project

Lakes Project Lakes

Extensions

Mar

ket S

egm

ent

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Technological Trajectories

• In technology intensive businesses, a key product decision is when to adopt a new technology in a product line.

• Technology S-curves are conceptual tool to help to think about such decisions.

Technology S-Curves

Light-LensTechnology

DigitalTechnology

Time

Cop

ier

Per

form

ance

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Product Platform Planning

•A platform development project creates the architecture of a family of products.•Derivative Products may be included in the initial platform development effort or derivative products may follow thereafter.• One technique for coordinating technology development with product planning is the technology roadmap.

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Product Platforms

Platforms vs. Derivatives

time

Platform BPlatform Product

Development

Derivative Product

Development

Legend

Project

Product Release

Research and Technology

Development

Platform A

Technology RoadmapFunctional Elements

Photo- receptor

Scanner Layout

Toner Type

Output Modes

User Interface

Cylindrical Drum

2D CCD Array w/Optical Reduc.

Keypad

3-Pitch Belt Photoreceptor

Full-Width, Linear Array without Optical Reduction

Touch Screen, Remote PC

Color: Paper, Fax, Scan, Local Network, Internet

Document Centre

220, 230

Document Centre

240, 255, 265

Document Centre 2XX

Hodaka Project

Lakes Project

Lakes Extensions

Document Centre 3XX

Next Platform

Technologies

n-Pitch Belt Photoreceptor

High Temperature

Low Melting Point

Low Melting Point, Low Emission

Touch Screen

Image Processing

Automatic Image Quality

Diagnostics On-Board Diagnostics

Remote-Dialup Diagnostics

Remote Repair

Time

1200 dpi600/1200 dpi 1800 dpi600 dpi

Monochrome: Paper, Fax, Scan, Local Network, Internet

Product-Process Change MatrixExtent of Production Process Changes

Exte

nt o

f Pro

duct

Cha

nges

NewCore

Process

NextGeneration

Process

SingleDepartment

Upgrade

Tuning andIncremental

Changes

NoProcessChange

NewCore

Product

NextGeneration

Product

Additionto Product

Family

MinorProduct

Enhancement

NoProductChange

LakesProject

Research andTechnology

Development

BreakthroughDevelopment

Projects

PlatformDevelopment

Projects

DerivativeProduct

Development

CurrentProduct/Process

Support

S3. Allocate Resources and Plan TimingAggregate Resource Planning

. .

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

140%

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3

C a p a c i t y U t i l i z a t i o n

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Lakes Project Mission Statement

Product Description· Networkable, digital machine with copy, print, fax, and scan functionsKey Business Goals· Support Xerox strategy of leadership in digital office equipment· Serve as platform for all future B&W digital products and solutions· Capture 50% of digital product sales in primary market· Environmentally friendly· First product introduction 4thQ 1997Primary Market· Office departments, mid-volume (40-65 ppm, above 42,000 avg. copies/mo.)Secondary Markets· Quick-print market· Small ‘satellite’ operationsAssumptions and Constraints· New product platform· Digital imaging technology· Compatible with CentreWare software· Input devices manufactured in Canada· Output devices manufactured in Brazil· Image processing engine manufactured in both USA and EuropeStakeholders· Purchasers and Users· Manufacturing Operations· Service Operations· Distributors and Resellers

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Xerox Lakes – video

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Project Timing

• Timing of product introductions• Technology readiness• Market readiness• Competition

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Mission statements

• Brief (one sentence) description of the product

• Key business goals• Target market(s) for the product• Assumption and constraints that guide the

development effort (Manufacturing, Service, Environment)– Stakeholders

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Reflect on the results and theprocess

• Is the opportunity funnel collecting an exciting and diverse set of product opportunities?

• Does the product plan support the competitive strategy of the firm?

• Does the core team accept the challenges of the resulting mission statement?

• How can the product planning process be improved?