Concept Selection Teaching materials to accompany Product Design

Concept Selection Teaching materials to accompany: Product Design and Development Chapter 7 Karl T. Ulrich and Steven D. Eppinger 2 nd Edition, Irwin Mc. Graw-Hill, 2000.

Product Design and Development Karl T. Ulrich and Steven D. Eppinger 2 nd edition, Irwin Mc. Graw-Hill, 2000. Chapter Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Development Processes and Organizations 3. Product Planning 4. Identifying Customer Needs 5. Product Specifications 6. Concept Generation 7. Concept Selection 8. Concept Testing 9. Product Architecture 10. Industrial Design 11. Design for Manufacturing 12. Prototyping 13. Product Development Economics 14. Managing Projects

Concept Development Process

Concept Selection Example: Reusable Syringe

Concept Development Funnel

Concept Selection Process • Prepare the Matrix – Criteria – Reference Concept – Weightings • Rate Concepts – Scale (+ – 0) or (1– 5) – Compare to Reference Concept or Values • Rank Concepts – Sum Weighted Scores • Combine and Improve – Remove Bad Features – Combine Good Qualities • Select Best Concept – May Be More than One – Beware of Average Concepts • Reflect on the Process – Continuous Improvement

Example: Concept Screening

Example: Concept Scoring

Concept Selection Exercise: Mechanical Pencils

Mechanical Pencils: Customer Needs

Mechanical Pencils: Concept Selection Matrix

Retail Prices of Five Pencils • • • Classic Quick Click Twist Erase Zézé Bic $2. 75 $2. 58 $2. 08 $0. 90 $0. 33

Remember… The goal of concept selection is not to • Select the best concept. The goal of concept selection is to • Develop the best concept. So remember to combine and refine the concepts to develop better ones!

Caveats • Beware of the best "average" product. • Perform concept selection for each different customer group and compare results. • Check sensitivity of selection to the importance weightings and ratings. • May want to use all of detailed requirements in final stages of selection. • Note features which can be applied to other concepts.