A framework of innovative product development process based on expected final result

Abstract

If a new product cannot be developed proficiently, it will be replaced soon by competitors’ products. Therefore, efficiency and effectiveness are very important for product development. This research proposes to establish an innovative product development process model that is inspired by the “Ideal Final Result” in the TRIZ theory. The product design process will be carried out starting from the “Best Final State.” First of all, we defined the final state that the product design which will be satisfied with all the requirements as “Expected Final Result (EFR).” Such EFR might face conflicts among design requirements. However, if the EFR cannot be achieved, the development team must consider the next goal, which is called “the Second Best State.” Then how to define the secondary ideal result needs a systematic analytic mechanism, rather than just directly deleting certain design requirements. We combined the “four-level data structure” to link design requirements as well as assist in establishing the relationships among products and TRIZ parameters. In this framework, we set three indicators that help define the secondary EFR, including “Contradiction indicator,” “Demand-based indicator,” and “Demand complexity indicators.” By comparing the correlation between current product design and the parameters, we determine the condition to obtain the next design goal using the indices. By using different indicators, we may reach different options for product design. According to the above-mentioned decision-making mechanism, a product development process can be constructed to achieve the goal of “starting from the Ideal Final Result” for continuous improvement, which is beneficial to achieve a distinct innovation.