The role of standardized technical packages in ensuring consistency and accuracy in apparel product development

The textiles and apparel industry is one of the most globalized, dynamic, and labor intensive businesses with various sectors of production providing jobs for millions of people worldwide. Due to these reasons, it is important to understand the industry demands and prepare students for these industry needs. Institutions need to consider curriculum development according to the professions involved primarily in the product development process, the production process, and the distribution process. The purpose of this paper is to provide insights to instructors who teach the main two areas; apparel product development and production, especially as capstone series, in their curriculum development.

The product development process is recognised as a key element for ensuring long term success and sustainability of organisations. Constantly re-evaluating the strategy and tactics of product development is deemed to be vital to better manage the process of creating more 'on-point' products. Thus, the main focus of this research is to assess how deeply and comprehensively the existing apparel product development models outlined in literature discuss and analyse the development process and identify the prevailing gaps that exist with respect to customer-supplier collaboration and decision-making. Some of the existing models discussed in depth in the reported research are design, design development and style selection stages. A few have considered the integration of the responsible divisions. The theoretical models presented in the literature have not adequately addressed the customer-supplier collaboration and the decision-making involved in the apparel product development process although many of them focused on the activities undertaken to complete the product development.

The purpose of this study is to explore and document the apparel product development process of firms producing and selling size-inclusive apparel for women in the United States. Despite the significant growth of the U.S. women's apparel market, many consumers at the higher and lower ends of the sizing spectrum continue to face challenges in finding well-fitting and stylish clothing. This research examines how size-inclusive apparel firms integrate design thinking principles into their product development processes, identifying both alignments and deviations from traditional design thinking frameworks. A constructivist grounded theory approach was used to analyze qualitative data collected from semi-structured interviews with professionals in the size-inclusive apparel industry. Findings indicate that iteration and user empathy play a crucial role in the size-inclusive apparel product development (SIAPD) process, but unlike conventional design thinking, SIAPD requires a more nuanced, body-centered approach. Additionally, the study identifies the role of internal advocates in driving size inclusivity initiatives, highlighting the importance of organizational commitment to size inclusivity. The study also explores how firms employ multiple fit models and pattern blocks to refine garment fit and enhance consumer satisfaction. These findings contribute to a broader understanding of inclusive design and offer implications for apparel brands, policymakers, and researchers looking to advance size inclusivity in apparel. This research extends theoretical discussions on design thinking by demonstrating how it is adapted within the apparel industry to meet the needs of historically underserved consumers.

The objective of the research was to redesign generic process of the apparel product development adopted in Chinese apparel enterprises currently by comparing and analyzing several important models. The revised apparel retail product development model by Wickett, Gaskill and Damhorst, Kunz’s taxonomy of the apparel merchandising system, and the no-interval coherently phased product development model for apparel (NICPPD) by May-Plumlee and Little were analyzed. The key factors of product development process that need to be improved were anylized according to the NICPPD model. The end result was the redesigned process of apparel product development.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif">In apparel product development, it is very important to understand body-garment relationships thoroughly to design a garment that provides both comfort and function to the wearer. Recently, four-dimensional (4D) technologies, which combine 3D body models with movements, have been gaining traction in the apparel industry as an innovative tool for product development. Practical benefits of these 4D systems to apparel product development as well as their potential other uses still need clarification. Nonetheless,3D/4D technologies hold great potential for the future of apparel product creation, as well as presentation and retail. Therefore, within the technological Components and Adoption (TCA) Framework, we propose a conceptual model to categorize the use of dynamic models and garments in apparel product development and offer suggestions for future research and teaching needs that would integrate innovative methods and technologies.</span><o:p></o:p>

PurposeThis paper presents a model for an effective product development process, which is now becoming increasingly critical to success of apparel firms.Design/methodology/approachThis research modeled apparel product development as a market driven process and integrated the consumer purchase decision in the model of proactive product development integrating consumer requirements (PPDICR). The PPDICR links the consumer purchase decision and multiple consumer research strategies to specific stages of the no‐interval coherently phased product development model for apparel through 15 avenues of consumer input.FindingsThe PPDICR model contributes to our understanding on how consumer input can be used to facilitate the process and through what avenues that input may be acquired. This model provides an effective tool for intra‐company to inter‐business analysis of consumer input into the apparel product development process.Research limitations/implicationsThe PPDICR provides a theoretical understanding of apparel production, and is useful to researchers in visualizing the impact of changes in the business environment, integrating research projects, and establishing research priorities.Practical implicationsPractitioners may use the model to improve and develop products, select appropriate consumer input, and strategically plan organizational changes.Originality/valueThis model is a useful tool for effective product development both for researchers and industrialists alike. It brings in the important element of the integration of consumer information.

The relationship between system theory and the product design, the process of product development has been described. It compared the merits and demerits of serial and parallel product development processes and, with the guidelines of system theory, put forward and analyzed the planning actions and corresponding necessity existed in the indistinct initial phase in product development process. It also analyzed the optimizing effect of planning actions in product design & development process. Thus, it obtained the model of product design & development process based on system theory so as to clarify the indistinct initial phase, shorten product development time and, improve the effectiveness of enterprise's product development.

روش تحقیق موردنظر از نظر ماهیت داده از نوع کیفی-کمی، از نظر هدف کاربردی و از نظر اجرا توصیفی از نوع پیمایشی بود. جامعه آماری این پژوهش شامل کلیه مدیران و معاونین ستادی (مراکز آموزش‌وپرورش در شهرستان­ها) و مدیران مدارس به تعداد 2300 نفر تشکیل می­داد و نمونه آماری با استفاده از فرمول کوکران برابر با 329 نفر به دست آمد که با روش نمونه­گیری خوشه­ای تصادفی، داده­های موردنیاز جمع­آوری شد. ابزار گردآوری اطلاعات شامل پرسشنامه حاصل از بخش کیفی بود که روایی محتوایی آن توسط متخصصین و روایی سازه آن از طریق تحلیل عاملی تأییدی و پایایی آن از طریق آلفای کرونباخ تعیین گردید. اطلاعات به دست آمده از طریق تکنیک معادلات ساختاری و با استفاده از نرم­افزار SPSS و AMOS مورد تجزیه‌وتحلیل قرار گرفت. نتایج به دست آمده نشان داد که خودرهبری مدیران آموزش‌وپرورش در 8 شاخص (شناخت خود، خود هدایتی، خود نظارتی، خودکنترلی، اثربخشی، هدف­گذاری، خود انگیزشی و تفکر در خود) دسته­بندی شدند که با حذف بعضی از سؤال­ها و نشانگرها، در نهایت مدل موردنظر به لحاظ آماری مورد تأیید قرار گرفت.

8 - Advances in apparel product development

In order to improve and to shorten product and production development as well as to reach a higher planning and product quality, in industrial companies the use of software tools is state of the art. Particularly in the field of manufacturing process planning known as Digital Manufacturing a wide range of different and specialized software tools is used, e.g. in assembly planning, logistics planning or layout planning. In order to reduce planning effort and to increase planning quality, relevant planning data of the product and production development process must be available to any software tool employed. But due to the lack of open and generally accepted data standards a continuous exchange of data between software tools is hardly possible. The paper on hand introduces a methodology for enabling a standardized description of planning data. In this approach, application-specific data models are used to define data relevant for a certain domain of the product and production development process.

ABSTRACTThis paper introduces and evaluates the new holistic model called Apparel Needs and Expectations (ANE) Model. The ANE Model provides a structure for evaluating the target customers ever-changing needs and expectations of apparel. The ANE Model can be used during the product development process to identify target customer's expectations of apparel features and during sales analysis to identify product related features which effected sales. Eighty-six students in apparel product development courses at two US universities evaluated the usefulness of the model. Students found the ANE Model a useful tool for new product development process and plan to use it in the future. This paper introduces further applications of this model in both academia and industry. Uses of the model include teaching in design and product development related courses, apparel research identification, target market evaluation, design of new products, and the examination of underperforming products in the market place.

Globalisation has changed the face of the clothing and textile industries in many developed and developing nations.In the twenty first century no longer are clothes manufactured and retailed in specific local regions.Fashion and clothing have joined textiles in becoming a truly global operation.Despite this revolution many authors report that clothing and textiles still lag behind other manufacturing industries in relation to their enthusiasm to adopt new product development processes.The traditional clothing product development route is labour and time intensive and this process often involves a series of fit trials on live models to ensure satisfactory fit is achieved.Garment design and realisation is a highly specialised domain which demands skills across a wide variety of disciplines.CAD and computation technologies in apparel have existed for a number of years however they have provided separate working environments for those involved in design and garment construction.Whilst each specific system has been successfully integrated into their respective stage of the product design process, they have created a distinctive divide between design and apparel construction.Virtual simulation software could reduce or completely eliminate the intensive sampling stages by providing a true to life representation of the product without embarking in any physical manufacturing.It offers the opportunity to design, produce patterns, create a virtual manufactured garment and test fit in one environment.

National sizing surveys: techniques, data analysis and apparel product development

Purpose The Design For Six Sigma (DFSS) methodology is one of the most important to achieving excellence in an organization’s product development process. This paper aims to propose a roadmap for product development based on the DFSS for the consumer durables manufacturing industries. The proposed roadmap presents a systematic approach to the phases of the product development process, integrating the statistical techniques and quality tools that should be used in each phase. Design/methodology/approach This study presents a detailed roadmap for product development, which was built by identifying gaps in the DFSS methods, based on previous studies on the subject. In this step, the opportunities are provided in all phases from creation to discontinuation of the product in the market. In addition, the roadmap presented was validated by team of stakeholders in the product development process of different industrial companies. Findings The proposed roadmap for the product development process based on six sigma design suggests a visual tool with sequential steps and techniques that allow you to follow the evolution of the development process from idea conception until the product is discontinued in the market. Identifying the priorities of organizations, especially the consumer, regarding the quality and reliability of the product. Practical implications The roadmap seeks to facilitate an understanding of the important stages of the product development process and to provide an approach to improving and optimizing the product before the manufacturing process step through the principles of DFSS methodology. This research provides a guide step by step to apply statistical techniques and quality tools in the product development process to achieve high quality and six sigma level in the manufacturing process. Originality/value The proposed roadmap of this research combines design for sigma and product development concepts, covering a wide spectrum of relevant activities that include the product development process, the application of statistical techniques and the design of high-quality durable consumer goods to match manufacturing technologies.

Concept for Maturity Assessment of Remanufacturing Ability in Production Process Development