Product Development Methodology Research Articles

A Product Development Methodology: Design and Simulation of Coronary Stents

A Product Development Methodology: Design and Simulation of Coronary Stents

Critical success factors for configuration management implementation

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify, prioritize and categorize the critical success factors (CSFs) for configuration management (CM) and devise a CM activity model to help practitioners in the effective implementation and continuous improvement of the process.Design/methodology/approachA mixed method research with in‐depth interviews is used, followed by questionnaire survey.FindingsIn total, 21 CSFs organized in seven groups have been identified and prioritized on the basis of criticality in the implementation of the CM process. A significant difference is observed in the perception of CM professionals from the level of their experience and CM certification/training on the criticality of these factors.Research limitations/implicationsThis research only focuses on the aerospace and defence industry because of their common contextual understanding of CM. Further research could be done in commercial sectors to determine if the factors are common, or if there is a particular sector bias.Practical implicationsExtensive scope exists for industries to enhance product development methodologies by concentrating on factors responsible for the maturity of the CM process. The importance of CM is seen through its inclusion in multiple standards which require companies to implement a high level of robustness in the design and through life focus.Originality/valueA detailed search of the peer reviewed journals and practitioner literature highlights no formal study on CSFs in the field of CM. This study will help CM practitioners to develop plans to achieve their goals and improve the CM process on the basis of these outlined concepts.

Design, refinement, implementation and prototype testing of a reconfigurable lathe-mill

This article documents the design, refinement, and implementation of a reconfigurable machine tool that provides a flexible platform for turning and milling. Advances in the design and capabilities of machine tools drive modern industry. In fact, the expanding capabilities of the machines permit novel and economic changes in the manufacturing and design of products. After the flexible manufacturing (FMS) boom, a more recent, but no less significant, area of machine development involves the reconfiguration of milling machines. This reconfigurability can also be applied to lathe-mills. The present work demonstrates satisfactorily the reconfiguration characteristics of modularity, integrability, and convertibility. We prototype and test a completely functional bench top reconfigurable lathe mill machine implemented using a $10,000 USD budget and developed following a synthesized machine tool product development methodology that begins with concept design and cutting forces to end in prototyping. In addition to reasonable results in runout, positioning, and surface roughness, the machine demonstrates the capability to produce parts with a Cpk of 1.009, thereby demonstrating the ability to fabricate this type of machine in Mexico for the local jewelry industry.

Consumer-oriented new product development: a review of recent developments

Firms need to continuously develop new products or redesign their existing ones, due to the intense competition they are facing, as well as the rapidly changing economical and sociopolitical environment. In this context, consumer behaviour modelling has become an important and inextricable part of successful new product development during the last decades. This paper constitutes a survey of the literature in consumer-oriented new product development. We review a total of 60 research propositions in consumer behaviour modelling as a part of the product development procedure. The findings indicate a trend for integrative methodologies that approach the new product development process from both a marketing and an engineering perspective. The incorporation of dynamic consumer behaviour models into the product development methodologies seems to be the most promising area for future research.

The Need for Novel Development Methodologies for Software Projects in Universities: A Sri Lankan Case Study

Software engineering requires coordination across a number of disciplines and is concerned with theories, methods and tools for professional software development. Project management is considered as the main function which facilitates better utilization of knowledge, skills, resources, tools and techniques in any such project to achieve its intended objectives. But, there is no such standard method that can be used in every project. Project Management practices mainly depend on the industry it is been used; i.e. construction, manufacturing, marketing, auditing, software engineering, etc. For software engineering there are number of standard Project Management methods used in different circumstances. Nevertheless, it was difficult to find a specific methodology that can be used in a university context, which is more focused on innovations, research and learning. The paper aims to motivate why a novel software product development methodology should be developed for used within universities, such methodology may even be possible to be later implemented within the software industry, where innovation is a major ingredient.

A View on Design: The German Perspective

A View on Design: The German Perspective

A QFD- and concurrent engineering-based outsourced product development methodology for ODM customers

Although the original design manufacturing (ODM) outsourcing business model has been quite popular among various industries, many ODM customers do not have dedicated product development methodologies for their ODM-outsourced product development. Instead, they use their in-house methodologies that often lead to serious quality issues and schedule delays during the product development process. In order for the ODM outsourcing project to succeed, a dedicated product development methodology is necessary for an ODM customer to develop products with its ODM suppliers. The objective of this article is to present a quality function deployment- and concurrent engineering-based outsourced product development methodology for ODM customers to use in place of their current in-house product development methodologies. Fifteen people from nine Taiwanese electronics companies were interviewed regarding their ODM-outsourced product development process. Findings from these interviews were used to develop the proposed methodology. Three case studies focusing on the implementation of the proposed methodology in successful projects are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.

Modular product development through platform-based design and DFMA

This article presents a framework for modular product development by integrating function-based modular product architecture, platform-based design and design for manufacture and assembly. This product development framework facilitates the combined benefit from different product development methodologies to make robust products. It helps in incorporating customer requirements into product architecture. This method may reduce product manufacturing cost and throughput time for product development. Application of the integrated framework is illustrated with a case study of the development of a watch mechanism. The illustration gives light to the stages of product development from conceptual evolution of the product to the detailed design.

Medical device specificities: opportunities for a dedicated product development methodology

The medical sector, similarly to other industries such as the aviation industry, has to comply with multiple regulations, guidelines and standards. In addition, there are multiple definitions for the expression ‘medical device’, and before entering the market, manufacturers must demonstrate their product’s safety and effectiveness. In such a complex and demanding environment, it is crucial to know the particularities surrounding the product being developed in order to minimize the chances of a commercial flop. Thus, in this paper, medical device specificities are identified, and the most relevant legislation is reviewed providing the foundations for a dedicated product development methodology.

Rapid Prototyping for Biomedical Engineering: Current Capabilities and Challenges

A new set of manufacturing technologies has emerged in the past decades to address market requirements in a customized way and to provide support for research tasks that require prototypes. These new techniques and technologies are usually referred to as rapid prototyping and manufacturing technologies, and they allow prototypes to be produced in a wide range of materials with remarkable precision in a couple of hours. Although they have been rapidly incorporated into product development methodologies, they are still under development, and their applications in bioengineering are continuously evolving. Rapid prototyping and manufacturing technologies can be of assistance in every stage of the development process of novel biodevices, to address various problems that can arise in the devices' interactions with biological systems and the fact that the design decisions must be tested carefully. This review focuses on the main fields of application for rapid prototyping in biomedical engineering and health sciences, as well as on the most remarkable challenges and research trends.

On integrating multiple type preferences into competitive analyses of customer requirements in product planning

Abstract As a customer-driven product development methodology, quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used methodology to translate customer requirements (CRs) into engineering characteristics (ECs) to achieve higher product performance and customer satisfaction. Product planning house of quality is of fundamental and strategic importance in the QFD system. Each customer has different preferences for the products of the corporation and its competitors. Furthermore, the customers tend to give their personal preferences in multiple expression formats, i.e., multiplicative judgment comparison matrix, utility value vector, and complementary judgment comparison matrix, relying on their cultural and educational background and value systems. In this paper, we propose an extension on incorporating the multi-format preference information into the relative satisfaction elevations of CRs, and present an integrated approach of the group decision-making, multi-format preference analyses, and three types of least square models for acquiring the sale points of CRs in order to tackle the relative satisfaction elevations and multi-format preference information in a combined way. Finally, a case study is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

An application of analytic hierarchy process for the selection of a methodology to improve the product development process

PurposeAccording to the literature, on an average, it takes around three to four years to develop a new product and about 50 percent of the costs incurred in product development (PD) tend to be spent on waste that occurs during the PD process. Hence, organizations are implementing various alternative methodologies such as Concurrent Engineering (CE), Lean Product Development (LPD)/Lean New Product Development (LNPD), and Agile Product Development (APD)/Agile New Product Development (ANPD) to improve their existing PD process. However, it is not clear: how does an organisation or a PD manager choose between these alternative methodologies for improving their PD process?Design/methodology/approachSince the above‐mentioned problem requires multiple factors/criteria/elements (in short, it will be called as “attributes” for the sake of simplicity) to be considered simultaneously; the use of a Multi‐Attribute Decision Making (MADM) model is warranted. The most commonly used MADM model, namely the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is utilized to model the above problem using a hypothetical case situation.FindingsIn this paper, the different attributes that are to be considered while making a decision of selecting a suitable PD methodology were identified. Furthermore, the results of AHP indicated that LPD is a better alternative for the case situation under consideration.Originality/valueAccording to the authors' knowledge, no paper exists in the literature of AHP or PD or LPD/LNPD that discusses the application of AHP for the selection of a product development methodology, especially for making a strategic decision in a product design and development department of an organisation.

Design for Usability; practice-oriented research for user-centered product design

The Design for Usability project aims at improving the usability of electronic professional and consumer products by creating new methodology and methods for user-centred product development, which are feasible to apply in practice. The project was focused on 5 key areas: (i) design methodology, expanding the existing approach of scenario-based design to incorporate the interaction between product design, user characteristics, and user behaviour; (ii) company processes, barriers and enablers for usability in practice; (iii) user characteristics in relation to types of products and use-situations; (iv) usability decision-making; and (v) product impact on user behaviour. The project team developed methods and techniques in each of these areas to support the design of products with a high level of usability. This paper brings together and summarizes the findings.

Ontology based interface design and control methodology for collaborative product development

Interfaces between subsystems in collaborative product development projects are presently defined by interface control documents. This paper presents a computer aided methodology for defining and controlling subsystem interfaces. Interfaces are considered as interconnections between subsystem ports. Ports are specified by using an ontology that ensures consistency of interface definitions among different design teams. Every port that is based on the ontology is eventually defined by a set of attributes that are derived from its form and function. Interfaces between ports are formed when ports are mated. The essence of port mating is described by logical information that is expressed in two forms. First, a set of requirements are defined for an individual port to ensure that it functions properly. Second, connectivity rules are expressed between ports to guarantee that they integrate correctly. A software architecture that operates on port information and controls the status of subsystem interfaces during collaboration is described. A piece of software is implemented based on the proposed architecture and its functionality is demonstrated by two examples. The examples show how the software can be used to replace interface control documents and support collaboration. The software allows designers to load subsystem descriptions from a shared repository and connect them together by defining connectivity rules. The software reports errors to designers when port requirements or connectivity rules are violated.

Methodology of Heritage-Based Tourism Product Development – Thematic Routes As New and Special Possibilities

The paper discusses heritage tourism and thematic routes, giving some good examples for existing developments.

EDUCATING ENGINEERS ABOUT PRODUCT DESIGN METHODOLOGY

A successful product designer must combine natural creativity with the systematic use of structured design methodology and modern computer-aided design tools. Practice without proper instruction and formal guidance fails to recognize the vast knowledge of the design process developed by successful professionals. However, designing a product solely by theory without the experience derived from practice is ineffective because many subtleties and exceptions are learned by working on actual design project. In this paper, the authors discuss how formal lectures on product design and development methodology can be effectively combined with a hands-on design project leading to viable solutions by novice engineering students to open-ended problems.

7.3.1 A Model for Consumer Product Development from a Systems Perspective

AbstractSystems engineering, as a field of practice, has been confronting the issue of extension into the commercial sector. Systems engineering is routinely used in some sectors, notably defense, aerospace and other government acquisition domains. Commercial industry, particularly in consumer products, which values rapid development of products and the minimization of any activity which is perceived as “overhead”, has not expressed much interest in systems engineering as a product development methodology. “Innovation” is a concept commonly associated with the interests of commercial industry. The focus in innovation is to develop new product systems of new kinds in order to generate and exploit market opportunities. Innovation is an activity which has been studied in its own right. One particular model of innovation is the W‐model which has similar form to the V‐model of systems engineering. This paper explores the similarities of the W‐model of innovation and V‐model of systems engineering to expose the synergy of systems engineering and the core interest of commercial industry in innovation.

EXTERNAL PREFERENCE MAPPING OF COMMERCIAL ANTIAGING CREAMS BASED ON CONSUMERS' RESPONSES TO A CHECK-ALL-THAT-APPLY QUESTION

ABSTRACT Due to the increasing demand for antiaging products, cosmetic companies need to count on reliable methodologies for new product development. In this context, the aim of the present work was to determine whether external preference mapping based on consumers' responses to a check-all-that-apply (CATA) question was applicable for studying consumers' preferences for commercial antiaging cosmetic creams. Six commercial antiaging creams were evaluated by a panel of 69 consumers, who were asked to indicate their overall liking and to answer a CATA question. Highly significant differences were found in the frequency in which consumers used 26 out of the 42 terms of the CATA question. The application of external mapping on the samples' configuration from the multiple factor analysis performed on CATA counts enabled a quick identification of regions of maximum liking within the sensory space defined by the evaluated samples and the drivers of liking responsible for consumers' preferences. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS By using different groups of terms in the CATA question, relevant information about consumers' perception of different aspects of the samples was gathered. This information could be useful for product development and the definition of marketing and communication strategies. The application of external preference mapping on consumers' responses to a CATA question might be a reliable and interesting option when cosmetic companies face difficulties in using trained assessors' panels.

Creating a holistic product development methodology by merging systems theory and dialectics

The situation of product development today is characterized by numerous methodologies that are supposed to facilitate a fast, costs-efficient procedure. Frequently these methodologies compete with each other instead of complementing one another. Therefore, at IKT a generic frame model was developed which allows creating a metamethodology of product development on basis of philosophies describing technique. In this way the integration of different, up to now rival design methodologies is achieved for the first time so that for every problem situation in product development the most suitable methodology can be selected.

Concurrent engineering: an integrated design approach through a TQM tool â quality function deployment (QFD)

Global competition exerts increasing pressure on companies to develop new products effectively and efficiently. Getting better products faster to market is thus becoming very critical for the companies. Traditional approaches to ideation and product development like sequential engineering takes too long and costs too much. Recognising this, many companies are veering towards product development through concurrent approach. The aim of this paper is to advance the theory and practise for one of the key enabling tools used in concurrent engineering called quality function deployment, known as QFD. The paper describes these product development methodologies and tools in general and the role QFD plays in concurrent engineering in particular. The paper begins with the summary of the available methods and procedures for the product development through concurrent engineering and compares concurrent engineering with sequential engineering. An attempt has also been made to provide an insight into the major components of the integrated design environment that companies might deploy to support their new product development process. Core concepts have been discussed in support of the arguments in favour of the integration of design technologies into a systematic management approach towards concurrent engineering.