Conc once ept Testi sting ng & Product Arc Archit hite ectu cture re
Case Stu Study dy:: Electr lectric ic Sco coot ote er The EmPower mPower Cor Corpor pora ati on have have devel devel oped a new produ pr oduct ct to addr addre ess the pers persona onall tra tr ansportati nspor tation on market. market. The Con Concept cept: : A thre hr ee-whee -wheel ed el el ectr ct ric-powered scoote scoot er tha t hatt coul c ould d be folde fol ded d up and carr carrii ed ea easil si l y
Case Stu Study dy:: Electr lectric ic Sco coot ote er The EmPower mPower Cor Corpor pora ati on have have devel devel oped a new produ pr oduct ct to addr addre ess the pers persona onall tra tr ansportati nspor tation on market. market. The Con Concept cept: : A thre hr ee-whee -wheel ed el el ectr ct ric-powered scoote scoot er tha t hatt coul c ould d be folde fol ded d up and carr carrii ed ea easil si l y
Con oncept cept Develop Development; ment; Fro ront nt--End Process Interr Interre el ated act actii viti vi tie es orde or dered red roughly roughl y in i n the front-e front -end nd proce proc ess
Con oncept cept Te Test stin ing g
Seven Steps of Concept Testing
A seven steps process is suggested: 1- define the purpose of the concept test 2- Choose a survey population 3- Choose a survey format 4-Communicate the concept 5- Measure customer response 6- interpreter the results 7- Reflect on the results and the process
Seven Steps of Concept Testing 1- define the purpose of the concept test Writing the questions that the team wishes to answer with the test Questions like: -Which of several alternative concepts should be pursued? -How can the concept be improved ? -Approximately how many units are likely to be sold? -Should development be continued?
Seven Steps of Concept Testing
2- Choose a survey population A population that mirrors the target market, Example of Sample sizes: 10 sample for a very specialized product 1000 samples for a product for 10 million consumer
Two consumer segments; college students, urban commuters; they decided for a survey of 1000 customers.
Seven Steps of Concept Testing
2- Choose a survey population
Factors leading to relatively smaller or larger survey sample size:
Seven Steps of Concept Testing
3- Choose a survey format Face to face interaction, telephone, postal mail, electronic email, internet.
Seven Steps of Concept Testing
4-Communicate the concept Verbal description, sketch, photos and renderings, storyboard,
Seven Steps of Concept Testing
4-Communicate the concept …., simulation, interactive multimedia, physical appearance model, working prototype, video
Seven Steps of Concept Testing 4-Communicate the concept Appropriateness of different survey formats for different ways of communicating
Seven Steps of Concept Testing 5- Measure customer response Attempt to measure the purchase intent Response categories: Definitely would buy Probably would buy Might or might not buy Probably would not buy Definitely would buy
Seven Steps of Concept Testing 6- interpreter the results Q =N ×A ×P Q= Quantity of the product expected to be sold during a time period N= Number of potential customers A= Fraction of these potential customers for which the product is available and the customer is aware of the product P= Probability that the product is purchased (in case of availability and awareness) P = C definitely ×F definitely + C probably ×F definitely F definitely is the fraction of survey responds indicating that they would definitely purchase F probably is the fraction of survey responds indicating that they would probably purchase
Seven Steps of Concept Testing 6- interpreter the results Calibration constants: C definitely Generally 0.1 < C definitely < 0.5 C probably Generally 0.1 < C probably < 0.25 Case Study: Scooters are currently sold to the market at a rate of 1,500,000 units per year (N=1,500,000) . A=0.25 C definitely =0.4 F definitely = 0.3 C probably =0.2 F definitely =0.2 P = 0.4 ×0.3 + 0.2 ×0.2 =0.16 Q = 1,500,000 ×0.25 ×0.16 = 60,000 units/year
Seven Steps of Concept Testing
7- Reflect on the results and the process Getting feedback from the real potential customers,
Case Study: HP Printer A Hewlett-Packard’s product development team wants to respond to the pressures to increase the product variety and to reduce manufacturing costs. Three HP printers from the same platform: An office model, a photo model and a model including scanning capability
Product Development Process Planning Planning
Platform decision
Concept Concept Development Development
Concept decision
System-Level System-Level Design Design
Detail Detail Design Design
Testing Testingand and Refinement Refinement
Production Production Ramp-Up Ramp-Up
Decomposition decision
Product architecture is determined early in the development process.
Case Study: HP Printer Ink jet printing had become the dominate technology for small office printing involving color. Good quality ink jet printers are available for less than $200. The total sale of three competitors together were millions per year. However as the market matured, commercial success required be turned to the subtle needs or more focused market segments and that the manufacturing cost be reduced.
Next step, team members asked: How would the architecture of the product impact their ability to offer product variety? What would be the cost implications of different product architecture? How would the architecture of the product impact their ability to complete the design within 12 months?
Product Architecture Product can be thought of in both functional and physical terms Functional elements: Individual operations and transformations that contribute to the overall performance of the product Factions like: stop paper, or communicate with the host Physical elements: Parts, components and subassemblies that ultimately implement the product’s function Chunk: Major physical building block Each chunk is made up of a collection of components that implement the functions of the product Attributes: The attribute of a product is the scheme by which the functional elements of the product are arranged into physical chunks and by
Modularity The most important characteristic of product’s architecture is modularity
Chunks The most modular architecture: 1) Each functional element is implemented exactly with one physical chunk 2) There are a few well-defined interactions between the chunks
Integral Architecture The opposite of a modular architecture is an integral architecture
Chunks The Integral architecture: 1) Functional elements are implemented using more than one physical chunk 2) A single chunk implement more than one function
Product Architecture: Definition The arrangement of functional elements into physical chunks which become the building blocks for the product or family of products. module
module
module
module
Product module
module
module
Trailer Example: Modular Architecture box
protect cargo fro m weather
hitch
connect to vehicle
fairing
minimize air drag
bed
support cargo loads
springs
suspend trailer structure
wheels
transfer loads to road
Trailer Example: Integral Architecture upper half
protect cargo fro m weather
lower half
connect to vehicle
nose piece
minimize air drag
cargo hanging straps
support cargo loads
spring slot covers
suspend trailer structure
wheels
transfer loads to road
Ford Taurus Integrated Control Panel
Modular or Integral Architecture? Apple iBook
Motorola StarTAC Cellular Phone
Ford Explorer
Rollerblade In-Line Skates
Types of Modularity
Each interface is of a different type from the others, so no interchanging is possible
There is a common bus to which the other chunks connect via the same type of interface
All interfaces are of the same type, but there is no single element to which all the other chunks attach. Chunks are tt ched to identi l
When Is the Product Architecture Defined? Product architecture begins to emerge during concept development. It happens informally in the sketches, function diagrams and early prototypes of the concept development phase
Establishing the Architecture The end result of this activity is an approximate geometric layout, description of the major chunks and documentation of the key interactions among the chunk A four steps process is suggested: 1- Create a schematic of the product 2- Cluster the elements of the schematic 3- Create a rough geometric layout 4- Identify the fundamental and incidental interactions
The concepts of integral and modular apply at several levels: • system • sub-system • component
Product Architecture = Decomposition + Interactions • Interactions within chunks • Interactions across chunks
Establishing the Architecture 1- Create a schematic of the product Rule of thumb: aim for fewer than 30 elements in the schematic
Establishing the Architecture 2- Cluster the elements of the schematic Assigning each element of the schematic to a chunk Clustering factors: -Geometric integration and precision -Function sharing -Capabilities of vendor -Similarity of design or production technology -Localization of changes -> Isolating changes -Accommodating variety -> easy to vary for customer needs -Enabling standardization -> chunks that are useful in other products -Portability of interfaces -> different portability of electrical signals, fluid connections and mechanical forces
Establishing the Architecture c i t a m e h c s e h t f o s t n e m e l e e h t r e t s u l C 2
Establishing the Architecture 3- Create a rough geometric layout
Establishing the Architecture 4- Identify the fundamental and incidental interactions Fundamental interactions: Interactions corresponding to the lines on the schematic that connect the chunks to on another. A sheet of paper flows from the paper tray to the print mechanism. This interaction is plane and should be well understood from the earliest schematics, since it is fundamental to the system’s operation. Incidental interactions: Interactions that arise because of some physical or geometric arrangements. Vibration induced by the actuators in the paper tray could interfere with the precise location of the print cartridge.
