Chapter 7: Concept Selection

TECH 313 Product Design and Development

Monday, February 2nd 2009 Dr. Seaman

Chapter 7: Concept Selection

Chapter Table of Contents
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. Introduction Development Processes and Organizations Product Planning Identifying Customer Needs Product Specifications Concept Generation Concept Selection Concept Testing Product Architecture Industrial Design Design for Manufacturing Prototyping Product Development Economics Managing Projects

Objectives of this Chapter:

After this lecture and associated activities, students should be able to:

Understand the need for a structured method to select a product concept Know the six steps to guide a team through a concept selection process Be able to create a decision matrix spreadsheet for your teams project containing:

Selection criteria Concepts related to your teams project

Concept Selection Defined

The process of evaluating concepts with respect to customer needs and other criteria, comparing relative strengths and weaknesses of concepts, and selecting one or more concepts for further investigation and testing, or development

Concept Development Process

Chapter 5
Mission Statement Identify Customer Needs Establish Target Specifications Generate Product Concepts

Chapter 7
Select Product Concept(s) Test Product Concept(s)

Chapter 5
Set Final Specifications Plan Downstream Development Development Plan

Perform Economic Analysis

BOM

Benchmark Competitive Products Build and Test Models and Prototypes

Various Methods for Choosing a Concept

External decision Product Champion Intuition Multivoting Pros and Cons Prototype and Test Decision Matrices YOUR TEAM!

Exhibit 7-5

Concept Development Funnel

concept generation concept screening concept scoring concept testing

Needs for using a Structured Method for Concept Selection

A structured method for concept selection:

Helps to maintain objectivity throughout the concept phase of product development Guides the product development team through a critical, difficult and emotional process

Potential benefits for using a Structured Method

Likely to be a customer focused product (customer needs) Helps to create a more competitive product by benchmarking against competitors Better product-process coordination with respect to manufacturing criteria Helps to reduce the amount of time to market Using objective criteria helps to facilitate better group decision-making (emotions out) Helps in the process of documenting the decision process

Medical Supply Company

CASE STUDY

Medical Supply Company retains a Product Design Firm

Opportunity Statement: Develop a reusable syringe with precise dosage control for outpatient use

Product sold by a competitor

Concept Selection Example: Reusable Syringe

Two Major Problems with Current Reusable Syringe

Cost

Current product model is made from stainless steel

Accuracy
Problems with metering accurate dosage

Company wants to tailor the new product toward to the physical capabilities of the elderly

Accurate dosage

7 Needs for Client End Users

Ease of handling Ease of use Readability of dose settings Dose metering accuracy Durability Ease of manufacture Portability

Design Concepts = 7 sketches

Each of the 7 concept ideas:

Nominally satisfies the customer needs

Lets look at the sketches!

Concept Selection Process

Prepare the Matrix Criteria Reference Concept Weightings Rate Concepts Scale (+ 0) or (15) 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

CONCEPT VARIANTS
SELECTION CRITERIA
Ease of Handling Ease of Use Number Readability Dose Metering Load Handling Manufacturing Ease Portability PLUSES SAMES MINUSES NET RANK CONTINUE?

A
0 0 0 + 0 + + 3 4 0 3 1 Yes

B
0 0 + 0 + 2 3 2 0 3 Yes

C
+ + 0 2 1 4 2 7 No

D
0 0 0 + 0 0 1 5 1 0 5 No

E
0 0 + + 0 0 0 2 5 0 2 2 Yes

F
+ 0 0 + 2 2 3 1 6 No

G
0 + + 0 0 2 3 2 0 4 Yes

REF.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Example: Concept Scoring

Concepts A (reference) Master Cylinder Weighted Score 0.15 0.45 0.2 0.75 0.3 0.6 0.3 2.75 4 No DF Lever Stop Weighted Score 0.15 0.6 0.3 0.75 0.75 0.6 0.3 3.45 1 Develop E Swash Ring Weighted Score 0.2 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.4 0.3 3.10 2 No G+ Dial Screw+ Weighted Score 0.2 0.45 0.5 0.75 0.45 0.4 0.3 3.05 3 No

Selection Criteria Ease of Handling Ease of Use Readability of Settings Dose Metering Accuracy Durability Ease of Manufacture Portability

Weight 5% 15% 10% 25% 15% 20% 10% Total Score Rank Continue?

Rating 3 3 2 3 2 3 3

Rating 3 4 3 3 5 3 3

Rating 4 4 5 2 4 2 3

Rating 4 3 5 3 3 2 3

Hierarchical Relations Defining more detail (iterative)

Remember
The goal of concept selection is not to: Select the best concept. The goal of concept selection is to Develop the best concept.

The process of evaluating concepts with respect to customer needs and other criteria, comparing relative strengths and weaknesses of concepts, and selecting one or more concepts for further investigation and testing, or development

Group Work for the 3 Product Development Teams

Begin developing a Team Web Site

What should be on the front page?

Develop a decision matrix to rate concepts for each team - similar to Exhibit 7-5 (MS Excel file)

Reminders for Next Time

Quiz #5 over Chapter 7 Concept Selection Lab time for:

Updating of Mission Statement Updating decision matrix to rate concepts for each team Develop a draft Bill of Materials (BOM) with Low & High Cost - Estimates (create an MS Excel file similar to Exhibit 5-10) Create sketches and rough CAD model for each concept Team project web site updates