Product Design
Product ideas such as computer compatibility are self-evident. Success in
innovation often hinges on the design, development, and execution of these
ideas. In the case of the IBM 360, it was the monumental challenge of
re-engineering computer system architecture that led to the establishment of
new standards in computing.
In new product development (NPD), once the ideas and
concepts have been generated and screened, it is time for R&D to design and
craft the new products. Through a blend of art, science, and technology, they
transform these concepts into tangible products.
This chapter imparts an in-depth understanding of product
design techniques and processes, such as sensory research, the Kano model,
conjoint analysis, and the house of quality. By exploring these topics, you
will gain insights into how ideas are transformed from conceptualization to
the final tangible product.
Design Specifications
The product development process starts with translating consumer requirements
into measurable and controllable engineering and manufacturing parameters. This
often creates some tension between marketing and R&D, as marketers convey
consumer needs while engineers require technical specifications to create the
new product. A set of methods called the quality function deployment (QFD) help
to bridge this divide by translating the need descriptions into technical
specifications.
The house of quality is
a prominent QFD technique that brings together in a “house” configuration the
attributes that consumers need and the engineering characteristics that will
influence those attributes. Utilizing an inter-relationship matrix to relate
the consumer attributes to the engineering characteristics, the technique is
able to translate a product concept into the technical specifications for a
prototype. It also improves cross-department communication by serving as “a
kind of conceptual map that provides the means for inter-functional planning
and communication” (Hauser and Clausing, 1988).
Trade-off
A key issue in product
design is the trade-off between quality and cost: Are consumers willing to pay
for the optimum combination of features that gratify their needs? Are they
prepared to pay the additional cost for an improvement in performance?
Designers are also confronted with the challenge
of negatively correlated characteristics. For instance, taste versus low
calories, taste versus nutrition, power versus safety, ubiquitous versus
exclusive, quality versus price and so on.
Sometimes a creative solution can
satisfy multiple needs. Most of the time, however, a trade-off is called for.
To make an informed decision, the designer needs to know the combination of price
and features that target consumers finds most desirable.
Conjoint analysis,
a technique developed by Paul Green at the Wharton School, answers these
questions. It is a predictive technique used to determine customers’
preferences for the different features, including price, that make up a product
or service.
Conjoint analysis works well for consumer durables
and has also been used for FMCG products. Yet sometimes it may become
challenging to convey tastes, as in food products, or fragrances, in a conjoint
analysis. Sensory research and consumer product testing offer an alternative
methodology where preference ratings by consumers are modelled to determine the
importance of each attribute.