Concept testing, product architecture and design of modular system

Concept Testing,
Product Architecture &
Design of Modular
System
Shafeequr Rehman
1

Concept Testing
Concept Development Process
In a concept test, the development team solicits a response to a description of
the product concept from potential customers in the target market.
2
Identify
Customer
Needs
Establish
Target
Specifications
Generate
Product
Concepts
Select
Product
Concept(s)
Set
Final
Specifications
Plan
Downstream
Development
Mission
Statement Test
Product
Concept(s)
Development
Plan

Input and output
3
• Input to the potential customer
• Prototype
• Output from the potential customer
• Likelihood for the potential customer to buy the
product
• Estimate of how many units of the product the
company is likely to sell

Concept testing steps
1. Define the purpose of the concept testing
2. Choose a survey population and sample size
3. Choose a survey format
4. Communicate the concept
5. Measure customer response
6. Interpret the results
7. Reflect on the results and the process
4

Step 1
Define the purpose
• Which of the alternative concepts should be pursued?
• How can the concept be improved to better meet customer needs?
• Approximately how much units are likely to be sold?
• Should the development be continued?
5

Step 2
Choose a survey population and sample
size
1. Sample size varies from a few to thousands
2. Factors affecting the sample size
1. The stage of product development
2. Cost to conduct survey
3. Nature and intent of the survey
4. Budget (amount) of the development project
5. How possible to collect the intended information.
3. Possible to structure multiple surveys with different objectives at different stages.
Cont..
6

Factors leading to relatively smaller or
larger survey sample sizes.
Factors Favouring a Smaller Sample Size Factors Favouring a Larger Sample Size
Test occurs early in concept development
process.
Test occurs later in concept development
process.
Test is primarily intended to gather
qualitative data.
Test is primarily intended to assess demand
quantitatively.
Surveying potential customers is relatively
costly in time or money.
Surveying customers is relatively fast and
Inexpensive.
Required investment to develop and launch
the product is relatively small.
Required investment to develop and launch
the product is relatively high.
A relatively large fraction of the target
market is expected to value the product.
A relatively small fraction of the target
market is expected to value the product.
7

Step 3
Choose a survey format
• Formats
 Face to face interaction
 Telephone
 Postal mail
 Electronic mail
 Internet (a test site on the internet)
8

Step 4
Communicate the concept
• Communication means listed in order of increasing richness of the
description:
 Verbal description
 Sketch
 Photos and renderings
 Storyboard (a series of images shown a temporal sequence of actions
involving the products)
 Video (allowing more dynamic than the story board)
 Simulation
 Interactive multimedia (video and simulation)
 Physical appearance model (looks-like)
 Working prototypes (works-like)
• Matching the Survey Format with the Means of Communicating the Concept
9

Step 5
Measure customer response
 Measure their preferences among alternative concepts
 Understand why and how they respond to the product concepts
 Attempt to measure purchase intent (the likelihood of buying)on a
scale of five response categories:
1. Definitely would buy.
2. Probably would buy.
3. Might or might not buy.
4. Probably would not buy.
5. Definitely would not buy.
10

Step 6
Interpret the result
• Interpretation of the results is straightforward if one concept dominates
the others and the team is confident that the respondents understood
the key differences among the concepts.
• If the results are not conclusive, the team may decide to choose a
concept based on cost or other considerations, or may decide to offer
multiple versions of the product.
• In many cases the team is also interested in estimating the demand for
a product in the period following launch, usually one year.
Cont..
11

We estimate, Q = N × A × P
P = Cd x Fd + Cp x Fp
Where, Q= the quantity of the product expected to be sold during a time period
N = the number of potential customers expected to buy
A = the fraction of these potential customers aware of the product and the product is available
P = the probability that the product is purchased if the customer is aware of it and it is available
Fd = the fraction of survey respondents indicating that they would definitely purchase
Fp= the fraction of survey respondents indicating that they would probably purchase
Cd = the percentage that those in Fd will actually buy (0.1-0.5)
Cp = the percentage that those in Fp will actually buy (0-0.25)
12

Step 7
Reflect on the Results and the
process
In reflecting on the results of the concept test, the team should ask two
key diagnostic questions.
1. The concept communicated in a way that is likely to elicit
customer response that reflects true intent?
2. The resulting forecast consistent with observed sales
rates of similar products?
13

Concept Testing Case Study
A prototype of emPower Corporation’s electric scooter product concept
Image Source: Karl T Ulrich, Product Design and Development
14

Step 1: Purpose of concept test:
 What market to be in?
Step 2: Sample population:
 College students who live 1-3 miles from campus
 Single-person transportation in large factory
Step 3: Survey format:
 Face-to-face interviews
15

Step 4: Communicating the concept
1. Verbal Description:
• The product is a lightweight electric scooter that can be easily folded and taken with you
inside a building or on public transportation.
• The scooter weighs about 25 pounds. It travels at speeds of up to 15 miles per hour and
can go about 12 miles on a single charge.
• The scooter can be recharged in about two hours from a standard electric outlet.
• The scooter is easy to ride and has simple controls — just an accelerator button and a
brake.
16

2. Sketch
17
Sketch by David Wallace
Image Source: Karl T Ulrich, Product Design and
Development

3. Photos and Rendering
18
Courtesy of emPower Corporation

4. Story Board
19

5. Video
20
Video Source: YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2M8bgadt6g

6. Simulation
21
3D Solid CAD Model

7. Physical Appearance Model
22

8. Working Prototype
23

10. Beta Prototype
24

5: Measure of customer response:
25
Image Source: Karl T Ulrich, Product Design and
Development

Step 6: Interpreting the result: Forecasting the Demand
1. Scooter Sold as Single-Person Transportation in Large Factories
Assumptions:
• N = current bicycle and scooter sales to factories (150,000)
• A = 0.25 (single distributor’s share)
• Cd= 0.4 & Cp= 0.2
• Fd= 0.3 & Fp= 0.2
• P= Cd x Fd+ Cp x Fp
P = 0.4 x 0.3 + 0.2 x 0.2= 0.16
• Q = N x A x P
Q = 150,000 x 0.25 x 0.16= 6000 units/year
26

2. Scooter Sold to College Students
Assumptions:
• N = off-campus grad students (2,000,000)
• A = 0.2 (realistic) to 0.8 (every bike shop)
• Cd= 0.4 & Cp= 0.2
• Fd= 0.1 & Fp= 0.05
• P= Cd x Fd+ Cp x Fp
P = 0.4 x 0.1 + 0.2 x 0.05= 0.05
• Q = N x A x P
Q = 2,000,000 x 0.3 x 0.05= 30,000 units in first year
27

Sources of Forecast Error
• Word-of-Mouth Effects
• Quality of Concept Description
• Pricing
• Level of Promotion
• Competition
28

Product Architecture
• A scheme by which the functional elements of the product are arranged
(or assigned) into physical elements (chunks) and by which the blocks interact.
• The functional elements of a product are the individual operations and
transformations that contribute to the overall performance of the product.
• The physical elements of a product are the parts, components, and
subassemblies that ultimately implement the product’s functions.
29

30
The arrangement of functional elements into
physical chunks which become the building
blocks for the product or family of products.
Product
module
module
module
module
module
module
module
module

Considerations for product
architecture
• How will it affect the ability to offer product variety?
• How will it affect the product cost?
• How will it affect the design lead time?
• How will it affect the development process management?
31

Types of Architecture
1. Modular Architecture
 Chunks implement one or a few functional elements in their entirety
(each functional element is implemented by exactly one physical
chunks)
 The interactions between chunks are well defined and are generally
fundamental to the primary functions of the products.
2. Integrated Architecture
 Functional elements of the product are implemented using more than
one chunk
 A single chunk implements many functions.
 The interaction between chunks are ill defined and may be subsidiary
to the primary functions of the products.
32

33
Two models of bicycle brake and shifting controls. The product on the left exemplifies a modular architecture;
the product on the right has a more integral architecture.
Courtesy of Shimano
Reference: Product Design and Development by Karl T. Ulrich and Steven D. Eppinger

Implications of the Architecture
Decisions about how to divide the product into chunks and about how
much modularity to impose on the architecture are tightly linked to several
issues of importance to the entire enterprise:
• Product change
• Product variety
• Component standardization
• Product performance
• Manufacturability
• Product development management
34

Product Change
Chunks are the physical building blocks of the product, but the architecture of
the product defines how these blocks relate to the function of the product.
The architecture therefore also defines how the product can be changed.
• Upgrade
• Add-ons
• Adaptation (adapt to different operation environments)
• Wear (e.g., razors, tires, bearings)
• Consumption (for example, toner cartridges, battery in cameras)
• Flexibility in use (for users to reconfigure to exhibit different capabilities)
• Reuse in creating subsequent products
In each of these cases, a modular architecture allows the firm to minimize the
physical changes required to achieve a functional change.
35

Product Variety
• Variety refers to the range of product models the firm can produce within
a particular time period in response to market demand.
• Products built around modular product architectures can be more easily
varied without adding tremendous complexity to the manufacturing
system.
36

37
Swatch uses a modular architecture to enable high-variety
manufacturing.
Photo by Stuart Cohen

Component Standardization
• Component standardization is the use of the same component or chunk
in multiple products.
• If a chunk implements only one or a few widely useful functional
elements, then the chunk can be standardized and used in several
different products.
• Standardization allows the firm to manufacture the chunk in higher
volumes than would otherwise be possible.
• This in turn may lead to lower costs and increased quality.
• For example, the watch battery shown in previous picture is made by a
supplier and standardized across several manufacturers’ product lines.
38

Product Performance
• Product performance is defined as how well a product implements its
intended functions.
• Typical product performance characteristics are speed, efficiency, life,
accuracy, and noise.
• An integral architecture facilitates the optimization of holistic
performance characteristics and those that are driven by the size,
shape, and mass of a product.
39

40
The BMW R1100RS motorcycle. This product exhibits function sharing and an integral architecture
with the design of its transmission chunk.
Photo by Stuart Cohen

Manufacturability
• The product architecture directly affects the ability of the team to design
each chunk to be produced at low cost.
• One important design-for-manufacturing (DFM) strategy involves the
minimization of the number of parts in a product through component
integration.
• To maintain a given architecture, the integration of physical components
can only be easily considered within each of the chunks.
• Component integration across several chunks is difficult and would alter
the architecture dramatically.
41

Product Development Management
• Modular and integral architectures demand different project
management styles.
• With a modular architecture, the group assigned to design a chunk
deals with known, and relatively limited, functional interactions with
other chunks.
• If a functional element is implemented by two or more chunks, as in
some integral architectures, detail design will require close coordination
among different groups.
• Firms relying on outside suppliers or on a geographically dispersed
team often opt for a modular architecture in which development
responsibilities can be split according to the chunk boundaries.
42

Establishing the Architecture
The end result of establishing the architecture is an approximate
geometric layout of the product, descriptions of the major chunks, and
documentation of the key interactions among the chunks. Ulrich and
Eppinger propose a four-step process for establishing the product
architecture:
• Create a schematic of the product.
• Cluster the elements of the schematic.
• Create a rough geometric layout.
• Identify the fundamental and incidental interactions.
43

Establishing the architecture for a Desk Jet
printer
44Courtesy of Hewlett-Packard Company

Step 1
Creating a product schematic
• Create a schematic diagram representing the (physical or functional)
elements of the product, using blocks, arrows, and other notations.
 Flow of forces or energy
 Flow of material
 Flow of signal or data
• A good rule of thumb is to aim for fewer than 30 elements in the
schematic, for the purpose of establishing the product architecture.
45

46
Schematic of Desk Jet
Flow of forces or energy
Flow of material
Flow of signals or data
Store
Output
Store
Blank
Paper
Enclose
Printer
Provide
Structural
Support
Print
Cartridge
Position
Cartridge
In X-Axis
Position
Paper
In Y-Axis
Supply
DC
Power
“Pick”
Paper
Control
Printer
Command
Printer
Connect
to
Host
Communicate
with
Host
Display
Status
Accept
User
Inputs
Functional
or Physical
Elements

Step 2
Cluster the elements of schematic
The second step of setting product architecture is to create
groups of elements in the schematic. The purpose of this step
is to arrive at an arrangement of modules or clusters by
assigning each design element to a module.
 Geometric integration and precision
 Function sharing
 Capability of vendors
 Similarity of design or production technology
 Localization of design (or part) change
 Accommodating variety
 Enabling standardization
 Portability of the interfaces
47

48
Cluster Elements into Chunks
Store
Output
Store
Blank
Paper
Enclose
Printer
Provide
Structural
Support
Print
Cartridge
Position
Cartridge
In X-Axis
Position
Paper
In Y-Axis
Supply
DC
Power
“Pick”
Paper
Control
Printer
Command
Printer
Connect
to
Host
Communicate
with
Host
Display
Status
Accept
User
Inputs
Paper Tray Print
Mechanism
Logic Board
Chassis
Enclosure
User Interface Board
Host Driver
Software
Power Cord
and “Brick”
Functional
or Physical
Elements
Chunks
Reference: Product Design and Development by Karl T. Ulrich and
Steven D. Eppinger

Creating a rough geometric layout
• A geometric system layout in
 2D or 3D drawings,
 2D or 3D graphics, or
 Physical models.
49

Geometric layout of the Deskjet Printer
50

Identify the fundamental and
incidental interactions
Fundamental interactions
Those which connect the building blocks, such as
energy flows, material flows, and data flows.
Incidental interactions
Those that arise because of geometric arrangements
of the building blocks, such as thermal expansion or
heat dissipation.
51

52
Incidental Interactions
Enclosure
Paper Tray
Chassis
Print
Mechanism
User Interface
Board
Logic
Board
Power Cord
and “Brick”
Host Driver
Software
Styling
Vibration
Thermal
Distortion
Thermal
Distortion
RF
InterferenceRF
Shielding

Delayed Differentiation
• Postponing the differentiation of a product until late in the supply
chain is called delayed differentiation or simply postponement.
• It may offer substantial reductions in the costs of operating the
supply chain, primarily through reductions in inventory
requirements.
Two design principles are necessary conditions for postponement.
1. Differentiating elements must be concentrated in one or a few
chunks.
2. The product and production process must be designed so that the
differentiating chunks can be added to the product near the end of
the supply chain.
53

Platform planning
Trade-off decision between
1. Differentiation plan
 Difference in product attributes from customer’s
viewpoint
2. Commonality plan
 The components which the product versions commonly
share. Therefore, their physicals are the same across
the products in the platform.
55

56
An example differentiation plan for a family of three printers.
An example commonality plan for a family of three printers.

Modular System
• Chunks implement one or a few functional elements in their entirety.
• The interactions between chunks are well defined and are generally
fundamental to the primary functions of the product.
• A modular architecture makes it easier to evolve the design over time.
• It can be adapted to the needs of different customers by adding or
removing modules.
• Obsolescence can be dealt with by replenishing components as they
wear out or are used up, and at the end of its useful life the product can
be remanufactured.
57

58
Project Ara- A concept modular phone by Google
JBL Speaker
256 TB
External
Memory
Nvidia Graphic
Card
Nike Fitness
Sensor
Duracell-
Power
Source
Nikon
Camera
Samsung
Biometric
Sensor
D-Wave
Processor

Types of Modular Architecture
There are three types of modular architectures defined by the type of
interface used. Each of the modular types involves a one-on-one mapping
from the functional elements to the physical product and well-defined
interfaces.
• Slot-modular
• Bus-modular
• Sectional-modular
59

Slot Modular
• Each of the interfaces
between chunks in a slot-
modular architecture is of a
different type from the others,
so that the various chunks in
the product cannot be
interchanged.
• For example, automobile radio
and speedometer are the
chunks having different
interface with control panel
and can not be interchanged.
60Reference: Product Design and Development by Karl T. Ulrich and Steven D. Eppinger

Bus Modular
• In a bus-modular architecture,
there is a common bus to
which the other chunks
connect via the same type of
interface.
• interchange of modules can be
done readily
• For example, The use of a
power bus is common in
electrical products.
61Reference: Product Design and Development by Karl T. Ulrich and Steven D. Eppinger

Sectional Modular
• In this type of modular architecture all
interfaces are of the common type, but
there is no single element to which the
other chunks attach.
• The design is built by connecting the
chunks to each other through identical
interfaces.
• For example, sectional sofa
62

63
Moto Z with Moto Mods, an example of Modular Design

Concept testing, product architecture and design of modular system

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