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B207 Reading 14: Product and Service design - Coggle Diagram
B207 Reading 14: Product and Service design
1. Importance of New Product Development (NPD)
Necessity:
NPD is essential because products have a limited life cycle and become outdated or obsolete as competitors introduce better or cheaper alternatives.
Benefits:
Maintaining a stream of new products helps organisations avoid competition based on price and keeps profit margins higher.
Consequences of Inaction:
Customers may switch to competitors, and the organisation's brand itself can be damaged by falling behind.
Categories of NPD:
Incremental Enhancement:
Minor modification to an existing product to enhance performance (e.g., reducing weight or cost); the actual product concept does not change.
New Generation Products:
Complete redesign or new product based on new technologies (e.g., shifting from vinyl records to downloaded music files; crossover vehicles like the Nissan Qashqai).
Breakthrough Products:
Products so unique they create their own new market and product category (e.g., the first mobile phone or the first iPad).
Failure Rate:
Estimates suggest that 40% of newly introduced products will not achieve their sales or profitability objectives.
Reasons for Failure:
Launching the product too soon (functionality doesn't meet claims), lack of sufficient appeal (customers don't see advantages), the customer does not understand the product, or simply no market exists despite novelty (e.g., Segway).
2. Design as a Structured Process
: Design should be a systematic series of steps, ideally multi-disciplinary, involving people from all business functions.
Design Council Double Diamond Model (Four Phases):
Discover:
Divergent thought where design teams look at a wide range of ideas and sources of information to generate options (e.g., behaviour-led design research).
Define:
Convergent process where ideas are reviewed and filtered to agree on the best options to pursue; involves clear scoping and sign-off.
Develop:
Another divergent process where features are tested, usually through prototyping (physical or virtual).
Deliver:
Ideas are refined, final checks are made, and technical problems are addressed before launch.
Disadvantages of Formal Process:
The structured approach might eliminate very good ideas that don't fit perceived corporate requirements, and over-control can limit the divergent initial stages and restrict creativity.
3. Design Thinking
Definition:
A methodology that imbues the full spectrum of innovation activities with a human-centered design ethos.
Core Principle:
Innovation is powered by a thorough understanding of what people want and need in their lives, achieved through direct observation of users (especially 'extreme users').
Six Principles:
Reframe ideas:
Look at the problem from a different angle.
Understand the user:
Gain deep insight into needs and values.
No idea is too wild:
Come up with ideas quickly and avoid restraints.
Collaborate:
Work in a multi-disciplinary team to solve problems from different perspectives.
Test your ideas:
Create low-cost prototypes quickly and obtain immediate feedback.
See the bigger picture:
Look at business and design strategies holistically
4. Design Considerations
Product Design
Focuses on the functionality and tangible aspects.
Aesthetics
: Styling is a key consideration, as customers may choose a product with lower functionality but a better appearance.
Reliability:
The product must perform well over time without failing.
Maintainability
: Ease of maintenance (e.g., long service intervals, better diagnostics).
Durability:
How long the product is expected to last, balanced against the pace of technological change and cost.
Produce-ability:
The product must be cost-effective and possible to make, considering component fit, production process flow, and distribution requirements (e.g., packaging, fit onto pallets).
Service Design (The Service Concept)
Focuses on the customer experience and process design.
Five Elements of the Service Concept (Johnston and Clark, 2005):
The Organising Idea:
Statement of the service's nature and overall purpose (e.g., a fitness centre providing an inclusive package of facilities).
The Service Experience:
The customer's direct experience of the process, interactions with staff ('moments of truth'), and how the service engages all senses (e.g., what they see, hear, taste, or smell).
The Service Outcome:
The clear understanding of the outcome the customer is seeking and how it is measured (e.g., feeling stronger/healthier after exercise).
The Service Operation:
All aspects of how the service is delivered, including physical facilities and systems (e.g., well-designed booking-in procedures to reduce waits).
The Value of the Service:
Customer comparison of perceived benefits against costs (e.g., are there extra charges for classes or car parks?).
5. Quality Function Deployment (QFD)
Tool:
A systematic method, sometimes called the 'House of Quality', used to translate customers' needs into a technical design specification.
Six-Step Process:
Identify What attributes the customer wants (Customer Attributes).
Identify How to meet the needs (Product Characteristics).
Identify the exact links between attributes and characteristics (What vs How - the relationship matrix).
Identify Conflicts or trade-offs between characteristics (the 'roof' of the house).
Identify Why a characteristic is needed (Compare with rival products and determine relative importance).
Decide the Level (How much?) of the characteristics to deploy (the final technical specification).
Benefit:
The QFD approach helps reduce the amount of rework of design, reducing costs and speeding the design lead time.
Cascading
: The QFD matrix can be cascaded to other levels of analysis, defining characteristics of individual parts, process parameters, and ultimate production plans.