Managing product and service development: text and cases

Helping students learn about innovation through exploration, managing product and service development examines the managerial aspects critical to conceiving, designing, and developing innovative products and services

The economics of experimentation in the design of new products and processes

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1995.Includes bibliographical references (p. [322]-331).by Stefan H. Thomke.Ph.D

Managing Product and Service Development : Text an Cases

viii + 592 hlm., 24 cm

www.tuhh.de/tim The Impact of Crash Simulation on Productivity and Problem-Solving in Automotive R&D

This paper analyzes the impact of the virtual tool 'crash simulation ' on automotive R&D over the last 35 years. The research carried out in this context identifies and investigates distinct phases respectively stages of the potential of crash simulations based on the Finite Element Method and the stages ' impact on automotive R&D in-depth. In a study of German Original Equipment Manufacturers ' (OEM) utilization of crash simulations, the evolution of this tool is explored and its impact on productivity and problem-solving investigated. We draw upon literature about crash simulations in car development projects, the utilization of crash simulations in related tasks, and recent literature about the overall impact of crash simulations on automotive R&D. The significance of the tool 'crash simulation ' for the OEMs is emphasized by means of corresponding landmark projects. Our study is based on qualitative research based on 29 in-depth interviews with experts from all of the major German OEMs and experts from the US-American academia. Our analysis results in partitioning the tool's evolution into five phases. Each phase is characterized by its impact on automotive R&D. The phases induced profound changes either in productivity or in the ability of problem-solving. Understanding these profound changes and its triggers holds the key to better understanding the potential of virtual simulation tools and the requirements necessary to unlock this potential

Parallel and sequential testing of design alternatives

An important managerial problem in product design in the extent to which testing activities are carried out in parallel or in series. Parallel testing has the advantage of proceeding more rapidly than serial testing but does not take advantage of the potential for learning between tests, thus resulting in a larger number of tests. We model this trade-off in the form of a dynamic program and derive the optimal testing strategy (or mix of parallel and serial testing) that minimizes both the total cost and time of testing. We derive the optimal testing strategy as a function of testing cost, prior knowledge, and testing lead time. Using information theory to measure the test efficiency, we further show that in the case of imperfect testing (due to noise or simulated test conditions), the attractiveness of parallel strategies decreases. Finally, we analyze the relationship between testing strategies and the structure of design hierarchy. We show that a key benefit of modular product architecture lies in the reduction of testing cost

Modes of experimentation : an innovation process, and competitive, variable

Includes bibliographical references (p. 26-29).HD28 .M414 no.3972-97,