Modular product platform design

Modular product platforms, sets of common modules that are shared among a product family, can bring cost savings and enable introduction of multiple product variants quicker than without platforms. This thesis describes the current state of modular platform design and identifies gaps in the current state. The gaps were identified through application of three existing methods and by testing their usability and reliability on engineers and engineering students. Existing platform or modular design methods either are meant for (a) single products, (b) identify only module "cores" leaving the final module boundary definition to the designer, and (c) use only a limited set of evaluation criteria. I introduce a clustering algorithm for common module identification that takes into account possible degrees of commonality. This new algorithm can be applied both at physical and functional domains and at any, and even mixed, levels of hierarchy. Furthermore, the algorithm is not limited to a single measure for commonality analysis. To select the candidate modules for the algorithm, a key discriminator is how difficult the interfaces become. I developed an interface complexity metric based on minimizing redesign in case of a design change. The metric is based on multiple expert interviews during two case studies. The new approach was to look at the interface complexity as described by the material, energy, and information flows flowing through the interface. Finally, I introduce a multi criteria platform scorecard for improved evaluation of modular platforms. It helps a company focus on their strategy and benchmark one's own platform to the competitors'. These tools add to the modular platform development process by filling in the gaps identified. The tools are described in the context of the entire platform design process, and the validity of the methods and applicability to platform design is shown through industrial case studies and examples.reviewe

Engineering design concept generation: The effect of concept combination and classification

World economic forum reported that creativity is one of the most sought after skills by employers globally. Preliminary research lead to multiple initiatives on enhancing creativity and innovation. To contribute in this field, we investigated the effect of two interventions on the creativity of undergraduate engineering students, particularly on engineering design concept generation. The primary focus of this investigation was on assessing the effect of two interventions, combining and classifying concepts, on the originality and quantity of the concepts produced. In this research, we used the Decision Tree for Originality Assessment in Design (DTOAD) as a measure of concept originality. Statistical analysis showed that both the combine and the classify interventions lead to concept generation with higher originality. We also found that students produced higher number of the radically different concept, i.e. concepts with originality score 7.5 and above, however this effect was observed in all the test groups. These interventions made improvements and thus can be encouraged as a part of an ideation or an engineering problem solving task in the undergraduate engineering education to help the students develop creative skills

The Design of Crowd-Funded Products

Crowdfunding is an emerging phenomenon where entrepreneurs publicize their product concepts to raise development funding and collect design feedback directly from potential supporters. Many innovative products have raised a significant amount of crowdfunding. This paper analyzes the crowd-funded products to develop design guidelines for crowdfunding success. A database of 127 samples is collected in two different product categories from two different crowdfunding websites. They are evaluated using a design project assessment scorecard, the Real-Win-Worth framework, which focuses on the state of maturity on various customer, technical and supply chain dimensions. Our analysis identified key RWW factors that characterize successful design for crowd-funded products. For example, success at crowdfunding is attained through clear explanation of how the design operates technically and meets customer needs. Another recommendation is to not emphasize patent protection, for which crowd-funders are less concerned. Also, evidence of a strong startup financial plan is not necessary for crowdfunding success. These key RWW factors provide guidelines for designers and engineers to improve their design and validate their concepts early to improve their chances for success on crowdfunding platforms.SUTD-MIT International Design Centre (IDC

Usability issues in the operating room - Towards contextual design guidelines for medical device design

Most usability assessments of medical devices describe the problems of individual devices in detail, but few account for the real context of use or provide designers with actionable guidelines for improvement. To fill this gap, this paper reports the results of a case study on the usability of operating room technologies and documents the creation of contextual design guidelines for operating room device design. We spent 64 h in a gynecological operating unit conducting interviews with staff and observing device use during surgery. With qualitative analysis methods and based on existing usability principles, we created 21 design guidelines for the operating room context. The new guidelines highlight interactions between multiple devices, staff members, as well as other contextual factors. While the guidelines require further validation, they can potentially support the creation of more safe, ergonomic, and intuitive medical devices.Peer reviewe

The Characteristics of Innovative, Mechanical Products

Many new products fail upon introduction to the marketplace, but a few products are exceptionally successful, earning innovation awards and other benchmarks of success. To better understand the features of those innovative products, 197 award-winning products are analyzed to identify the characteristics that distinguish those products from the competition. For the analysis, a set of product-level characteristics are identified and organized into categories, which included functionality, architecture, external interactions, user interactions, and cost. Based on their innovation award citations, the products are analyzed with respect to the set of characteristics, and results are tabulated. Several award-winning products are also compared to competitive products on the shelves of major retail stores. On average, award-winning products display multiple characteristics of innovation. Overall, a vast majority (more than two-thirds) of the award-winning products exhibit enhanced user interactions, with a similar percentage displaying enhanced external interactions, compared with approximately one-third of product

Facing extreme uncertainty – how the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic influenced product development

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a global disruption, but little is known about how it impacted product development. Based on interviews of 24 practicing product development leaders, we find that COVID-19 generated a unique combination of external and internal uncertainties and thus had several direct impacts on product development. Initial adaptations were reported in the level of innovation pursued, the development processes and the resourcing. In terms of level of innovation and resourcing, no uniformity in adaptations were observed: opposite changes were made across radical/incremental, expanding/reducing, local/international and internal/external collaboration balances in the different companies’ product development activities. Process adaptations were more uniform in direction, focusing on increasing flexibility and agility. In terms of product development methods for different phases, we find companies quickly seeking creative approaches to replace their traditional methods in idea generation, prototyping, customer interaction, validation etc. with virtual means. Furthermore, changes in human interaction quality, particularly informal interaction, were seen to have far-reaching, unintended negative consequences on their creative efforts, whether in product development, development process or resourcing. Overall, the results highlight the diversity of adaptive choices available to respond to external uncertainties, though more research is still needed on how these influence longer term resilience

From crossing chromosomes to crossing curricula–a biomimetic analogy for cross-disciplinary engineering curriculum planning

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.Interdisciplinary engineering programs have many perceived benefits including developing broader skills and an ability to work with complex real-life problems. However, the development of interdisciplinary programs faces many challenges including how to balance breadth and depth, how to integrate interdisciplinary learning into existing studies and how to work across university structures. In the development work and in communicating interdisciplinarity, T-, Y- and Pi-shaped visualisations are often used. We develop an improved model by using biomimetic analogy from genetics to aid in interdisciplinary curriculum planning. We map analogies between how genes and chromosomes act in the evolution of species and how similar mechanisms can aid in evolving curricula. We identify threegenetic mechanisms to include interdisciplinarity in the curriculum: mutations as unplanned changes, DNA inserts as modular curriculum structures, and crossing chromosomes as cross-disciplinary programs. We use examples from two universities to detail how this analogy helps to reframe curriculum planning.Peer reviewe

Deconstruction of Idea Generation Methods Into a Framework of Creativity Mechanisms

Creative ideas are a central part of design thinking, whether solving engineering problems, generating interesting art, as well as developing successful products and innovations. Idea generation methods are a well-researched topic, and there is significant research that focuses on specific idea generation methods and how they perform. Furthermore, several method classifications have been suggested to help understand the cognitive mechanisms involved in creative ideation as well as differences between methods. Yet, the discourse is usually on which ideation method outperforms another or how to improve an ideation method rather than the elements, rules, constraints, and activities that comprise ideation methods. In this study, 88 well-documented idea generation methods are reviewed and ana- lyzed. We find all analyzed methods consist of 25 basic mechanisms. The mechanisms are discussed and classified into idea promoting and implementation mechanisms. We suggest that rather than focusing research only on methods, there should be a parallel track of research on these mechanisms and their interactions to help increase our understanding of creativity methods, add understanding for practitioners on how to get the best advantages out of creativity methods, and finally improve the way that practical creativity is approached in education.Peer reviewe