Syllabus/Schedule - Berkeley Expert Systems Technology Lab

ME220
Theory and Methods in Product Design
Class Outline and Schedule
Professor Alice M. Agogino
Spring 2010
DAY DATE TOPIC
1 M 2/15 Introduction to New Product Development (NPD)
We will cover course logistics and requirements and then develop the motivation and
framework for the course. Come to class prepared to discuss why new product development
is important and models of the design process.
Read Ch. 1: Introduction (scanned version available on bSpace as textbooks may not yet
have arrived).
Individual Assignment (Due before or soon after class): Complete SurveyMonkey survey. 1
TBA 2
Special Solidworks Lab (Catherine Newman at KAUST): Lab to make sure you have
Solidworks installed.
2 W 2/17 Introduction to Solid Modeling
Guest Lecturer Professor Sara McMains will go over the basics of solid modeling using
Solidworks.
Individual Assignment Due: Solidworks installation on your own machines.
TBA 3
Special Solidworks Lab (Catherine Newman at KAUST): Tutorial on basic solid modeling
“Lesson 1 Parts”
3 M 2/22 Concept Development: Context and Planning; Tripple Bottom Line
Product planning involves developing a strategy for your products in the context of your
organizational goals and resources. The Tripple Bottom Line refers to considering three
components to an organization’s bottom line: profit, societal benefits, and environmental
impact. Be prepared to discuss the components of a Mission Statement and how it might
reflect the components of a Tripple Bottom Line. Consider the thought questions at the end of
Chapter 2. How is the process described in this chapter similar to/different than the process
you have used in other design projects in class or work? What is the role of a design journal
in the design thinking process? We also hope to introduce the Black Cloud Monitoring
project in collaboration with Dar Al-Hekma, a women’s college in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Read Ch. 2: Development Processes and Organizations
Read Ch. 3: Product Planning
Scan: Google Preview of The Triple Bottom Line, Andrew Savitz and Karl Weber,
http://books.google.com/books?id=pYyqRxTeMe4C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_navl
inks_s#v=onepage&q=&f=false
Individual Assignment Due: List of 20 “bugs”
Individual Assignment Due: Fill out sustainability survey. See bSpace for link.
Individual Assignment Due: Project proposal (first draft for feedback; see assignment on 3/3
1 Except where noted, all readings and assignments are due by the start of class on the dates listed in this
syllabus/schedule.
2 Dates in the color orange, represent lectures or labs that involve solid modeling with Professor Sara
McMains or Dennis Lieu and teaching assistant Catherine Newman.
3 Dates in the color orange, represent lectures or labs that involve solid modeling with Professor Sara
McMains or Dennis Lieu and teaching assistant Catherine Newman.
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to see details for format.) Feedback will be provided by instructor/TA Tuesday morning, Feb.
23. The final proposal and slides will be due by 5:00 pm, Tuesday, March 2.
We are all capable of identifying market needs and thus generating ideas for new products, in
part by noticing the deficiencies in the products we use in everyday life. To prove to yourself
that you can identify market needs, generate a list of at least 20 “bugs.” Designers at the
product design firm IDEO use “bug lists” to record their observations of products and
situations where products failed to meet the actual conditions of use. This list should include
any observation or annoyance that comes to your mind. Note that we are looking for a list of
“bugs” (e.g., my vegetable peeler hurts my hand when I peel potatoes) rather than a list of
product solutions (e.g., a vegetable peeler with a soft handle). In other words, do NOT invent
solutions to the problems you see – just state the problem. Upload your bug list to the course
website under “assignments” and “twenty bugs”.
TBA Special Solidworks Lab (Catherine Newman at KAUST): Solidworks Tutorial - “Revolves
and Sweeps”
4 W 2/24 Assemblies and Virtual Prototyping in Solid Modeling
Guest Lecturer Sara McMains will go over will go over the basics of using assemblies for
virtual prototyping in solid modeling.
Individual Assignment Due: Solidworks modeling assignment specified on bSpace.
TBA Special Solidworks Lab (Catherine Newman at KAUST): Solidworks Tutorial - Lesson 2
“Assemblies”
5 M 3/1 Equations, Degrees of Freedom and Configurations in Solid Modeling
Guest Lecturer Sara McMains will go over how parametric equations and degrees of freedom
can be included in solid modeling configurations.
Individual Assignment Due: Assembly modeling assignment specified on bSpace.
TBA Special Solidworks Lab (Catherine Newman at KAUST): Solidworks Tutorial - “Design
Tables” and begin configuration assignment that is due March 8. As students will have
different levels of proficiency, we are using an extended deadline to provide more time and
tutoring for students as needed.
6 W 3/3 Project: Proposal Presentation and Voting
Students will be given an opportunity to pitch their project ideas in class. Details of the
presentation below.
Individual Assignment Due: Final project proposal and slides due by 5:00 pm, Tuesday,
March 2 4
Project Preferences Due: 5:00 pm, Thursday, March 4
Your one-page proposals should include:
• A brief, descriptive project title (2-4 words)
• Your name, phone number, e-mail, and department affiliation
• A description of the market opportunity you have identified. Your description may
include any of the following: Documentation of the market opportunity, shortcomings of
existing competitive products, and/or definition of the target market and its size. Please
do not present product ideas at this point. Our strict focus in this phase of the course is
on the market opportunity – the unfilled need or unsolved problem – and not on solution
concepts.
4 Unless otherwise specified, all times are KAUST times.
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These proposals will be posted to a location where all participants in the class can see them.
Come to class prepared to give a VERY SHORT (i.e., 2 minute), yet convincing, presentation
of your project proposal. Please prepare four slides that you can present in 30 seconds each
that clearly communicate the user/market need on which you would like your classmates to
work with you. We will collect all of the slides into a single presentation that we will run
with PowerPoint’s timed presentation feature. Your slides should communicate the
following:
• The first slide MUST include your name and department affiliation.
• A verbal and visual demonstration of the product opportunity you have described in your
proposal.
• Given that the audience will be able to read your written proposal at their leisure, you
might spend your time explaining the richness of the market opportunity or
demonstrating existing competitive products.
• The slides are due absolutely NO LATER THAN 5 P.M. on Tuesday March 2 so that
we can get the full presentation assembled for class on March 3.
• By 5 p.m. on Thursday, 3/4 you must decide on your project preferences. You should
vote on the FIVE projects on which you would most like to work in order of preference.
Submit your preferences per the instructions on bSpace. We will process your
preferences and assign teams. There is a possibility that we will ask you to vote a second
time after we have eliminated some of the projects in the first round, so stay tuned.
7 M 3/8 Project: Project Launch
During this class session, we will talk about team dynamics and interactions as being critical
to new product development success. We’ll conduct a team launch exercise in which you and
your teammates debrief your MBTI profiles and the other questions on the survey. You will
be given ta eam launch exercise to work on during the class. Be sure to bring your MBTI
profile to class.
Read Ch. 16: Managing Projects
Read: “The Trouble with Teamwork” (http://www.leadertoleader.org/knowledgecenter/journal.aspx?ArticleID=80)
Individual Assignment Due: Final Solidworks configuration & assembly assignment
discussed on March 1.
Individual Assignment Due: Complete the Jung Typology Test and the team launch survey
available through the SurveyMonkey link. You will need to know your Myers Briggs profile
in order to complete the survey.
• The Jung Typology Test and information about it are available at
www.humanmetrics.com. Read the background on the test and then take and score it.
• After you have the results of your test, go to the SurveyMonkey website listed on bSpace
and complete the survey there.
8 W 3/10 Concept Development: Customer and User Needs Assessment
In this class, we will talk about user needs understanding, and in particular the role of
ethnographic research in understanding customer needs.
Read Ch. 4: Identifying Customer Needs
Scan: Design Research (pp. 20-80),
http://www.engineeringpathway.com/ep/learning_resource/summary/?id=B8C0CE80-179F-
4B6D-B097-9FFA295C448E
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Read: “Get Inside the Lives of Your Customers”
Individual Assignment Due: Working with your team, find products that compete with or
serve a similar purpose to the one your project team is developing. Cordinating with your
team, each member should interview a potential or current user of the product about what
they like and dislike about the product. This interview can be done very informally in 5-10
minutes. Record what your interviewee says and interpret the data in terms of customer
needs as described in Chapter 4. Pay particular attention to the guidelines provided for
translating customer statements into needs statements. Prepare a one-page summary of
what you have learned about the interview process. Submit both the record and interpretation
of customer needs and your page of lessons learned to the assignments tab under customer
interview. Also upload the interview to your project website.
9 M 3/15 Concept Development: Translating the Voice of the Customer (Creating Imperatives)
In this class we will move a little ahead of where your project should be to introduce you to
the next step of the process – translating customer and user needs information into
specifications and imperatives. We’ll introduce the basic concepts of generating
specifications and imperatives, and then have you do some exercises with your project data
on Wednesday to play with the concepts.
Read Ch. 5: Product Specifications
Read: “Turn Customer Input into Innovation”
Project Deliverables Due: Mission statement, customer user needs assessment plan, project
plan
10 W 3/17 The Role of Industrial Design
This class will look role of industrial design, user interaction and ergonomics in the design
process. Bring to class (physical product or visual image) one example of what you think is a
well designed product/feature and one of a badly designed product/feature.
Read Ch. 10: Industrial Design
Read: “Innovation as a Learning Process: Embedding Design Thinking” (on bSpace)
Individual Assignment Due: Good design, bad design examples for class exercise
11 M 3/22 Concept Development: Concept Generation
Agogino will give lecture live at KAUST. This class session will focus on brainstorming and
“ideation” techniques used by new product development teams to generate product ideas
from their understanding of customer wants and needs and of the available technologies. We
will use in class exercises to help you move from your individual concept ideas to team ones.
Read Ch. 6: Concept Generation
Read: “Creative Thinking Techniques” (http://www.virtualsalt.com/crebook2.htm)
Individual Assignment Due: Each team member is to generate 20 concepts and post to your
website and bring to class.
Project Deliverables Due: Upload metaphors and team concepts generated during in-class
studio.
12 W 3/24 Peer Review on mission, user needs.
Agogino will give lecture live at KAUST. The date of this peer review may change to
accommodate visit schedule.
Project Deliverables Due: Updated mission statement, customer/user needs analysis, and
short discussion of the process you used, lessons learned, and any observations you have
about your team. Prepare 10 min. team presentation for class.
3/27 Spring Break
3/29 Spring Break
13 M 4/5 Concept Development: Considering Product Architecture
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Product architectures and product platforms can be used to reduce costs and increase
personalization and variation in product lines.
Read Ch. 9: Product Architecture
Project Deliverables Due: Prioritized list of top 5 needs. Summarize lessons learned.
In-class project exercise: Generating imperatives, design principles and specifications
14 W 4/7 Concept Development: Concept Selection and Decision Making
Concept screening, concept selection and other decision-analytic methods will be covered.
You will perform an in-class exercise with your team, buiding on the individual assignment
due today.
Read Ch. 7: Concept Selection
Individual Assignment: Using your team’s top 5 user needs, individually rank your concepts
using concept scoring and selection. Bring to class to share with your team.
15 M 4/12 Testing and Refinement: Low Fidelity Prototyping and Concept Testing Overview
The class will now move to developing prototypes for communicating and testing your
design concepts.
Read Ch. 8: Concept Testing
Project Deliverables Due: Top three concepts to use for developing early prototypes.
Summarize lessons learned.
16 W 4/14 Testing and Refinement: High Fidelity Prototyping
High fidelity prototyping technologies include machined models of wood or soft metals, solid
models, multimedia, or layered manufacturing (e.g., FDM – Fused Deposition Modeling).
Examples will be shown in class.
Read Ch. 12: Prototyping
TBA Special Animation Evaluation Lab (Catherine Newman)
Individual Assignment Due: Evaluate Solid Modeling Animations (may be done during class)
17 M 4/19 Peer Review: Midterm Tradeshow on User Needs and Concept Testing
Individual Assignment Due: Complete the on-line peer review and team assessment survey as
per instructions on bSpace. This can be completed by 5:00 pm Tuesday, April 20.
Project Deliverables Due: Updated mission statement, customer/user needs data, concepts
and early prototypes. Summarize lessons learned. Be prepared to show these in a minitradeshow
format. Submit the slides to your project folder no later than 5 p.m. on
Sunday, April 18.
Session objectives:
• Update your classmates as to progress on your product development effort.
• Make the first “public” presentation of your “proof-of-concept ideas”.
• Gather feedback from classmates on your concept design and mockups.
For this session:
1. Prepare a 6-SLIDE summary of your:
• Project title and team members
• Mission statement
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• Target market
• User research methods used
• Top 5 customer needs
• 2X2 using two of the top needs and placing competive products and your
concepts in the right quadrant
Plan to orally present this one page summary briefly at the beginning of the class in 3
minutes, 30 seconds per slide. Submit the slides to your project folder no later than 5 p.m. on
Sunday, April 18. This will bring the entire class up to speed on your project before they
review your work and allow you to get peer feedback.
2. Prepare your "proof-of-concept” sketches, product renderings and early prototypes so that
everyone can understand your ideas. After the brief review at the beginning of the class, we
will spend about one hour in a "tradeshow" environment during which you will wander
around the classroom to look at the work. You are welcome to bring portable computers to
set up your images. You should plan to handle any arrangements for using computers on your
own.
To support your concepts, you should have the following materials available. (Each team
will likely have done different versions of these. Use what you have already developed.)
• Customer/user needs hierarchy
• Mapping of customer needs to specifications
• Concept sketches
• Product renderings or mockups (3D renderings, early physical or web mockups)
• Concept screening and scoring matrices
• Reason for choosing the concept(s) you have developed for today
You should plan to have group members rotate responsibility for showing the concepts so
that other group members can circulate. Think about the best way to efficiently and
effectively collect feedback from your classmates. You may wish to have a mini-survey
available for them to complete following the examples we covered in Concept Testing.
Remember that each student will only have about 10 minutes to spend reviewing your work;
so make your presentation as succinct as possible.
From this point forward, your focus will be on developing and testing your product concept
with your customer base, obtaining feedback, incorporating it into your product, and
preparing intermediate and final product prototypes.
18 W 4/21 Testing and Refinement: Optimal Design
Summary of optimization theory and useful methods.
Individual Assignment: Optimization exercise.
19 M 4/26 Testing and Refinement: Robust Design
We will perform an in-class Taguchi exercise in class to illustrate the theory.
Read Ch. 13: Robust Design
Read: “Boost your Marketing ROI with Experimental Design”,
http://www.engineeringpathway.com/ep/learning_resource/summary/?id=DEB26438-7894-
48C4-88B7-837BC3A9EC32
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20 W 4/28 DfX: Design for Manufacturing
Design for manufacturing is one of the many “design fors” that a product development team
must undertake. In this class session we’ll talk about the various “design for x” activities,
including manufacturing. Consider thought questions 1 and 2 at the end of Chapter 11.
We’ll disassemble and reassemble a product in class in order to evaluate its design-forassembly
merits.
Read Ch. 11: Design for Manufacturing
21 M 5/3 DfX: Design for Environment
In the first reading (Cradle to Grave), click through each of the six stages and read the first
page that pops up. Following the links on each page is encouraged but entirely optional,
except for the three additional links under the "emissions" page, which you should follow.
What does designing products for environmental soundness entail? How might you make
tradeoffs among cost, quality, features and environmental soundness when designing a
product? What is sustainable design? What is the difference between the the "cradle to
grave" perspective and the"cradle to cradle" alternative? How might you redesign or
manufacture your product with this perspective in mind? We will also review the data
collected through the Black Cloud sensor that should have been installed earlier.
Read: Cradle to Grave – How Products Impact Natural Systems”
Read: "The Cradle to Cradle Alternative"
22 W 5/5 Life Cycle Analysis
We will also hold a tutorial on using a Life Cycle Analysis software tool and have you apply
it to your projects. Be sure to bring your computers to class.
Read: EIO-LCA Tutorial, http://www.eiolca.net/tutorial-j/tut_1.html
Read: EIO-LCA Tutorial
23 M 5/10 Solid Modeling and Integration with FEM
Guest lecturer Dennis Lieu will go over examples of how to integrate different forms of finite
element modeling from your solid model. Bring examples from your class project to class
that you would like to discuss in the lab.
24 W 5/12 Solid Modeling and Optimal Design
Guest lecturer Sara McMains will go over examples of how to integrate optimization with
your solid model.
Individual Assignment: Optimization exercise based on earlier solid modeling problem of
March 1.
25M 5/17 Product Development Entrepreneurship
Bring in your questions about the intellectual property of your project. This would also be a
good time to discuss possible funding opportunities. We may have a guest speaker from
KAUST.
Read Ch. 14: Patents and Intellectual Property
26 W 5/19 Product Development Economics
Bring in your questions about business models and financial modeling for your projtect.
5/22-
25
Read Ch. 15: Product Development Economics
Project deliverable: Draft business plan and financial model for your project.
Final Exam week – Final Presentations/Tradeshow
• Final Individual Deliverables: Turn in the journal you have been keeping throughout
the semester. It will be returned at the beginning of the Spring semester. Complete the
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team evaluation survey.
• Final Team Deliverables: Turn in your final presentation, photo of your prototype and
the actual prototype, if appropriate.
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