Concept Testing & Product Architecture

Fall2005- ENGR 3200U

Case Study: Electric Scooter

The EmPower Corporation have developed a new product to address
the personal transportation market.
The Concept:
A three-wheeled electric-powered
scooter that could be folded up and
carried easily

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Concept Development; Front-End

Process
Interrelated activities ordered roughly in the front-end process

Concept Testing

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Seven Steps of Concept Testing

A seven steps process is suggested:
1- define the purpose of the concept test
2- Choose a survey population
3- Choose a survey format
4-Communicate the concept
5- Measure customer response
6- interpreter the results
7- Reflect on the results and the process

Fall2005- ENGR 3200U

Seven Steps of Concept Testing

1- define the purpose of the concept test
Writing the questions that the team wishes to answer with the test
Questions like:
-Which of several alternative concepts should be pursued?
-How can the concept be improved ?
-Approximately how many units are likely to be sold?
-Should development be continued?

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Seven Steps of Concept Testing

2- Choose a survey population
A population that mirrors the target market,
Example of Sample sizes:
10 sample for a very specialized product
1000 samples for a product for 10 million consumer

Two consumer segments; college students, urban commuters; they

decided for a survey of 1000 customers.

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Seven Steps of Concept Testing

2- Choose a survey population
Factors leading to relatively smaller or larger survey sample size:

Fall2005- ENGR 3200U

Seven Steps of Concept Testing

3- Choose a survey format
Face to face interaction, telephone, postal mail, electronic email, internet.

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Seven Steps of Concept Testing

4-Communicate the concept
Verbal description, sketch, photos and
renderings, storyboard,

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Seven Steps of Concept Testing

4-Communicate the concept
., simulation, interactive multimedia,
physical appearance model, working
prototype, video

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Seven Steps of Concept Testing

4-Communicate the concept
Appropriateness of different survey formats
for different ways of communicating

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Seven Steps of Concept Testing

5- Measure customer
response
Attempt to measure
the purchase intent
Response categories:
Definitely would buy
Probably would buy
Might or might not buy
Probably would not buy
Definitely would buy

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Seven Steps of Concept Testing

6- interpreter the results
Q =N A P
Q= Quantity of the product expected to be sold during a time period
N= Number of potential customers
A= Fraction of these potential customers for which the product is available
and the customer is aware of the product
P= Probability that the product is purchased (in case of availability and
awareness)
P = C definitely F definitely + C probably F definitely
F definitely is the fraction of survey responds indicating that they would
definitely purchase
F probably is the fraction of survey responds indicating that they would
probably purchase
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Seven Steps of Concept Testing

6- interpreter the results
Calibration constants:
C definitely Generally 0.1 < C definitely < 0.5
C probably Generally 0.1 < C probably < 0.25
Case Study: Scooters are currently sold to the market at a rate of 1,500,000
units per year (N=1,500,000) .
A=0.25
C definitely =0.4 F definitely = 0.3 C probably =0.2 F definitely =0.2
P = 0.4 0.3 + 0.2 0.2 =0.16
Q = 1,500,000 0.25 0.16 = 60,000 units/year
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Seven Steps of Concept Testing

7- Reflect on the results and the process
Getting feedback from the real potential customers,

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Case Study: HP Printer

A Hewlett-Packards product development team wants to respond to
the pressures to increase the product variety and to reduce
manufacturing costs.
Three HP printers from the same
platform:
An office model, a photo model
and a model including scanning
capability

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Product Development Process

Planning
Planning

Platform
decision

Concept
System-Level
System-Level
Concept
Development
Design
Design
Development

Concept
decision

Detail
Detail
Design
Design

Testing
Testingand
and
Refinement
Refinement

Production
Production
Ramp-Up
Ramp-Up

Decomposition
decision

Product architecture is determined early in the development process.

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Case Study: HP Printer

Ink jet printing had become the dominate technology for small office
printing involving color. Good quality ink jet printers are available for
less than $200. The total sale of three competitors together were
millions per year. However as the market matured, commercial
success required be turned to the subtle needs or more focused
market segments and that the manufacturing cost be reduced.
Next step, team members asked:
How would the architecture of the product impact their ability to
offer product variety?
What would be the cost implications of different product
architecture?
How would the architecture of the product impact their ability to
complete the design within 12 months?
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Product Architecture
Product can be thought of in both functional and physical terms
Functional elements:
Individual operations and transformations that contribute to the
overall performance of the product
Factions like: stop paper, or communicate with the host
Physical elements:
Parts, components and subassemblies that ultimately implement the
products function
Chunk:
Major physical building block
Each chunk is made up of a collection of components that
implement the functions of the product
Attributes:
The attribute of a product is the scheme by which the functional
elements of the product are arranged into physical chunks and by
which the chunks interact.
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Modularity
The most important characteristic of products architecture is modularity

Chunks
The most modular architecture:
1) Each functional element is implemented exactly with one physical
chunk
2) There are a few well-defined interactions between the chunks
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Integral Architecture
The opposite of a modular architecture is an integral architecture

Chunks
The Integral architecture:
1) Functional elements are implemented using more than one
physical chunk
2) A single chunk implement more than one function
2) The interaction between chunks are ill defined
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Product Architecture: Definition

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

module

module

module

Product
module

module
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module

module
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Trailer Example:
Modular Architecture

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box

protect cargo
from weather

hitch

connect to
vehicle

fairing

minimize
air drag

bed

support
cargo loads

springs

suspend
trailer structure

wheels

transfer loads
to road

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Trailer Example:
Integral Architecture

Fall2005- ENGR 3200U

upper half

protect cargo
from weather

lower half

connect to
vehicle

nose piece

minimize
air drag

cargo hanging
straps

support
cargo loads

spring slot
covers

suspend
trailer structure

wheels

transfer loads
to road

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Ford Taurus
Integrated Control Panel

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Modular or Integral Architecture?

Apple
iBook

Motorola StarTAC
Cellular Phone
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Ford
Explorer

Rollerblade
In-Line Skates
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Types of Modularity

Each interface is of a
different type from
the others, so no
interchanging is
possible

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There is a common
bus to which the
other chunks
connect via the same
type of interface

All interfaces are of

the same type, but
there is no single
element to which all
the other chunks
attach. Chunks are
attached to identical
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interfaces

When Is the Product Architecture

Defined?
Product architecture begins to emerge during concept
development.
It happens informally in the sketches, function diagrams and
early prototypes of the concept development phase

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Establishing the Architecture

The end result of this activity is an approximate geometric layout,
description of the major chunks and documentation of the key
interactions among the chunk
A four steps process is suggested:
1- Create a schematic of the product
2- Cluster the elements of the schematic
3- Create a rough geometric layout
4- Identify the fundamental and incidental interactions

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The concepts of integral and modular

apply at several levels:
system
sub-system
component

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Product Architecture =
Decomposition + Interactions
Interactions within
chunks
Interactions
across chunks

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Establishing the Architecture

1- Create a schematic of the product
Rule of thumb: aim for fewer than 30 elements in the schematic

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Establishing the Architecture

2- Cluster the elements of the schematic
Assigning each element of the schematic to a chunk
Clustering factors:
-Geometric integration and precision
-Function sharing
-Capabilities of vendor
-Similarity of design or production technology
-Localization of changes -> Isolating changes
-Accommodating variety -> easy to vary for customer needs
-Enabling standardization -> chunks that are useful in other products
-Portability of interfaces -> different portability of electrical signals,
fluid connections and mechanical forces

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2- Cluster the elements of the schematic

Establishing the Architecture

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Establishing the Architecture

3- Create a rough geometric layout

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Establishing the Architecture

4- Identify the fundamental and incidental interactions
Fundamental interactions:
Interactions corresponding to the lines on the schematic that connect the
chunks to on another.
A sheet of paper flows from the paper tray to the print mechanism. This
interaction is plane and should be well understood from the earliest
schematics, since it is fundamental to the systems operation.
Incidental interactions:
Interactions that arise because of some physical or geometric
arrangements.
Vibration induced by the actuators in the paper tray could interfere
with the precise location of the print cartridge.
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Establishing the Architecture

4- Identify the fundamental and incidental interactions
Incidental interactions:
Interactions graphs or matrices

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