Design Phase 2:

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Chapter 4

• Design Phase 2
• Formulating Solutions
• - Steps and Decision Making

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Two-days Menu

• Developing alternatives
• Evaluating alternatives

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4.1 Defining Design Parameters
4.1.1 Innovation Versus Origination

• Keep in mind that the task is to provide a
  solution, not necessarily be inventive! In many
  cases, design solutions are both partially
  original and partially innovative
• Designing often relies on using existing
  components to reach a cost-effective solution
• ... Regardless of design excellence, successful
  products also need appropriate marketing

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Example
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4.1.2 Considering External Factors

• One external factor is industrial, professional
  and government regulation
• For example, for cars (with 4 wheels) a vehicle
  must
• have air bags for safety
• burn fuel efficiently to lower pollution and
  conserve petroleum resources

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Example

• DRL!
• Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108 requires
  DRLs on all new vehicles made or imported after
  January 1, 1990. Canada's proposed DRL regulation
  initially was extremely similar to regulations in
  place in Scandinavia, with an axial luminous
  intensity limit of 1,500 candela, but automakers
  objected, claiming it was too expensive to add a
  new front lighting device, and would increase
  warranty costs (by dint of increased bulb
  replacements) to run the low beams. After a
  pitched regulatory battle, the standard was
  rewritten to permit the use of reduced-voltage
  high beam headlamps producing up to 700 axial
  candela, as well as permitting any light color
  from white to amber or selective yellow. These
  changes to the regulation permitted automakers to
  implement a less-costly DRL, such as by
  connecting the high beam filaments in series to
  supply each filament with half its rated voltage,
  or by burning the front turn signals full time
  (except when actually flashing as turn
  indicators).

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4.2 Identifying Alternatives
4.2.1 Brainstorming

• The goal is generating as many ideas as possible
  for solving a certain problem in a relatively
  short period of time
• Guidelines for brainstorming include
• Criticism is ruled out No judgment
• Creative and imaginative thinking is encouraged
• Quantity is metric generating diverse
  alternatives
• Combining and extending are good recombining
  ideas is welcomed
• Clarity is a success key
• Visual aids are very helpful ? try it

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4.2.2 Lateral Thinking

• Challenging Assumptions
• Identify assumptions to see how they are
  affecting the generated ideas
• Reversal Method
• Take a design problem as it is and turn it
• around
• Random Stimulation
• Use irrelevant cues or unrelated
  information
• to stimulate new ideas

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Example
From http//www.folj.com/lateral/
1. You are driving down the road in your car on a wild, stormy night, when you pass by a bus stop and you see three people waiting for the bus
An old lady who looks as if she is about to die. An old friend who once saved your life. The perfect partner you have been dreaming about.
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4.2.3 Delphi and Nominal Group
Techniques

• These two techniques are variations of
  brainstorming- more structured perhaps!
• How to generate a Delphi technique?
• Identify members and ask them to Generate ideas
• Share ideas
• (note cards, papers, verbal communication)
• Collect ideas and list them
• Clarify concepts and ideas
• Ask experts to rank ideas
• Obtain an average ranking

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Examples

• A group of accountants working on improving a
  management report has a strongly structured work
  style, and consequently use NGT rather than
  Brainstorming to come up with the right format.
• A sales manager, wanting to put together a
  presentation for a key customer, brings together
  the account manager, the product marketing
  manager and the two key product engineers. The
  quality manager facilitates a session for them,
  where they quickly find the key product benefits
  over the competing products, and come up with a
  compelling value proposition.

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Home-Heating Challenge

• I have a home heated by an old thermo-pump plus
  fuel-burning furnace
• I want to save money on heating bills long-term,
  but
• Without breaking the bank, short term
• What are my options?

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4.3 Evaluating and Analyzing Alternatives
4.3.1 Systematic Decision Grids

• Once the grid has been created, the team can
  discuss the functional requirements and
  parameters of the design

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4.3.2 Force-Field Analysis

• Identify all forces as positive or negative
• Assign a numerical weight to each force
• Add up the positives and negatives
• Lessen the magnitude of negative forces

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4.4 Selecting a Solution

• Time is a very important factor
• Keep it simple
• Remember upgrades

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In summary

• Problems rarely have one solution
• Finding and developing a large number of diverse
  solutions is key
• Evaluating a solution involves identifying all
  the pros and cons of that solution
• Weighing the pros and cons to get to an optimal
  agreed-on solution is not easy
• Finally, even a good design might not sell well
  in the real world