PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT DESIGN

Tutorial 1

1. Select 10 products from department stores online catalog for a supplier of household items (not
clothing ) and decide which needs in Maslows hierarchy of human needs they satisfy. Then,
identify the particular product features that make the products attractive to you. Divide your
costumer needs into the four categories described by kano.

2. The transistor, followed by the microprocessor, is one of the most far-reaching products ever
developed. Make a list of the major products and services that have been impacted by these
inventions.

3. Take 10 minutes and individually write down small things in your life, or aspects of products that
bother you. You can just name the product, or better yet, give an attribute of the product that
bugs you. Be as specific as you can. You are really creating a needs list. Combine this with
other lists prepared by members of your design team. Perhaps you have created and idea for an
invention .

4. Write a survey to determine the customers want for a microwave oven.

5. List a complete set of customer needs for cross country skis to allow skiing on dirt or grass.
Divide the list of customer needs into must have and wants.

6. Suppose you are the inventor of a new device called the helicopter. By describing the functional
characteristics of the machine, list some of the societal needs for that it is expected to satisfy.
Which of these have come to fruition, and which have not?

7. Assume that a focus group of college students was convened to show them an innovative thumb
drive memory unit and to ask what characteristics they wanted it to have. The comments were
as follows:
It needs to have enough memory to meet student needs.
It should interface with any computer a student would encounter.
It must have a reliability of near 100%
It should have some way to signal that it is working

Translate these customer requirements into engineering characteristics of the product.

8. Complete the streamlined configuration of the house of quality (i.e., Rooms 1, 2, 4, and 5) for a
heating and air-conditioning design project. The customer requirements are lower operating
cost; improved cash flow; managed energy use; increased occupant comfort; and easy to
maintain. The engineering characteristics are an energy efficiency ratio of 10; zonal controls;
programmable energy management system; payback 1 year; and 2-hour spare parts delivery.
 9. A product design team is designing an improved flip-lid trash can such as that which would be
found in kitchen. The problem statement is as follows:

Design a user friendly, durable, flip-lid trash can that opens and closes reliably.
The trash can must be lightweight yet tip-resistant. It must combat odor, fit
standard kitchen trash bags, and be safe for all users in a family environment.

With this information, and al little research and imagination where needed, construct a House
OF Quality (HOQ) for this design project.

10. Write a product design specification for the flip-lid trash can described in problem 9.

Search the WWW for a suitable product and develop a house of quality for it.