04/10/2022, 00:14 Solutions-04 - PRODUCT DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

PRODUCT DESIGN
AND
DEVELOPMENT
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Sample Answers to Exercises and Thought

Questions: Chapter 4
EX 4.1

Conduct a search using the Internet or published corporate annual reports to identify the
corporate strategy of a company in which you might be interested in investing. Learn about
the firm's product lines and its newest products. How do these products support the
corporate strategy? What types of projects would you expect to see in the product plan?

Sample solution not available.

EX 4.2

Create a product-technology roadmap illustrating the availability of technologies for a class

of products you understand well, such as personal computers.

Sample solution not available.

TQ 4.1

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04/10/2022, 00:14 Solutions-04 - PRODUCT DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

How might a portfolio of development projects differ if the firm believes a particular
product technology is currently at position A or B on the technology S-curve shown below?

Sample solution not available.

TQ 4.2

How might Xerox be able to address the shortage of mechanical design engineers
identified by the aggregate project planning analysis shown in Exhibit 3-9? List five ways
Xerox could increase the capacity and five ways to reduce the demand for mechanical
design engineers.

Ways to increase capacity of mechanical design engineers:

1. Hire additional engineers on a contract basis.
2. Ask engineers to work longer hours.
3. Reassign engineers from another project.
4. Train CAD designers to execute some of the engineering tasks.
5. Assign engineering managers to some engineering tasks.

​Ways to decrease demand for mechanical design engineers:

1. Reduce technical scope of the project.
2. Carryover more components from earlier models.
3. Use a "smarter process", perhaps slower and better specified, with fewer design
iterations.
4. Delay some technical development to the next product generation (some of the
less important features perhaps).
5. Outsource design of modules to capable suppliers.

Copyright 2019 Karl Ulrich, Steven Eppinger, and Maria Yang

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