PRODUCT DESIGN

Production and Operations Management:

Dr. Swati Narula
Definitions
Product: A term used to describe all
goods, services and knowledge sold. It is
a set of benefits offered for exchange and
tangible in nature.
 Product Design: A Product Design (PD)
is the set of technical activities within a
PD process that work to meet marking
and business vision.
Contd…
Design=Art + Science

“Product Design is the process of creating

a new product to be sold by a business to
its customers.”

Product Development: A Product

Development Process is the entire set of
activities required to bring a new product
concept to a state of market readiness.
“Form” and “Function” in Good
Design
COST

QUALITY TIME TO
MARKET
(TTM)
Members of Design Team
Product Design Engineer
Marketing Manager
Manufacturing Engineer
Drafter
Technician
Materials Specialist
Quality Control/Quality Assurance Specialist
Analyst Industrial Designer
Assembly Manager
Vendor’s/Supplier’s representative
What design includes:

Specifications
Experimental and development work for
the production of desired product
Calculation of estimates and drafting
estimates of contracts for new enquiries
Issuing necessary instructions to the
production department for production.
Type of Product Design
Objectives of Product Design
To ensure growth of the organization
To utilize the surplus capacity
To utilize the surplus funds
To meet new requirements of the
customers
To increase company’s market share and
to target new market segment
To ensure complete product range in
company’s portfolio
Product Design Process

FirstStage: Creating an Idea

Second Stage: Producing as per the
design
Third Stage: Marketing
Approaches to Product Design
 Traditional Business Approach: The traditional
business approach considers two factors when
designing a product. Will the product be viable, i.e.,
how does it benefit the business? And, what is the
operational and technical feasibility of designing the
product? Using the traditional business approach to
design, a company would identify a problem, or a set
of problems, and then derive what the company
thought it could offer as a profitable solution. 

Design Thinking Approach: Design
thinking incorporates the user experience into
the design process, moving beyond the
simple look and feel part of product design.
Design thinking was popularized by IDEO
founder Tim Brown, who describes it as “a
human-centered approach to innovation that
draws from the designer’s toolkit to integrate
the needs of people, the possibilities of
technology, and the requirements for business
success.” 

Lean UX Approach: The Lean Start-up
and Lean UX approaches take design
thinking a step further, putting the
prototyping process front and center. Lean
Start-up is an approach to starting a
business venture that takes an idea,
translates it into a product or service,
measures how customers respond, and
then takes the learnings to pivot or iterate.
Lean UX takes that same approach and
applies it specifically to design. 
Design Sprint Approach: Design sprint
is a subset of the design thinking
approach. There are five phases to the
design sprint process that take place on
five separate days: 
Map
Sketch
Decide
Prototype
Test
Product Development Process
Contd…
1. Idea Generation
Internal
Sources
SWOT Analysis
Market Research
Customers
Competition
2. Idea Screening
Company’s strength
Company’s Weakness
Customer needs
Ongoing trends
Expected ROI
Affordability
3. Concept Development and
Testing
Concept is a detailed strategy or blueprint
version of idea.
The concept is brought to the target
market.
Some selected customers are chosen to
test the concept
4. Business Strategy Analysis &
Development
Competition of the product
Costs involved
Pricing strategies
Breakeven point etc.
5. Product Development: Product concept is
transformed into an actual tangible
product.

6. Test Marketing: The prototype is

introduced for research and feedback.

7. Commercialization: The marketing mix

is now put to use.
Factors influencing Product
Development
Top Management Support
Market Orientation
Technology
Knowledge Management
New Product Development Strategies
New Product Development Process
New Product Development Speed
New Product Development Teams
Challenges to new product design
and development
 Global Competition
 Time
 Market Potential
 Technological Change
 Distribution
 New Features
 Price
 Critical unmet needs
 Promotion
 Resistance to change
 Market Size