Paper, Order, or Assignment Requirements

Choose one of the following questions.
1 You have been appointed as the product design director for a company making a relatively complex electro-mechanical product. Describe how you would attempt to organise  and manage the whole process from Concept to Delivery as effectively as possible.
For example, would you use a stage gate, spiral V-model or some other model of new product development? If so how does the process model work and why would it be beneficial? Would you use Integrated Product Teams and why? Would you use Kano, QFD, Pugh’s selection matrix and so on? Give reasons for why you would or would not use these sort of tools.
Describe in reasonable detail the types of work that the members of your design-to-manufacture team would need to undertake.

2 Lean thinking and good project management both appear to make a contribution to more effective delivery of new products to customers. Use relevant literature to compare and contrast the two approaches. Explain with reasons, what tools from lean or project management you would use to ensure a new product introduction process runs as efficiently as possible. For example, you might explain why you would or would not use Gantt charts, visual control boards, 5Ss, value stream mapping and so on.

3 Creative, innovative ideas and good industrial design are the keys to happy customers and profitable new product development companies. Draw upon literature and your own Company’s experience to discuss this statement.

4 Use your literature survey skills to find a case study about how an individual or company brought a new product to market, for example, Sir James Dyson and his Dual Cyclone vacuum cleaner. Describe what happened.

What do you believe were the critical success factors in protecting the original idea and bringing the product to market successfully? What areas could have been improved and how?