TY - GEN
T1 - Product family design
T2 - ASME 2008 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, IDETC/CIE2008
AU - Alizon, Fabrice
AU - Marion, Tucker J.
AU - Shooter, Steven B.
AU - Simpson, Timothy W.
PY - 2008
Y1 - 2008
N2 - The development process is a key aspect of ultimate product success. The front-end of the development activity is the foundation for building new products by first gathering customers' needs, identifying the company's goals, and assessing the competitive landscape. By doing so, this crucial activity directly impacts eventual development cost, which includes engineering resources, manufacturing, etc. In this paper, we study a specific design approach, namely, product family design, which allows companies to increase revenue by developing an entire family of products targeting different market segments while reducing lead-time and manufacturing costs. However, there is a significant amount of risk given the costs of developing complex shared architectures, and there are many examples from industry where product families have failed. Thus, the development stage is critical, and a wellstructured development strategy can bring success while a poor one can cause significant problems during product launch, as recent case studies illustrate. In this platform-based study, we assess two drivers of this product family design: (1) a platformdriven strategy and (2) a product-driven strategy. Three facets are examined: the product, the company, and the competition. The goal is to recommend a planning framework to aid companies in selecting the right process considering their product, strategy, and environment.
AB - The development process is a key aspect of ultimate product success. The front-end of the development activity is the foundation for building new products by first gathering customers' needs, identifying the company's goals, and assessing the competitive landscape. By doing so, this crucial activity directly impacts eventual development cost, which includes engineering resources, manufacturing, etc. In this paper, we study a specific design approach, namely, product family design, which allows companies to increase revenue by developing an entire family of products targeting different market segments while reducing lead-time and manufacturing costs. However, there is a significant amount of risk given the costs of developing complex shared architectures, and there are many examples from industry where product families have failed. Thus, the development stage is critical, and a wellstructured development strategy can bring success while a poor one can cause significant problems during product launch, as recent case studies illustrate. In this platform-based study, we assess two drivers of this product family design: (1) a platformdriven strategy and (2) a product-driven strategy. Three facets are examined: the product, the company, and the competition. The goal is to recommend a planning framework to aid companies in selecting the right process considering their product, strategy, and environment.
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U2 - 10.1115/DETC2008-49429
DO - 10.1115/DETC2008-49429
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:81155151455
SN - 9780791843253
T3 - Proceedings of the ASME Design Engineering Technical Conference
SP - 1019
EP - 1029
BT - ASME 2008 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, IDETC/CIE2008
Y2 - 3 August 2008 through 6 August 2008
ER -