OPIM 415 & MEAM/IPD 515: Product Design
Time and Location: Tues 2:00 - 4:50, Weds 10:00 - 12:50 | Huntsman Hall F38 (JMHH F38)
Instructor: Clay Burns, JMHH 557, clayburn@wharton.upenn.edu,
Office hours: During class break or by appointment
Teaching Assistant: Mary Ibrahim, maryi@wharton.upenn.edu
Textbook: Ulrich, Karl T. and Steven D. Eppinger, Product Design and Development, Fourth Edition, McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2008. Link to book website: http://www.ulrich-eppinger.net/
Early chapters: chapter 1 .pdf chapter 2.pdf chapter 4.pdf
Please review Course policies OPIM 415
Rolling list of Class Related News and Events
You will need access to webcafe to upload assignments. If you do not have a Wharton account, please emailwebcafe@wharton.upenn.edu to set one up.
Scroll to a class session below to see the topics and work required for that day. Assignments, preparation, and readings are due at the start of each class unless a different time is given. Session topics may be adjusted during the semester, and new information may be added on a weekly basis. However, the overall content and amount of reading and project work will stay the same.
Calendar
May 24 - Class 1 Into and Opportunity Identification
May 25 - Class 2 Customer Needs
May 30 - Class 3 Product Specifications
May 31 - Class 4 Opportunity Pitches
June 7 - Class 5 Concept Generation and Selection
June 8 - Class 6 Industrial Design & Mock-ups
June 14 - Class 7 Prototyping & FIELD TRIP
June 15 - Class 8 Concept Presentations
June 21 - Class 9 Costing & Product Economics
June 22 - Class 10 DFM and DFE
June 28 - Class 11 Patents and Naming
June 29 - Class 12 Design Fair
Class 1 Tues May 24
Intro and Opportunity Identification
Required Reading:
- All the information on this course wiki.
- Pay particular attention to Course policies OPIM 415
- U&E Chapter 1 & 2
T&U-ChIto3-Preprint-Oct09.pdf (you should focus on pages 2-1 to 3-10, although you may find the rest interesting.)
Assignment Due:
Make a unique Name icon or object from found or re-used materials. You should spend less than 2 hours on this. Consider these user needs and specifications:
- It is unique and creative (design appeal)
- You will bring this to every class (portability and durability)
- It is readable by the instructor (performance)
- No new materials are employed (sustainability)
Hands-on:
Opportunity brainstorming in groups for Warm-up mission statement: Mission-Rural-Summer11.pdf
Slides from class: Sum_O415_1_IntroOpps.pdf
Class 2 Wed May 25
Customer Needs
Required Reading:
U&E Chapter 4
Muji article: Muji-engagecustomer.pdf
Customer needs for shower heads: naked truth.pdf
Assignment Due:
Your Name-icon if you did not do it for the first class.
BRING TO CLASS at least one promising opportunity from the warm-up mission Mission-Rural-Summer11.pdf For this mission you will have to think outside your local environment of users. You can find ideas by doing web research, talking with friends who may have connections in developing markets, or simply imagining yourself living in a rural place with very few products. Or you may take a product you use every day, and think how it could be simplified to solve the needs of a small villages with few resources. You may find these websites valuable for inspiration:
http://catapultdesign.org/
http://d-rev.org/
http://www.ideorg.org/OurStory/StaffBoard2.aspx
Hands-on:
User interviews in groups using your best opportunity from last night. We’ll do user research amongst ourselves using your opportunities, which will provide insights from into possible customer needs.
Slides from class: Sum-O415-2-Needs.pdf
Class 3 Tues May 31
Product Specifications
Required Reading:
U&E Chapter 5
Assignment Due:
Go to www.darwinator.com and register for an account using registration code "PDSUMMER11". Please begin your username with your last name to allow us to identify you for the purpose of grading.
Generate 5 great market opportunities consistent with our class Final Project Mission Statement: Mission_Combined_Summer11.pdf For this mission you can invent more freely for your local environment, while driving toward a world-wide product. It can be useful to use the thinking you did for the rural warm-up mission as a way to invent a better product for students. Again, you should talk with friends, visit stores, and research online to find ideas and problems to solve that you find interesting, or that you believe the market will support as a socially conscious business.
You may find these sites interesting to stimulate ideas.
www.core77.com
http://www.quirky.com/
Half Bakery - more product ideas
By Monday May 30 at 10pm: on the Darwinator enter the titles and descriptions of the 5 opportunities that (1) you are most passionate about, (2) best align with the mission statement, (3) you think are most likely to be successful. DO THIS BEFORE THE WEEKEND IF YOU PLAN TO BE AWAY ON MEMORIAL DAY!
By Tuesday May 31 at 2pm: Log back into the Darwinator, and rate at least 50 opportunities submitted by your peers. (Note that the Darwinator can get slow when used by many people simultaneously. Plan avoid doing this at the last minute.) Note to self: start the ratings and reports window at the same time as submissions, even if the ratings are assigned toward the end!
Hands-on:
Opportunity feedback from Darwinator. IF POSSIBLE BRING A LAPTOP.
Write needs statements and target specs for your leading opportunity.
Slides from class: Sum-O415-3-Specs.pdf
Class 4 Wed Jun 1
Opportunity Pitches
Required Reading:
ScreeningOpportunities-28Dec07.pdf
PoBronson-Hotmail.pdf
Assignment Due:
Tonight, consider the feedback you have received via the Darwinator, and pick the opportunity that at this point you would most wish to propose as a course project and that satisfies the Mission_Combined_Summer11.pdf (You may pitch a classmate's unused opportunity but ONLY with their permission.)
Overnight, prepare a 60-second pitch and single slide articulating the opportunity you have identified. Practice your talk, as we have to move quickly through the pitches. Also come prepared to engage in the other presentations; design is interactive!
Your goal is to tell the class WHAT the opportunity is and WHY it is a great opportunity, but not show a solution (that comes next.) The slide should be in landscape format and include 3 elements: 1) Opportunity TITLE & DESCRIPTION, 2) List of key Customer NEEDS, and 3) Representative IMAGE of a related product or scenario that conveys the opportunity. See examples from slides or here is a very dense example (no more information than this!):Opp_pitch_example_Cart.pdf
Print your slide out and bring to class! Also upload your PDF slide to the Opportunity Pitches assignment folder on webcafe! If you wish you may also bring the pdf file to class on a memory stick or laptop, but you MUST upload the file to webcafe by the end of class. Please keep your file under 1MB by reducing images and reducing file size in Acrobat. Put your last name in the filename.
Hands-on:
Opportunity pitches and class voting. This will give you a chance to experience what product design teams go through in the early stages – presenting and evaluating ideas in a group. Creation of Concept teams.
Class 5 Tues Jun 7
Concept Generation and Selection
Quiz 1: You will be asked about customer needs, target specs, and concept selection
Required Reading:
U&E Chapters 6 and 7
Example of Concept Selection by Salvatore di Paolo and Harris Romanoff: DiPaolo-Romanoff-Concept Selection.pdf
Assignment Due (done as a team of 2):
Develop your Concept and hand-in during class the following 5-page print-out:
- 1 Pg List of Quotes and Observations from at least 2 interviews (male/female). Photos a plus!
- Sketches of 3-5 unique concept sketches with explanations for your opportunity (as many pages as needed)
- 1 Pg Concept Selection Matrix with the 3-5 concepts, with totals showing leading concept
Hands-on:
Concept development work - screening and scoring to arrive a leading concept.
Slides from class: Sum-O415-5-ConcExpl.pdf
Class 6 Wed Jun 8
Industrial Design & Mock-up workshop
Required Reading:
U&E Chapter 10
1934 Forbes article on industrial designers: Forbes-1934-IDarticle.pdf
Draft chapter on aesthetics from Karl's book on design: ulrich-aesthetics.pdf
"Taste for Makers," Paul Graham's essay on "taste" in design.
Assignment Due:
Drawing or sketch and assembly plan for your the mock-up or scale model you are building of your concept. Bring a print-out and have it approved by the Instructors
Hands-on:
In-class workshop: 3D brainstorming and mock-ups using kits. TOPIC TBA. Example of photos from previous class mockup workshop: MockupClass.zip
Slides from class: Sum-O415-6-ID.pdf
Class 7 Tue Jun 14
Prototyping [FIELD TRIP]
Required Reading:
U&E Chapters 12 and 8
The soulfulness of making: http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/shop-class-as-soulcraft
References:
An excellent manufacturing processes book
National Association of Manufacturers blog offers videos of many different products being made: http://www.shopfloor.org/
Assignment Due:
None, but you should be finishing your outstanding Concept mock-up and presentation for tomorrow. You should have it complete by Tuesday before class if possible, since we won't return from the field trip until 8pm.
FIELD TRIP (2pm-8pm):
Visit to Biolite LLC and Pensa Design, Brooklyn, NY. We must meet promptly at 2:00pm and will return to Philly by 8pm. We will visit two small firms in NYC and hear them talk about their prototyping processes. You will like this, so please try to make it.
Slides from class: Sum-O415-7-BasicProto.pdf
Class 8 Wed Jun 15
Concept Presentations
Assignment Due:
Finalize your concept and physical mock-up. Upload a PDF with 3 pages to the Concept Presentations folder on webcafe by 2:00 Tuesday including:
- Detailed concept sketch/drawing and description of features (1 page)
- Table of Customer Needs for Students AND Developing Regions and Target Specs (metrics & values)
- Concept Selection Matrix with the 3-5 concepts, with totals showing leading concept
- Photo of your mock-up (1 page)
You MUST demonstrate the mockup in the presentation This file contains mixed examples of what your PDF file should look like: ConcPrez_Example.pdf Here is a sample submission from last year: Detachable Rainboots_Chen, Kim, Li.pdf Please keep your file under 1MB by reducing images and reducing file size in Acrobat.
Hands-on:
Concept presentations and feedback. These presentations are fun because you get to present a physical object and get reactions. You will have 3 minutes per presentation, including Q&A.
Voting and select best half of concepts.
Creation of Final Project teams.
Team prototype planning meetings.
Class 9 Tues Jun 21
Product Economics & Costing
Quiz 2: You will be asked to complete costing and base-case models.
Required Reading:
U&E Chapter 15 and 5-Appendix
IKEA-cost-article.pdf
P&G-spinbrush.pdf
Cost informational website for various products (click on Products and Cost Modeling): iSuppli.com
Assignment Due:
Using the text book as a guide, PRINT AND HAND IN DURING CLASS:
1. Target Costing analysis for your product
2. Preliminary Cost Model template CostRules-2009-v3.xls of your cost for production. Your parts list may differ from your prototype. This is the final cost of your product. If it is over the mission statement price, you may have to refine your design.
3. Base case development model
IMPORTANT: During the week and BEFORE TODAY decide on your prototyping processes, and schedule the rest of your project time accordingly! (Shop-work, Laser, CNC, FDM, Ponoko or other part/vendor orders; time to use the UPenn facilities, etc.) Order any parts you need NOW!! Our class budget allows about $200 per team for materials and prototyping, although some teams may use less or more (these expenses are reimbursable by UPenn – this will be explained in class.)
Hands-on:
Sample product disassembly and costing
Team meetings on projects
Slides from class: Sum-O415-9-Costing.pdf
Class 10 Wed Jun 22
DFM & DFE
Guest Lecture: Erika Hanson, Sustainable Designer and Consultant; Penn alum
Required Reading:
U&E Chapter 11 Design for Manufacturing (DFM)
U&E Draft Chapter on Design for Environment (DFE): DFE_Chapter_Draft4.0.pdf
Yvon Chouinard's article in Outside (excerpt from his book Let My People Go Surfing):http://outside.away.com/outside/features/200510/yvon-chouinard-1.html
Assignment Due:
Print out and hand-in a prototype drawing and plan for the Final Project. Many engineers will have 2D or 3D CAD skills, but any drawing tools are allowed (even powerpoint if you are a wiz). Because of the compressed summer schedule, you MUST be building after today at the latest! Some drawing packages are listed below.
- Free: Google Sketch-up, Inkscape
- Licensed 2D or 3D CAD: AutoCad, Solidworks, Corel, Vellum
- Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop/AcrobatPro.
- eMachineShop software has a free download that lets you design parts using their simple drawing package.
Hands-on:
Sustainable design software demos. Consider how you can “green” your product. Now that you have a detailed product design, you can reassess the ecological impact.
Slides from class: Sum-O415-10-DFM-DFE.pdf
Class 11 Tues Jun 28
Patents and Naming
Required Reading:
U&E Chapter 14
Igor Naming Guide.pdf
References:
Book: Pressman, D. Patent it Yourself. Nolo Press.
Flash-of-Genius.pdf
dot-com availability
Visual Thesaurus
Komar and Melamid's paintings based on attribute surveys
Assignment Due:
Continue work on your final prototype!
ALSO BRING TO CLASS AND HAND IN 3 PAGES:
- List of 20 possible dot-com available names for your product. You may find the Igor naming guide interesting. You can check dot-com availability with this tool.
- Design a PRELIMINARY 1 page "sell-sheet", with key attributes articulated. This can be in draft form. Use today's class as feedback to improve it as a sell-sheet, banner, or brochure for the Design Fair.
- Consider the patentability of your product, and outline your main claims. Example (full assessment not due until the final upload, but gives you an idea of what to look for): Patentability_assess_example.pdf
Hands-on:
Team sharing of patent, naming, and sustainability findings and approaches.
Slides from class: to be uploaded after class
Class 12 Wed Jun 29
Design Fair!
Meet in Houston Hall (Hall of Flags) by 10:45am. Design Fair hours 11:00 – 1:00. The Design Fair is a simulation of what product entrepreneurs experience when presenting their product to potential buyers for the first time.
Assignment Due:
You will be provided with a 36 inch table, a white table cloth, and an easel. The easel is a tripod with support hooks, so any posters must be self-supporting. If you must have power, bring an extension cord and find a space with access to an outlet.
You may offer only one version of your product at one price. Many teams provide a small brochure for interested consumers to review while considering the product. Play fair! For example, do not ask all your friends to come just to vote for your product and ignore the others, or otherwise influence the results by means other than the compelling quality of your product and your enthusiastic explanation of its benefits.
THIS IS THE FINAL CLASS. But because of the rush to prepare for the fair, you will have two more days to upload your final projects. By Friday at 6pm, upload a PDF of an Executive Summary of your final project as a product pitch to a social investment seed fund, including these sections (about 5-7 pages total):
1. Product description
- Description in words of your new product including needs/benefits to students and developing world
- Prototype photo and/or rendering/drawing
- Patentability assessment
- DFE summary
2. Product cost/price summary
- Final CostRules spreadsheet showing your product cost and pricing
- Sell sheet and/or pricing summary for both markets
- Seed funding requested based on your final base-case modeling
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.