Methods and tools to support New Product Development tasks

Companies have to develop innovative and valuable products in order to achieve competitive advantage. To this aim, the idea generation task should be effectively supported within the Product Planning phase, whose goal is defining the main product features. According to this objective, the paper proposes a tool, namely Four Dimensions framework, that urges designers looking for new customer requirements through the mapping of General Demands, Stakeholders, Life Cycle and Systems. The tool has been simulated through an application to the first Apple iMac (1998), obtaining promising results.

[1]  Bernard J. Jaworski,et al.  Strategic Brand Concept-Image Management , 1986 .

[2]  Matthew J. Liberatore,et al.  Toward a framework for developing knowledge-based decision support systems for customer satisfaction assessment: An application in new product development , 1995 .

[3]  Hideki Kobayashi,et al.  A systematic approach to eco-innovative product design based on life cycle planning , 2006, Adv. Eng. Informatics.

[4]  Anthony W. Ulwick.  Turn customer input into innovation. , 2002, Harvard business review.

[5]  D. Littler.  Design and Marketing of New Products , 1981 .

[6]  Hei-Kuang Lee,et al.  A proposed process for systematic innovation , 2011 .

[7]  Tamio Arai,et al.  A customer value model for sustainable service design , 2009 .

[8]  Yong Zeng,et al.  Classification of Product Requirements Based on Product Environment , 2006, Concurr. Eng. Res. Appl..

[9]  J. Johansson,et al.  Product planning at an Electrolux subsidiary , 1998, IEMC '98 Proceedings. International Conference on Engineering and Technology Management. Pioneering New Technologies: Management Issues and Challenges in the Third Millennium (Cat. No.98CH36266).

[10]  Nigel Coates,et al.  Idea generation techniques in an industrial market , 1997 .

[11]  Brigitte Moench,et al.  Engineering Design A Systematic Approach , 2016 .

[12]  Cornelius Herstatt,et al.  How To Use Analogies For Breakthrough Innovations , 2005 .

[13]  Teresa M. Amabile,et al.  Creativity and Innovation in Organizations , 1996 .

[14]  Todd Lubart,et al.  How can computers be partners in the creative process: Classification and commentary on the Special Issue , 2005, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[15]  James C. Kaufman,et al.  Captions, consistency, creativity, and the consensual assessment technique: New evidence of reliability , 2007 .

[16]  U. Lindemann,et al.  LIFECYCLE AND STAKEHOLDER-ORIENTED INTEGRATION OF COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS INTO PRODUCT CONCEPTS , 2014 .

[17]  Ji-Hyung Park,et al.  A systematic framework for evaluating design concepts of a new product , 2010 .

[18]  Preston G. Smith,et al.  Developing products in half the time , 1995 .

[19]  Francis Eng Hock Tay,et al.  Product modeling for conceptual design support , 2002, Comput. Ind..

[20]  Denis Cavallucci,et al.  A research agenda for computing developments associated with innovation pipelines , 2011, Comput. Ind..

[21]  Petri Parvinen,et al.  An Exploratory Empirical Verification of Blue Ocean Strategies: Findings from Sales Strategy , 2008 .

[22]  Bernard Yannou,et al.  Handling subjective product properties in engineering, food and fashion , 2014 .

[23]  R. Rohrbeck,et al.  Virtual customer integration in the innovation process: Evaluation of the web platforms of multinational enterprises (MNE) , 2008, PICMET '08 - 2008 Portland International Conference on Management of Engineering & Technology.

[24]  Yan Li,et al.  Design creativity in product innovation , 2007 .

[25]  Amrit Tiwana,et al.  Supporting Collaborative Process Knowledge Management in New Product Development Teams , 1999, Decis. Support Syst..

[26]  Gül E. Okudan,et al.  Integrating systematic creativity into first-year engineering design curriculum , 2006 .

[27]  Y. Reich.  My method is better! , 2010 .

[28]  David W. Rosen,et al.  Refined metrics for measuring ideation effectiveness , 2009 .

[29]  L. Shu,et al.  Using descriptions of biological phenomena for idea generation , 2008 .

[30]  Robert G. Cooper,et al.  THE INVISIBLE SUCCESS FACTORS IN PRODUCT INNOVATION , 1999 .

[31]  J. A. Trespalacios,et al.  New product internal performance and market performance: Evidence from Spanish firms regarding the role of trust, interfunctional integration, and innovation type , 2008 .

[32]  Andrew Kusiak,et al.  A graph-theoretic approach to conceptual design with functional perspectives , 2000, Comput. Aided Des..

[33]  King-Jang Yang,et al.  An integrated model of value creation based on the refined Kano's model and the blue ocean strategy , 2011 .

[34]  Arvind Rangaswamy,et al.  Software Tools for New Product Development , 1997 .

[35]  J. Aurich,et al.  How to design and offer services successfully , 2010 .

[36]  D. Wilemon,et al.  A Model for Studying R&D–Marketing Interface in the Product Innovation Process , 1986 .

[37]  Nikolaos F. Matsatsinis,et al.  MARKEX: An intelligent decision support system for product development decisions , 1999, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[38]  Tony M. O'Driscoll,et al.  From experience: applying performance support technology in the fuzzy front end , 2000 .

[39]  Suzan Boztepe,et al.  User Value: Competing Theories and Models , 2007 .

[40]  Arthur B. Markman,et al.  Modality and representation in analogy , 2008, Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing.

[41]  Federico Rotini,et al.  Multi-objective topology optimization through GA-based hybridization of partial solutions , 2012, Engineering with Computers.

[42]  Gerald F. Smith.  Idea‐Generation Techniques: A Formulary of Active Ingredients , 1998 .

[43]  Janet Davis.  Generating Directions for Persuasive Technology Design with the Inspiration Card Workshop , 2010, PERSUASIVE.

[44]  I. Alam.  Removing the fuzziness from the fuzzy front-end of service innovations through customer interactions , 2006 .

[45]  Satish Nambisan,et al.  Information Systems as a Reference Discipline for New Product Development , 2003, MIS Q..

[46]  Amaresh Chakrabarti,et al.  Comparison of the degree of creativity in the design outcomes using different design methods , 2012 .

[47]  Mitchell M. Tseng,et al.  Computer-Aided Requirement Management for Product Definition: A Methodology and Implementation , 1998 .

[48]  Federico Rotini,et al.  Overview of methods supporting product planning: Open research issues , 2013 .

[49]  Amaresh Chakrabarti,et al.  Assessing design creativity , 2011 .

[50]  Andreas Riel,et al.  Structuring the early fuzzy front-end to manage ideation for new product development , 2013 .

[51]  Bruno Lotter,et al.  Manufacturing Assembly Handbook , 1990 .

[52]  Milam W. Aiken,et al.  Electronic brainstorming in small and large groups , 1994, Inf. Manag..

[53]  Mitsuo Nagamachi,et al.  Kansei Engineering: A new ergonomic consumer-oriented technology for product development , 1995 .

[54]  John C. Narver,et al.  Responsive and proactive market orientation and new-product success. , 2004 .

[55]  Yong Zeng,et al.  A physiological study of relationship between designer's mental effort and mental stress during conceptual design , 2014, Comput. Aided Des..

[56]  Pj Clarkson,et al.  REQUIREMENTS CAPTURE FOR MEDICAL DEVICE DESIGN , 2003 .

[57]  P. Koen,et al.  1 Fuzzy Front End : Effective Methods , Tools , and Techniques , 2002 .

[58]  W. Gordon.  Synectics: The Development of Creative Capacity , 1961 .

[59]  Kenneth B. Kahn.  Product Planning Essentials , 2000 .

[60]  Antonie Jetter,et al.  Fuzzy Cognitive Maps for Product Planning: Using Stakeholder Knowledge to Achieve Corporate Responsibility , 2013, 2013 46th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

[61]  Eric F. Rietzschel,et al.  Productivity is not enough: A comparison of interactive and nominal brainstorming groups on idea generation and selection. , 2006 .

[62]  Francesca Montagna,et al.  Multi-stakeholder analysis of requirements to design real innovations , 2013 .

[63]  Federico Rotini,et al.  Model and algorithm for computer-aided inventive problem analysis , 2012, Comput. Aided Des..

[64]  Joris S. M. Vergeest,et al.  New functionality for computer-aided conceptual design: the displacement feature , 1998 .

[65]  E. Bono.  Lateral thinking: Creativity Step by Step , 1970 .

[66]  Douglas J. Ayers,et al.  An Exploratory Investigation of Organizational Antecedents to New Product Success , 1997 .

[67]  Federico Rotini,et al.  Question/answer techniques within CAD environments: An Investigation about the most Effective Interfaces , 2013 .

[68]  Susan E. Reid,et al.  The Fuzzy Front End of New Product Development for Discontinuous Innovations: A Theoretical Model , 2004 .

[69]  Levent Burak Kara,et al.  Conceptual design and modification of freeform surfaces using dual shape representations in augmented reality environments , 2012, Comput. Aided Des..

[70]  Federico Rotini,et al.  Investigating the Patterns of Value-Oriented Innovations in Blue Ocean Strategy , 2012 .

[71]  Jonathan Cagan,et al.  Creating Breakthrough Products: Innovation from Product Planning to Program Approval , 2001 .

[72]  Marjorie E. Adams,et al.  Enhancing New Product Development Performance: An Organizational Learning Perspective , 1998 .

[73]  Barry M. Kudrowitz,et al.  When Does a Paper Clip Become a Sundial? Exploring the Progression of Originality in the Alternative Uses Test , 2013, J. Integr. Des. Process. Sci..

[74]  Renée Mauborgne,et al.  Blue ocean strategy. , 2004, Harvard business review.

[75]  Marco Cantamessa,et al.  An empirical perspective upon design research , 2003 .

[76]  S. Beatty,et al.  Alternative Measurement Approaches to Consumer Values: The List of Values (LOV) and Values and Life Style (VALS) , 1986 .

[77]  Kenneth B. Kahn,et al.  PERSPECTIVE: Trends and Drivers of Success in NPD Practices: Results of the 2003 PDMA Best Practices Study* , 2009 .

[78]  Yue Xu,et al.  ν-CAx: A Research Agenda for Collaborative Computer-Aided Applications , 2010 .

[79]  HüsigStefan,et al.  Computer aided innovation-State of the art from a new product development perspective , 2009 .

[80]  Jonathan Cagan,et al.  On the benefits and pitfalls of analogies for innovative design : Ideation performance based on analogical distance, commonness, and modality of examples , 2011 .

[81]  N. Kano,et al.  Upsizing the organization by attractive quality creation , 1995 .

[82]  John Walker.  Implementation , 2001 .

[83]  J Bowe,et al.  Total quality management. , 1992, Contemporary longterm care.

[84]  Amaresh Chakrabarti,et al.  A functional representation for aiding biomimetic and artificial inspiration of new ideas , 2005, Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing.

[85]  Francesca Montagna,et al.  DESIGN FOR INNOVATION , 2012 .

[86]  Ronald T. Lonsdale,et al.  Developing a Framework for Sources of New Product Ideas , 1992 .

[87]  Jelena Spanjol,et al.  How Many and What Kind? The Role of Strategic Orientation in New Product Ideation , 2009 .

[88]  A. Page,et al.  Principles vs. practice in new product planning , 1984 .

[89]  M. Graner,et al.  Are Methods the Key to Product Development Success? An Empirical Analysis of Method Application in New Product Development , 2016 .

[90]  Jürgen Gausemeier,et al.  Technology push-based product planning – future markets for emerging technologies , 2013 .

[91]  Dijana Močnik,et al.  Achieving Increased Value for Customers Through Mutual Understanding Between Business and Information System Communities , 2010 .

[92]  Bella Martin,et al.  Universal Methods of Design: 100 Ways to Research Complex Problems, Develop Innovative Ideas, and Design Effective Solutions , 2012 .

[93]  Mark E. Parry,et al.  What separates Japanese new product winners from losers , 1996 .

[94]  Shyam R. Chidamber,et al.  A Research Retrospective of Innovation Inception and Success: The Technology-Push Demand-Pull Question , 2018 .

[95]  Alexander Brem,et al.  Integration of market pull and technology push in the corporate front end and innovation management—Insights from the German software industry , 2009 .

[96]  Tetsuo Tomiyama,et al.  A framework for computer-aided conceptual design and its application to system architecting of mechatronics products , 2012, Comput. Aided Des..

[97]  Federico Rotini,et al.  Re-engineering of Products and Processes: How to Achieve Global Success in the Changing Marketplace , 2012 .

[98]  Qingyu Zhang,et al.  The fuzzy front end and success of new product development: a causal model , 2001 .

[99]  Dhruv Grewal,et al.  Retail Success and Key Drivers , 2010 .

[100]  Belinda López-Mesa,et al.  Effects of additional stimuli on idea-finding in design teams , 2011 .

[101]  Gaetano Cascini,et al.  TRIZ-based Anticipatory Design of Future Products and Processes , 2012, J. Integr. Des. Process. Sci..

[102]  David G. Ullman,et al.  The Mechanical Design Process , 1992 .

[103]  Dean Keith Simonton,et al.  Scientific creativity as constrained stochastic behavior: the integration of product, person, and process perspectives. , 2003, Psychological bulletin.

[104]  H. V. Trijp,et al.  Consumer research in the early stages of new product development: a critical review of methods and techniques , 2005 .

[105]  D. Dahl,et al.  The Influence and Value of Analogical Thinking during New Product Ideation , 2002 .

[106]  Thomas J. Howard,et al.  The use of creative stimuli at early stages of industrial product innovation , 2010 .

[107]  Daniel J Flint,et al.  Compressing new product success-to-success cycle time , 2002 .

[108]  Michael Tovey,et al.  Sketching and direct CAD modelling in automotive design , 2000 .

[109]  Jami J. Shah,et al.  Understanding design ideation mechanisms through multilevel aligned empirical studies , 2010 .

[110]  Marc Graner,et al.  The use of methods in new product development – a review of empirical literature , 2012 .

[111]  G. Altshuller.  Creativity as an exact science : the theory of the solution of inventive problems , 1984 .

[112]  Satyandra K. Gupta,et al.  A computational framework for authoring and searching product design specifications , 2011, Adv. Eng. Informatics.

[113]  Maria C. Yang,et al.  A Step Beyond to Overcome Design Fixation: A Design-by-Analogy Approach , 2015 .

[114]  Shu-Hsien Liao,et al.  Mining product maps for new product development , 2008, Expert Syst. Appl..

[115]  Mojca Bavdaž,et al.  Higher growth through the Blue Ocean Strategy: Implications for economic policy , 2012 .

[116]  Jinhong Xie,et al.  The Impact of Cross‐Functional Joint Involvement Across Product Development Stages: An Exploratory Study , 1998 .

[117]  Kathy K. Franklin,et al.  Idea Generation and Exploration: Benefits and Limitations of the Policy Delphi Research Method , 2006 .

[118]  Olivier Toubia.  Idea Generation, Creativity, and Incentives , 2006 .

[119]  Heiner Evanschitzky,et al.  Success Factors of Product Innovation: An Updated Meta‐Analysis , 2012 .

[120]  Weidong Guo,et al.  A research on fuzzy front end of npd in Chinese equipment manufacturing firms: A theoretical model , 2012, 2012 24th Chinese Control and Decision Conference (CCDC).

[121]  Martin Schreier,et al.  The Value of Crowdsourcing: Can Users Really Compete with Professionals in Generating New Product Ideas? , 2009 .

[122]  Federico Rotini,et al.  EXPLORING THE DIMENSIONS OF VALUE: THE FOUR DIMENSIONS FRAMEWORK , 2014 .

[123]  Linda Rochford,et al.  Generating and screening new products ideas , 1991 .

[124]  Hidenori Shinno,et al.  Structured Method for Identifying Success Factors in New Product Development of Machine Tools , 2002 .

[125]  Thomas J. Howard,et al.  Reuse of ideas and concepts for creative stimuli in engineering design , 2011 .

[126]  David W. Rosen,et al.  The effects of biological examples in idea generation , 2010 .

[127]  Andrew A. West,et al.  A framework of web-based conceptual design , 2003, Comput. Ind..

[128]  Andrew W. H. Ip,et al.  A dynamic decision support system to predict the value of customer for new product development , 2011, Decis. Support Syst..

[129]  Barry L. Bayus,et al.  Crowdsourcing New Product Ideas over Time: An Analysis of the Dell IdeaStorm Community , 2013, Manag. Sci..

[130]  Karl T. Ulrich,et al.  Special Issue on Design and Development: Product Development Decisions: A Review of the Literature , 2001, Manag. Sci..

[131]  Johann Füller,et al.  Virtual product experience and customer participation—A chance for customer-centred, really new products , 2007 .

[132]  Yan Xin,et al.  An exploratory study of the use of quality tools and techniques in product development , 2005 .

[133]  M. Mcguire.  New Think: The Use of Lateral Thinking in the Generation of New Ideas , 1969 .

[134]  Hayato Yoshioka,et al.  A structured method for analysing product specification in product planning for machine tools , 2006 .

[135]  Alberto De Toni,et al.  From design driven innovation to meaning strategy , 2012 .

[136]  Gülçin Büyüközkan,et al.  A new approach based on soft computing to accelerate the selection of new product ideas , 2004, Comput. Ind..

[137]  John H. Friar,et al.  Factors for success in R&D projects and new product innovation: a contextual framework , 1997 .

[138]  D. Verma,et al.  Systematically identifying system engineering practices and methods , 1997, IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems.

[139]  Thomas P. Walter,et al.  Mediterranean Conference on Information Systems ( MCIS ) 2011 TOWARDS MEASURING CROWDSOURCING SUCCESS : AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON EFFECTS OF EXTERNAL FACTORS IN ONLINE IDEA CONTEST , 2017 .

[140]  Lassi A. Liikkanen,et al.  Inspiring design idea generation: insights from a memory-search perspective , 2010 .

[141]  Antti Oulasvirta,et al.  Understanding contexts by being there: case studies in bodystorming , 2003, Personal and Ubiquitous Computing.

[142]  Joost R. Duflou,et al.  Identifying candidates for design-by-analogy , 2011, Comput. Ind..

[143]  Gaetano Cascini,et al.  A framework for user experience, needs and affordances , 2014 .

[144]  Michael Zwicky Hauschild,et al.  Implementing life cycle assessment in product development , 2003 .

[145]  Tomohiko Sakao,et al.  Towards Consolidation on Product-Service Systems Design , 2012 .

[146]  H. Krcmar,et al.  Community Engineering for Innovations: The Ideas Competition as a Method to Nurture a Virtual Community for Innovations , 2009 .

[147]  Hao Jiang,et al.  Design cognition differences when using unstructured, partially structured, and structured concept generation creativity techniques , 2013 .

[148]  E. Hippel,et al.  Lead users: a source of novel product concepts , 1986 .

[149]  Yan Xin,et al.  The Application of New Product Development Tools in Industry: The Case of Singapore , 2006, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management.

[150]  Andreas B. Eisingerich,et al.  How can clusters sustain performance? The role of network strength, network openness, and environmental uncertainty , 2010 .

[151]  Thomas T. Nagle,et al.  The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing , 1988 .

[152]  Ching-Chow Yang,et al.  Performance improvement in new product development with effective tools and techniques adoption for high-tech industries , 2008 .

[153]  Barry Buzan,et al.  The Mind Map Book: How to Use Radiant Thinking to Maximize Your Brain's Untapped Potential , 1994 .

[154]  Federico Rotini,et al.  Supporting product design by anticipating the success chances of new value profiles , 2013, Comput. Ind..

[155]  Christoph Maurer,et al.  Conceptual Design Theory in Education Versus Practice in Industry: A Comparison Between Germany and the United States , 2012 .

[156]  J. Valacich,et al.  Idea Generation in Computer-Based Groups: A New Ending to an Old Story , 1994 .

[157]  Adrian Oriţǎ,et al.  Use of Ontological Classes in the Exploration of User Needs , 2013 .

[158]  Stefan Kohn,et al.  Computer aided innovation - State of the art from a new product development perspective , 2009, Comput. Ind..

[159]  Sofia Börjesson,et al.  Innovative scanning experiences from an idea generation project at Volvo Cars , 2006 .

[160]  Thomas W. Lauer,et al.  Supplier source integration in a large manufacturing company , 2004 .

[161]  Kristin L. Wood,et al.  Functional Interdependence and Product Similarity Based on Customer Needs , 1999 .

[162]  Yong Zeng,et al.  Environment-Based formulation of Design Problem , 2004, Trans. SDPS.

[163]  Robert G. Cooper,et al.  Stage-gate systems: A new tool for managing new products , 1990 .

[164]  Jan Marco Leimeister,et al.  Leveraging Crowdsourcing: Activation-Supporting Components for IT-Based Ideas Competition , 2009, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[165]  Peter R.N. Childs,et al.  Sketching to solid modelling skills for mechanical engineers , 2009 .

[166]  Jonathan Cagan,et al.  A Study of Design Fixation, Its Mitigation and Perception in Engineering Design Faculty , 2010 .

[167]  Maurizio Muzzupappa,et al.  Integrated Computer-Aided Innovation: The PROSIT approach , 2009, Comput. Ind..

[168]  E. van Kleef,et al.  Consumer research in the early stages of new product development : issues and applications in the food domain , 2006 .

[169]  Todd Lubart,et al.  Multidimensional Approach to Detecting Creative Potential in Managers , 2012 .

[170]  Sanjay Mishra,et al.  Factors affecting new product success: Cross-country comparisons☆ , 1996 .

[171]  Arthur B. VanGundy,et al.  BRAIN WRITING FOR NEW PRODUCT IDEAS: AN ALTERNATIVE TO BRAINSTORMING , 1984 .

[172]  M. W. Fu,et al.  A Knowledge-Based Prototype System to Support Product Conceptual Design , 2011 .

[173]  Gaetano Cascini,et al.  Production Processes Modeling for Identifying Technology Substitution Opportunities , 2011 .

[174]  A. Maslow.  A Theory of Human Motivation , 1943 .

[175]  Fabio Q. B. da Silva,et al.  Software support for the Fuzzy Front End stage of the innovation process: a systematic literature review , 2010, 2010 IEEE International Conference on Management of Innovation & Technology.

[176]  Lucienne Blessing,et al.  Preparing for the Transfer of Research Results to Practice: Best Practice Heuristics , 2016 .

[177]  Yong Zeng,et al.  A Theoretical Model of Design Creativity: Nonlinear Design Dynamics and Mental Stress-Creativity Relation , 2012, J. Integr. Des. Process. Sci..

[178]  B. Skiera,et al.  Sourcing, Filtering, and Evaluating New Product Ideas: An Empirical Exploration of the Performance of Idea Markets , 2012 .

[179]  Horst Geschka.  Creativity techniques in Germany , 1996 .

[180]  Francesca Montagna,et al.  Situating needs and requirements in the FBS framework , 2013 .

[181]  Rodney McAdam,et al.  Individual and team‐based idea generation within innovation management: organisational and research agendas , 2002 .

[182]  J. Crisp,et al.  The Delphi method? , 1997, Nursing research.

[183]  Kim Halskov,et al.  Inspiration card workshops , 2006, DIS '06.

[184]  Ashok K. Goel,et al.  Cognitive, collaborative, conceptual and creative - Four characteristics of the next generation of knowledge-based CAD systems: A study in biologically inspired design , 2012, Comput. Aided Des..

[185]  Sandra Bell..  International Brand Management of Chinese Companies , 2008 .

[186]  Melissa A. Schilling.  Strategic Management of Technological Innovation , 2004 .

[187]  Michael Diehl,et al.  Productivity loss in idea-generating groups: Tracking down the blocking effect. , 1991 .

[188]  Jonathan Cagan,et al.  The role of timing and analogical similarity in the stimulation of idea generation in design , 2008 .

[189]  Karl T. Ulrich,et al.  Product Design and Development , 1995 .

[190]  Wei Yan,et al.  An in-process customer utility prediction system for product conceptualisation , 2008, Expert Syst. Appl..

[191]  Manfred A. Max-Neef.  Human Scale Development: Conception, Application and Further Reflections , 1989 .

[192]  Belinda López-Mesa,et al.  A study of the use of concept selection methods from inside a company , 2011 .