APS1023H:
New Product Innovation
University of Toronto
Amir Rahim 1
Concept Generation
Teaching materials to accompany:
Product Design and Development
Chapter 7
Karl T. Ulrich and Steven D. Eppinger
5th Edition, Irwin McGraw-Hill, 2012.
Amir Rahim 2
Product Development Process
Concept System-Level Detail Testing and Production
Planning
Development Design Design Refinement Ramp-Up
Amir Rahim 3
Concept Development Process
Mission Development
Statement Identify Establish Generate Select Test Set Plan Plan
Customer Target Product Product Product Final Downstream
Needs Specifications Concepts Concept(s) Concept(s) Specifications Development
Perform Economic Analysis
Benchmark Competitive Products
Build and Test Models and Prototypes
Amir Rahim 4
Concept Generation Process
1) Clarify the Problem
2) External Search
3) Internal Search
4) Systematic Exploration
5) Reflect on the Process
5
Amir Rahim
Key Benefits of a Structured
Approach
• Some common dysfunctions exhibited by
development teams during concept
generation:
– Most assertive members of the team get their way
with and the team produces a few concepts
– Failure to consider carefully the usefulness of
externally developed concepts
– Ineffective integration of promising partial
solutions
– Failure to consider entire categories of solution
• A structured approach can help reduce the above
Amir Rahim 6
Concept Generation Example:
Power Nailer
Amir Rahim 7
Power Nailer: Assumptions from Mission
Statement
• The nailer will use nails (as opposed to
adhesives, screws, etc.)
• The nailer will be compatible with nail
magazines on existing tools
• The nailer will nail through roofing shingles
into wood
• The nailer will be handheld
Amir Rahim 8
Power Nailer: Customer Needs
• The nailer inserts nails in rapid succession
• The nailer is lightweight
• The mailer has no noticeable delay after
tripping the tool
Amir Rahim 9
Power Nailer: Specifications
• Nail lengths from 25 mm to 38 mm
• Max nailing energy of 40 joules/nail
• Nailing forces of up to 2000 newtons
• Peak nailing rate of 1nail/sec
• Average nailing rate of 12 nails/min
• Minimum trigger delay of 0.25sec
Amir Rahim 10
Concept Generation Process
1) Clarify the Problem
Problem Decomposition:
• Break a problem into subproblems
1) Black Box Diagram:
• Representing input acting on the product to
produce output
2) Break down the Black Box Diagram into further
subfunctions:
• Create more specific descriptions of what
elements of the product might do in order to
implement the overall solution
11
Amir Rahim
Problem Decomposition:
Function Diagram
Amir Rahim 12
Concept Generation Process
2) External Search:
(Hints for Finding Related Solutions)
• Lead Users
– benefit from improvement
– innovation source
• Benchmarking
– competitive products
• Experts
– technical experts
– experienced customers
• Patents
– search related inventions
• Literature
– technical journals
– trade literature
Amir Rahim 13
Patent searches can
be valuable at times
Amir Rahim 14
Concept Generation Process
3) Internal Search:
(Hints for Generating Many Concepts)
• Suspend judgment
• Generate a lot of ideas including infeasible
• Wish and wonder (start with: “I wish we could…” or “I wonder what
would happen if…”)
• Set quantitative goals
Amir Rahim 15
Concept Generation Process
4) Explore Systematically:
• Concept Classification Trees:
– Used to divide the space into possible problems and
then the less promising branches(s) can be pruned
• Concept Combination Table:
– Provides a way to consider multiple combinations of
a solution fragment systematically
Amir Rahim 16
Concept Classification Trees for an Electric Nailer
17
Amir Rahim
Systematic Exploration:
Concept Combination Table
Amir Rahim 18
Systematic Exploration:
Concept Combination Table
Amir Rahim 19
Systematic Exploration:
Concept Combination Table
Amir Rahim 20
Systematic Exploration:
Concept Combination Table
Amir Rahim 21
Systematic Exploration:
Concept Combination Table
Amir Rahim 22
Concept Generation Process
5) Reflect on the Solutions and the Process
• Has that the solution space has been fully explored?
• Are there alternative function diagrams?
• Are there alternative ways to decompose the problem?
• Have ideas from everyone been accepted and
integrated in the process?
Amir Rahim 23
Amir Rahim 24