Product and service design involves or affects -R&D efforts may involve basic research, applied

nearly every functional area of an organization. research, or development.

However, marketing and operations have major Basic research has the objective of advancing the state
involvement. of knowledge about a subject, without any near-term
expectation of commercial applications.
1. Is there demand for it? What is the potential size
of the market, and what is the expected demand Applied research has the objective of achieving
profile (will demand be long term or short term, will commercial applications.
it grow slowly or quickly)?
Development converts the results of applied research
2. Can we do it? Do we have the necessary into useful commercial applications.
knowledge, skills, equipment, capacity, and supply
chain capability? For products, this is known as Product liability The responsibility of a manufacturer
manufacturability ; for services, this is known as for any injuries or damages caused by a faulty product.
serviceability . Also, is outsourcing some or all of
Uniform Commercial Code A product must be
the work an option?
suitable for its intended purpose.
3. What level of quality is appropriate? What do
customers expect? What level of quality do Design considerations
-Legal consideration
competitors provide for similar items? How would -Ethical consideration
it fit with our current offerings? -human factors
4. Does it make sense from an economic -cultural factors
standpoint? What are the potential liability issues, -Global products and service design
ethical considerations, sustainability issues, costs, -Environmental factors: sustainability
and profits? For nonprofits, is the cost within
budget? Human factor issues often arise in the design of
consumer products.
Manufacturability The capability of an
organization to produce an item at an acceptable CULTURAL FACTORS Product designers in
profit. Serviceability The capability of an companies that operate globally also must take into
organization to provide a service at an acceptable account any cultural differences of different countries or
regions related to the product.
cost or profit.
Reasons for Product and Service Design or Redesign ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS:
SUSTAINABILITY
Product and service design has typically had strategic Product and service design is a focal point in the quest
implications for the success and prosperity of an for sustainability
organization
• Economic Key aspects include
• Social and demographic
• Political, liability, or legal Cradle-to-grave assessment The assessment of the
• Competitive environmental impact of a product or service throughout
• Cost or availability its useful life.
• TechnologicaL End-of-life (EOL) programs deal with products that
have reached the end of their useful lives.
Reverse engineering Dismantling and inspecting a The Three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle Designers
competitor’s product to discover product improvements. often reflect on three particular aspects of potential cost
saving and reducing environmental impact:
Research and development (R&D) Organized efforts Reduce: Value Analysis Value analysis refers to an
to increase scientific knowledge or product innovation. examination of the function of parts and materials in an
effort to reduce the cost and/or improve the performance The Kano model is a theory of product and service
of a product. design developed by Dr. Noriaki Kano, a Japanese
Reuse: Remanufacturing professor, who offered a perspective on customer
Refurbishing used products by replacing worn-out or perceptions of quality different from the traditional view
defective components that “more is better.”
Recycle: Recycling Recovering materials for future
use. PHASES IN PRODUCT DESIGN AND
DEVELOPMENT
OTHER DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
-Feasibility analysis. Feasibility analysis entails market
- product or service life cycles analysis (demand), economic analysis (development cost
-degree of standardization and production cost, profit potential), and technical
-designing for mass customization analysis
-product or service reliability -Product specifications. This involves detailed
-robust design descriptions of what is needed to meet (or exceed)
-degree of newness customer wants, and requires collaboration between
-Quality function deployment legal, marketing, and operations.
-The kano model -Process specifications. Once product specifications
have been set, attention turns to specifications for the
Standardization Extent to which a product, service, or process that will be needed to produce the product.
process lacks variety -Prototype development. With product and process
specifications complete, one (or a few) units are made to
Mass customization A strategy of producing basically see if there are any problems with the product or process
standardized goods, but incorporating some degree of specifications.
customization. -Design review. At this stage, any necessary changes are
made or the project is abandoned. Marketing, finance,
-Delayed differentiation The process of producing, but engineering, design, and operations collaborate to
not quite completing, a product or service until customer determine whether to proceed or abandon.
preferences are known. -Market test. A market test is used to determine the
extent of consumer acceptance. If unsuccessful, the
-Modular design A form of standardization in which product returns to the design review phase. This phase is
component parts are grouped into modules that are easily handled by marketing.
replaced or interchanged. Product introduction. The new product is promoted. This
phase is handled by marketing.
Reliability The ability of a product, part, or system to Follow-up evaluation. Based on user feedback, changes
perform its intended function under a prescribed set of may be made or forecasts refined. This phase is handled
conditions. by marketing.

Failure Situation in which a product, part, or system DESIGNING FOR PRODUCTION

does not perform as intended.
Concurrent engineering Bringing engineering design
Normal operating conditions The set of conditions and manufacturing personnel together early in the design
under which an item’s reliability is specified. phase.
Computer-aided design (CAD) Product design using
Robust design Design that results in products or computer graphics.
services that can function over a broad range of Production Requirements As noted earlier in the
conditions. chapter, designers must take into account production
capabilities. Design needs to clearly understand the
Quality function deployment (QFD) An approach that capabilities of production (e.g., equipment, skills, types
integrates the “voice of the customer” into both product of materials, schedules, technologies, special abilities).
and service development. This helps in choosing designs that match capabilities.
Component Commonality Companies often have
multiple products or services to offer customers. Often, 1. Being consistent with the organization’s mission.
these products or services have a high degree of 2. Being user-friendly.
similarity of features and components. This is 3. Being robust if variability is a factor.
particularly true of product families, but it is also true of 4. Being easy to sustain.
many services 5. Being cost-effective.
6. Having value that is obvious to customers.
SERVICE DESIGN 7. Having effective linkages between back-of-the-house
operations (i.e., no contact with the customer) and front-
Service Something that is done to or for a customer. of-the-house operations (i.e., direct contact with
Service delivery system The facilities, processes, and customers). Front operations should focus on customer
skills needed to provide a service. service, while back operations should focus on speed
Product bundle The combination of goods and services and efficiency.
provided to a customer. 8. Having a single, unifying theme, such as convenience
Service package The physical resources needed to or speed.
perform the service, the accompanying goods, and the 9. Having design features and checks that will ensure
explicit and implicit services included. service that is reliable and of high quality.

Differences between Service Design and Product Design

1. Products are generally tangible; services are generally

intangible. Consequently, service design often focuses
more on intangible factors (e.g., peace of mind,
ambiance) than does product design.
2. In many instances services are created and delivered
at the same time (e.g., a haircut, a car wash). In such
instances there is less latitude in finding and correcting
errors before the customer has a chance to discover
them. Consequently, training, process design, and
customer relations are particularly important.
3. Services cannot be inventoried. This poses restrictions
on flexibility and makes capacity issues very important.
4. Services are highly visible to consumers and must be
designed with that in mind; this adds an extra dimension
to process design, one that usually is not present in
product design.
5. Some services have low barriers to entry and exit.
This places additional pressures on service design to be
innovative and cost-effective.
6. Location is often important to service design, with
convenience as a major factor. Hence, design of services
and choice of location are often closely linked.
7. Service systems range from those with little or no
customer contact to those that have a very high degree of
customer contact.
8. Demand variability alternately creates waiting lines
or idle service resources.

Service blueprint A method used in service design to

describe and analyze a proposed service

Characteristics of Well-Designed Service Systems.