Selecting the Right Design Strategy

In today’s business environment, the pressures facing companies to bring products quickly to the marketplace has never been greater. With ever-increasing competition, the key discriminator that separates the most successful companies is the ability to employ a design strategy that will enable fast product development.

By their very nature, products possess different characteristics, which influence how individual parts within a product function and relate to one another, how the product is assembled, and, ultimately, how the product is designed. Consequently, from a design perspective, it is important to first consider the nature of the product being created. In other words, the characteristics of the product being developed can significantly influence the way product data is gathered, analyzed, and used throughout the product development process.

For example, consider a personal computer. Personal computers can vary greatly in terms of their performance characteristics and other features. To accomplish this, many companies have adopted an approach of creating personal computers from different modules, or subassemblies that can be quickly integrated to create a new product. For example, depending on the desired performance, different CPU’s can be used. In addition, depending on customer needs for a CD player, floppy disk drive, or some other feature, modules representing these components may be included in the product design. Products created using modules or subassemblies are represented by a design strategy known as the modular design approach. The modular design approach embodies the philosophy of using standardized modules or subassemblies as “building blocks” to quickly create new products. Products produced using this approach possess the following characteristics:

• Overall product performance that can be altered by using modules of different performance characteristics

• Standardized interfaces that insure a high degree of module interchangeability

• Integrated modules that operate under a plug-and-play philosophy

There are many products that are produced using the modular design approach such as automobiles, power tools, bicycles, kitchen appliances, and even the international space station. It is being assembled and transported in space using a modular approach.

A second design strategy that contrasts the modular design approach is known as the platform design strategy. Products that are supported by this design strategy are not conducive to the plug-and-play approach with modules, but rather representative of products with a high degree of interdependency between the individual components. In this case, all of the parts must work together to perform the product’s primary function.

A good example of a product fitting this strategy is a jet engine. A jet engine is designed to meet a certain thrust requirement. The individual parts of the engine must all work in tandem and are sized to meet the requirement. For this product, it’s not possible to replace or resize one or two parts to change the product’s overall performance. If one part changes, it affects another, then another, and so on. In other words, the entire product represents an integrated platform. If a different thrust requirement is needed, typically an entire new product is created.

The key element of the product development process is product data and information that is used as the basis for creating a new product. The amount of available product data a company possesses to support the development process correlates directly with the amount of experience the company has in developing a particular product. For example, consider a company that has a long history of producing street touring bicycles. Based on this history, over time the company would have generated product data and a good understanding of all aspects of street touring bicycle design such as the impact of different frame designs, tire performance and wear characteristics based on varying road conditions, and so on. Consequently, if the company decided to develop a new street touring bicycle, it would be able to rely on its strong experience base and existing product data to create the new product.

However, let’s say this company wanted to expand its product line and produce mountain bicycles. Mountain bicycles represent a design that is considerably different from street touring bicycles. For example, mountain bicycles utilize different gearing systems, sturdier frames, and thicker tires compared to street touring bicycles. Based on these differences, the company would not be able to rely on its experience and known product data. The mountain bicycle design represents a departure from the company’s core competencies and experience base associated with street touring bicycles. This scenario exemplifies a third design strategy known as the custom design approach.

The custom design approach focuses on the development of breakthrough products for a company. Breakthrough products represent new products that add to a company’s existing product portfolio or upgrades to existing products. A product representing a custom design requires the company to extend beyond its known core competencies in order to develop the product and, as a result, represents a journey of exploration. Consequently, this approach requires greater program management skills and typically more resources than the platform or modular design approaches.

A custom design strategy represents a high-risk approach for a potentially high reward. The reward should be high enough to compensate for the greater chance of failure. However, through a custom design strategy, an improved market position can be achieved and new business captured translating into greater revenue for the company.

In summary, product characteristics and the amount of product knowledge a company possesses can greatly influence the design approach. By considering these factors early in the development process, a company can select the appropriate design strategy enabling the company to bring high-quality, low-cost products to the marketplace in the shortest time possible.