Tools and techniques for product design
Introduction
In the hands of competent craftsmen, the right tools become powerful resources, which intrinsically seems to reinforce their capabilities and capacities. It more or less becomes an inherent component of their efforts to reach a specific goal. For product designers, a wide variety of working methods, best practices and software packages can fulfil that same role. Given the fact that product designers habitually balance on the verge of arts, crafts and science, while customarily co-operating in teams consisting of designers and representatives from other fields of expertise, they might be rather discerning in identifying the set of implements to draw from. Such instruments, or more specifically tools and techniques, can significantly further design projects and the way in which those projects are executed. In most cases, tools/techniques are deployed best if designers experience them as inherent to their work; i.e. if the tool/technique in itself does not compel attention in its application. The tools/techniques work best if they are ‘ready-to-hand’ [109] and do not intrude with the craftsmanship of the designer. At the same time, the design environment changes rapidly, as, for example, new tools/techniques emerge, information alters its role [222], virtual or augmented reality comes within reach (e.g. [21]), and also the characteristics of products that enter the market are subject to change (e.g. [141]). In such circumstances, tools/techniques can no longer only be seen as inherent and implicit. They alter into ‘present-at-hand’ [109]: their implementation and employment calls for attention and interplay of the designer as well as of the company.
Because designers and companies encounter tools/techniques that explicitly manifest themselves, it is purposeful to survey the conditions in which such tools/techniques find employment. Research on this topic is limited [157], although tools/techniques for product design are key with respect to design efficiency [17]. Even more, a lack of employable tools/techniques is, traditionally, already seen as an internal obstacle to the successful introduction of new products [24].
The rationale of this publication is certainly not based on compiling exhaustive lists of tools/techniques, as that would not do justice to the complexities of the design environment, nor would it benefit designers in their work. At the same time, no enumeration can possibly be complete. Moreover, the half-life of any observation on a specific tool is surprisingly short. Consequently, in this publication the focus is on the embedding of tools/techniques in the context of the environment in which they are used.
The structure of this publication is based on the driving impetuses of the design process and on the different functional objectives of product design. Creativity and decision-making are introduced as major components of design projects. They have a major impact on design efficiency, bearing a strong relation to the employment of tools/techniques in the design environment. Given the wide use of the notions tool and technique, definitions are derived that do justice to the design environment, but will not act as straitjackets or fault-finding in describing the role of tools/techniques. With these definitions, the designer's work is dissected to allow for depicting the relation between design activities, product/project typification and the characterisation of tools/techniques. In this, the ever-changing and reactive design environment emphasises the relevance of the many life cycle aspects that play vital roles. As this environment entails much uncertainty and ambiguity, their influence on tool/technique employment is illustrated. To contextualise characterisations of tools/techniques, exemplary industrial embedding is described. Based on the overviews given in this publication, future developments will be proposed and commented upon from the application, research and development viewpoints for tools/techniques.
Although much of the reasoning in this publication is applicable to a wide variety of product types, the background of the work presented here stems from an environment that aims at engendering discrete, physical products. For example, the reasoning might well be applicable to the (integrated) design of services [166], [185], [211] or even the processing industry; however, the wording and terminology is geared to and based on design cycles for discrete products. In this, focus is explicitly on the design of these discrete products, rather than on the ensuing engineering tasks covered by product development.
Nevertheless, even for these discrete products, the staggering amount of existing products immediately illustrates that it would be an endless task to group products according to ‘classical’ product classification methods (e.g. [132], [192]). Even more elaborate classification methods (e.g. [251]) are only appropriate for a specific domain of the entire range of products. Consequently, another way to classify products is required. Rather than function, geometry, material, required processes, etc. this typification is based on more abstract properties of products. However, in this case, a relevant set of appropriate properties has to be selected, in order to avoid the hazard of arriving at an infinitely large set. In literature, ample attention has been paid to this problem, with varying results. An important contribution [117] values the mutually independence constraint of the properties of so-called technical systems. A categorisation of properties and a ‘model of models’ (based on [198]) is used to arrive at the co-ordinate system in the model shown in Fig. 1.
Novelty manifests itself in unconventional ideas, features and conceptual combinations that ‘are not obvious from the state of the art’, whereas maturity relates to the firmness of a system design. Complexity is interpreted in direct relation to risk of failure. Evolution of systems, in terms of the model, tends towards lower novelty, higher complexity and higher maturity.
Fig. 1b shows an alternative [225] where the evolution of product development is related to the competitive insistence on higher quality, increasing complexity and lower lead times. As the determination of the quality of products in general is rather subjective, this property might be a fragile basis to compare and classify different (types of) products. Moreover, the lead-time probably is more an indication of the production process and its organisation than of a product.
These two deficiencies have been overcome by selecting a different perspective. Reasoning not from the manufacturer, but from the customer, the product can be valued against its direct requirements. This allows for the same approach of independent properties, however, the selection of properties is partially different (see Fig. 1c). The first property is complexity, basically indicating the same property as in Figs. 1a and b, but with emphasis on the complexity pending the entire product life cycle (i.e. during manufacturing, maintenance, repair, recycling, etc.). Based on the different ways in which customer-supplier relationships [59] and the customer-order decoupling point (see e.g. [139], [190], [209]) can be modelled, the adaptability of products can directly be used. The third property is the quantity of products.
Section snippets
Problem solving, creativity and decision-making
The design of products is, and will always be, an act of craftsmanship. It is characterised by the ability to repeatedly employ problem solving, creativity and decision-making in a controlled and efficient manner to reach an adequate product definition. In this, the balance between creativity and systematic approaches strongly depends on the type of product (see Fig. 1), where the difference between routine and non-routine design as well as between incremental and breakthrough innovations plays
The design environment and design methods
Next to all influences that might illustrate the multiplicity of challenges encountered by designers, there is one characteristic of design cycles that is preponderant in causing these challenges: the fact that in well-nigh all design decisions the designer is dared to simultaneously reach more than one aim. Within the characterisation of product complexity, next to the terms complicacy, opacity and interdependency [99], the striving for multiple goals has an essential impact. This so-called
Delineation of tools and techniques
In focusing on the quintessence of tools and techniques as components of design cycles in the design environment (see Sections 1 Introduction, 3 The design environment and design methods), the adequate demarcation of the notions tool and technique are obvious starting points. From there, the role of tools and techniques in the design cycle can be depicted and valued.
Characterisations of tools and techniques
In capturing the essence of tools/techniques, it does not make sense to collect endless lists of existing tools and techniques and attempt to capture their potential contributions from different perspectives. Not only would such an approach result in incomplete lists, it would also – inevitably – lead to the occurrence of unclassifiable tools and techniques, yielding definition issues that are hardly constructive. This implies that attempts that are based on the typification or classification
Use of tools and techniques
In all approaches described in Section 5, it is remarkable to see how, almost implicitly and without further consideration, the use of tools and techniques is directly coupled with the activities in the design cycle. This makes all clustering attempts quite complex and extensive. Moreover, such clusterings are not necessarily indicative for designers in their practical work.
At the same time, the link between tools and activities is a natural one, given the customary development of tools.
Selection of tools and techniques
Selection of tools and techniques can be compared to a design decision. The selection of the tool or technique will, in itself, influence the entire process as well as its outcome. Moreover, this selection often has to be made when the design problem is not even clear, under conditions where multiple stakeholders are involved and many criteria simultaneously play a role. Without recursively focusing on decision-making in design here, it is relevant to discern two different ways to reach such
Uncertainty and ambiguity in using tools and techniques
By definition, everything that is ‘not exactly known or decided, not definite or fixed’ is uncertain [3]. For product designers, such a definition is hardly instrumental, as they unremittingly struggle to make the appropriate decisions that separate them from the envisaged product definition [152]. There are many things that obstruct a design team in making a specific decision. The most obvious is a lack of information. However, equally important is the observation that design teams establish
Human factors and education
A company has a set of tools at its disposal, but needs prudent and judicious deployment of these tools to render their introduction profitable. After all, the tools in themselves are reactive constituents of development cycles. It is the skill of the person who wields the tool that makes it effective. In a similar manner, a company can pride itself upon the techniques mastered by its employees; this mastery does not evolve the product definition.
In a production metaphor, buying a milling
Industrial application
Designers and design teams always do their work in a specific environment and context. Such surroundings not only influence the aim, rationale and starting points of the designers’ work, they also have a significant influence on the selection of tools/techniques, their operating modes and their impact on design projects. Given the incredible set of variations in product types, companies and product/market combinations, no enumeration can contribute to meaningful understanding of the position of
Problems with tools/techniques
Designers can rely on a vast array of available tools/techniques to support them in their work. Despite this (or infused by this), a lot of ambiguity is encountered. One of the main reasons for this equivocality is the dualist background of tools/techniques: in general, they stem either from academia or from practice.
In the latter case, they are often the result of ingrained habits in a specific environment. Consequently, such tools/techniques are difficult to transfer to different
Tools & techniques: future developments
As mentioned in Section 1, this publication does not aim at constructing exhaustive lists of tools/techniques. As such, this section will also not address individual tools/techniques and predict their future use, decay or success. Alternatively, this section aims to address a number of dimensions that will play important roles in the way designers will envisage, select and employ tools/techniques. The starting point in this is that a tool is only a tool insofar as it is used as such to achieve
Concluding remarks
Over the centuries, society has always been influenced by acts of design. With the increasing complexity of society and of the design activities themselves, designers have constantly developed tools/techniques to aid them in their work. At the same time, designers have aimed to diminish the complexities of their projects by purposefully reducing the number of influencing variables. Gradually, this has become an implicit way to maintain overview over design cycles. However, with the swiftly
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