New product development methods : a study of open design
Name
836774428-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
7.74 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
0bf9ac68662e0b85973c6676ec32132c
Author(s)
Smith, Ariadne G. (Ariadne Geneviève)
Advisor(s)
David R. Wallace.
Date Issued
2012
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
This thesis explores the application of open design to the process of developing physical products. Open design is a type of decentralized innovation that is derived from applying principles of open source software and crowdsourcing to product development. Crowdsourcing has gained popularity in the last decade, ranging from translation services, to marketing concepts, and new product funding. However, it is only in the past few years that open design has been considered as a method to create more innovative products in less time and for less money. While truly open design requires participants to collaborate and make contributions at each stage of the product development process, applications of open design to physical product development have been limited to accepting external contributions at only certain, less technical phases of design, such as planning, idea generation, or obtaining idea feedback. This thesis seeks to explore two questions related to creating a tool for open design in physical product development: what kind of tool can be developed to support crowdsourcing the full development of a physical product, and what types of design environments can benefit from this tool? Through a collaboration with GE Global Research for DARPA's Adaptive Vehicle Make (AVM) program, this thesis presents an early prototype of an online tool that allows for the open design of an entire product development process, in application to the development of a vehicle. Then, a framework is developed in order to identify the tool's applicability to other product development industries. Interviews with potential lead users in a number of different industrial sectors were conducted to better understand how this open design environment might be used and adapted for applications outside of a DARPA-driven vehicle design domain. Though the sensitive nature of projects in the defense and medical device industries prohibits this tool from used for its intended crowdsourcing purposes, there is promise for further development of the tool for uses in academic and education environments, and as an internal project management tool in other product development industries, such as aviation and consumer product design.
Description
Thesis (S.M. in Technology and Policy)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2012.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 70-75).
Subjects
Engineering Systems Division.
Technology and Policy Program.
Mechanical Engineering.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division
Technology and Policy Program
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