Design of product development systems

Abstract

The development of successful new products in less time and using fewer resources is key to the financial success of most consumer product companies. In this thesis we have studied the development of new products and how to systematically improve the execution of new product development. Product development is an activity that concerns multiple functions, involves technical complexity, a variety of stakeholders and is ultimately a complex human activity. We have used a systems engineering approach to tackle this complexity and study product development in a holistic manner. Consequently we have focused on what we call the product development system which includes all the elements of structure (functional elements, links and arrangement) and the elements of character or concept (values, principles, operating style) that define a specific product development organization. The study of the product development system is done using examples from the automotive industry and an extensive review of knowledge from prior studies into product development. Five elements of structure - product, process, people, tools and goals - are reviewed to provide guidelines and insight to what combination of these elements is required to build a congruent structure for a product development system. Additionally, communication in product development and architectural lessons are analyzed to enable the selection of character elements for the design of a product development system.

(cont.) Following the systems engineering approach, the design of product development systems is done by focusing on developing the architecture for the system. It is proposed that by designing the system architecture one can define how product development will be executed and find the greatest opportunities to significantly improve the delivery of new products. Using this approach makes context - geographic location, culture, organization, economy - key to the final system design. As a result, the proposal for an improved product development system has been executed by designing an architecture for a specific product development organization - Ford of Mexico. The architecture for the system contains some elements that are generic to any organization and others that are specific to the product development organization of Ford of Mexico. However, all of the concepts that were used to design the architecture of the Ford of Mexico product development system are found to be equally valuable to other product development organizations that intend to improve their execution of product development. Finally, we have documented the effect that developing and implementing the product development system has had for the Ford of Mexico Product Development Organization. This information provides insight toward the value of designing a product development system and helps us provide a set of next steps for further deployment of the proposed product development system architecture at Ford of Mexico.