Posts by Rob Allen
Ideation and Product Development
In recent articles we focused on a ‘linear’ approach to product development by understanding customer needs, establishing requirements (“what the design provides”), establishing a conceptual design, etc. In this article, we’ll discuss a framework whereby an idea for a product or design might kick-off the process. Also, rather than a commercialized product, we will assume…
Read MoreEmphasizing Product Requirements
In this article we’ll explore the topic of requirements, and attitudes about identifying requirements before the design work begins. In my experience, I’ve had design resources literally state “I hope there are no requirements”. (Unconstrained design and no requirements certainly made this designer’s job much easier.) There are several other reasons requirements are sometimes neglected:…
Read MoreUsing Hierarchy In Complex System Requirements and Design
Managing requirements for complex systems can be challenging, however, establishing a hierarchical framework of key questions (answered at each layer of the hierarchy) can be quite helpful. While some regulatory authorities (such as the FAA) may require various layers of documentation and traceability, this article isn’t necessarily advocating a bureaucratic development process. The process can be…
Read MoreUnderstanding Design Constraints
While previous articles focused on requirements writing, another element of products requirements is design constraints. A design constraint might not be a requirement in the purest sense, but must be accommodated in product requirements (and, ideally, identified as such). Design constraints almost always make their way into product requirements. Let’s use a simple example whereby…
Read MoreEnsuring Linkage Between Requirements and Verification
One of several reasons for emphasizing product requirements includes enabling modeling and simulations of designs, as well as ensuring adequate verification and validation testing. Recall the fundamental framing of a requirement as: Note the framing (within the requirement) of a mathematical and/or experimental relationship where “Y” is the output as a function of “(x)” as…
Read MoreWhat is Lean Product Development (Part I)?
Lean product development might mean different things to different organizations, but let’s start with the 5 principles of lean manufacturing and see how it can be applied to the product development process. Manufacturing Value Stream 1. Specify value 2. Identify the value stream 3. Establish flow 4. Make value flow at the pull of the customer…
Read MoreWhat is Lean Product Development? (Part II)
In my last article the high level goal of lean product development was established as follows: Develop products that maximize customer value and minimize product cost, in the least amount of time, and at the least amount of product development cost. Let’s analyze this goal statement and establish some high-level objectives. Customer Value – understand customer value, and…
Read MoreWhat is Lean Product Development (Part III)
In my previous article, we established some high-level objectives for lean product development as follows: These might be considered “enterprise” level objectives…some or all of the objectives might be part of a product development organizational strategy depending on it’s size or number of product development projects. Some tools and methodologies that enable lean product development include:…
Read MoreA Scalable Model for Lean Product Development
In my previous article we established the lean product development goal statement as: Develop products that maximize customer value and minimize product cost, in the least amount of time, and at the least amount of product development cost. We then derived high-level objectives as follows: These might be considered “enterprise” level objectives…some or all of the objectives might…
Read MoreLean Project Management for Product Development
My last article covered a scalable model for lean product development depending on the number of projects and technical objectives. Let’s start with the foundational elements from this model: A core team leader / project manager partnership can facilitate these objectives. The project manager provides the project management discipline and tools while the core team (and core team…
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