Introduction

Question 1

Product - Definition

Answer 1

A product is something that was designed and made for a particular purpose or need.

Question 2

Design (thing) - Definition

Answer 2

A design is a description of an artefact to be made

Question 3

artefact - Definition

Answer 3

An artefact is an object made by a human being.

Question 4

Design (discipline) - Definition

Answer 4

Design is the process or the art of creating designs

Question 5

design problem - Definition

Answer 5

A design problem, or a design task, describes a situation in which a design goal is to be achieved, but the means and the way to get there are not yet known.

Question 6

How is the solution to a design problem defined?

Answer 6

A solution (to a design problem) or a good design is a design achieving the design goal.

Question 7

Product development - Definition

Answer 7

Product development is the set of activities beginning with the perception of a market opportunity and ending in the production, sale and delivery of product

Question 8

What are market-related challenges?

Answer 8

challenges that are external, not controllable

Question 9

What are designer-related challenges?

Answer 9

challenges that are internal, including your organization, would be different for someone else, somewhat controllable

Question 10

What are design-related challenges?

Answer 10

challenges that are related to the product itself, independent of the designer, often controllable

Question 11

Which external factors are the focus of the PESTEL analysis?

Answer 11

P - Political
E - Economic
S - Social
T - Technological
E - Environmental
L - Legal

Question 12

What does VUCA stand for?

Answer 12

-Volatile = characterized by or subject to rapid or unexpected change
-Uncertainty = the state of being not clearly defined
-Complexity refers to system behavior that does not follow trivially from the behaviors of the interacting individual parts
-Ambiguity = the quality of being open to more than one interpretation; inexactness

Question 13

What is the maximum capacity of the short term memory?

Answer 13

7 chunks

Question 14

What ist solution fixation?

Answer 14

Reusing what you know is much easier than inventing something new.

Question 15

What is one designer-related challenge that is related to the flow of information?

Answer 15

The flow of information can get very complex if a lot of stakeholders are involved

Question 16

What are some examples for design-related challenges? Name 3.

Answer 16

-Many design goals
-Many design variables
-Many dependencies
-Many variants
-Counter-intuitive dependencies
-Large design spaces

Question 17

What is the Dilemma of Product Development?

Answer 17

In the beginning: many possibilities, little information
In the end: fewer possibilities, abundant information

Question 18

Decomposition - Definition

Answer 18

To reduce complexity, large complex systems are decomposed
Decomposition = definition of separate design problems that designers can work on almost independently

Question 19

What is the difference between horizontal and vertical decomposition?

Answer 19

Horizontal decomposition is typically done by disciplines, vertical decomposition by level of detail.

Question 20

What should be known when decomposing a system?

Answer 20

When decomposing a system, ideally you know
-what is compatible with all requirements and
-what can be realized.

Question 21

Model - Definition

Answer 21

A model is a simplified representation of an original. It containts only what is relevant for a particular purpose.

Question 22

What are typical purposes for a model?

Answer 22

− Analysis, understanding
− Prediction
− Means for discussion

Question 23

Method - Definition

Answer 23

A method is a set of specific actions to be carried out in order to achieve a certain goal.
▪ Micro view
▪ Describes action items, operative character
▪ Example: Benchmarking

Question 24

procedure model - Definition

Answer 24

A procedure model is a coarse description of a development process.
▪ Macro view, typically for entire product
▪ Describes outcomes, more result-oriented, less focused on action
▪ Serves as a tool for planning, organizing and controlling
▪ Example: V-model

Question 25

Property - Definition

Answer 25

A property is a description element for a product (or other things). It is useful to distinguish one product from another. We use the term property (1)for a property that is realized / instantiated =variable and a relation to a particular value that can be observed or measured (e.g. “Its color is gray.”, “Its mass is less then 100kg.”). (2) for a property variable, i.e., a class of possible realizations (e.g. “color”)

Question 26

Value - Definition

Answer 26

A value is used for the instantiation of a property variable. E.g. "gray". It is something that can be observed or measured.

Question 27

design variable - Definition

Answer 27

A design variable is an attribute whose value can be adjusted by the designer in order to reach a design goal. Example: Coil diameter

Question 28

design parameter - Definition

Answer 28

A design parameter is a „frozen“ design variable, i.e., it cannot be modified by the designer for reasons related to the overall design task. Example: Mass of a vehicle for a chassis designer.

Question 29

design space - Definition

Answer 29

A design space is a set of designs that are to be considered as solution candidates.

Question 30

solution space - Definition

Answer 30

A solution space is a set of designs that are solutions.

Question 31

quantity of interest - Definition

Answer 31

A quantity of interest is an attribute that measures the performance of a design. Example: stiffness of a spring (if your product is the spring), or time to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (if the product is the vehicle).

Question 32

requirement - Definition

Answer 32

A requirement is a statement about a desired design, which can be evaluated as true (or false), corresponding to the requirement being (or not being) satisfied.

Question 33

criterion - Definition

Answer 33

The term criterion is used in two ways: (1) requirement or (2) the quantity of interest that is used to formulate a requirement.

Question 34

What are the typical phases in Product Developement?

Answer 34

-Planning -Concept Development -System-Level Design -Detail Design -Testing and Refinement -Production Ramp-Up

Question 35

What are some key points that should be considered during the Planning phase? Name 3.

Answer 35

▪ Project mission ▪ Target market ▪ Business goals ▪ Key assumptions and constraints (external & internal) ▪ Needs of the target market / some requirements →What product to develop?

Question 36

What are some key points/tasks that should be considered/ done during the Concept Development phase? Name 3.

Answer 36

▪ Needs of the target market ▪ Alternative concepts ▪ Selection ▪ Requirements ▪ Analysis of competitive products

Question 37

What are some key points/tasks that should be considered/done during the System-level Design phase? Name 2.

Answer 37

▪ Product architecture, i.e., subsystem and their interfaces ▪ Allocation of responsibility for detail design ▪ Geometric layout ▪ Requirements on subsystems

Question 38

What are some key points and tasks that should be considered/done during the Detail Design phase? Name 2.

Answer 38

▪ Complete specification of geometry & materials ▪ Tolerances ▪ Process plan for production ▪ Production cost and performance is determined

Question 39

What are some key points and tasks that should be considered/done during the Testing and Refinement phase? Name 2.

Answer 39

▪ Manufacture pre-production prototype ▪ Alpha (production-intent parts) vs. beta (built with final production process) ▪ Evaluation

Question 40

What are some tasks that should be done during the Production Ramp-Up phase? Name 2.

Answer 40

▪ Train ▪ Evaluate ▪ Launch ▪ Start production

Question 41

Why are methods valuable? Name 3 reasons.

Answer 41

▪ Support creativity: Structured methods (like morphological analysis or TRIZ) help stimulate creative thinking by guiding idea generation. ▪ Improve decision quality: They provide objective criteria and systematic approaches for evaluating ideas and making design decisions based on facts rather than intuition. ▪ Reduce risk and cost: By applying traceable methods, errors can be detected earlier, iterations reduced, and costly latestage design changes avoided. ▪ Structure the process: They divide product development into clear steps, and serve as checklists. ▪ Enhance communication and collaboration: Common methods and models (e.g., function models, requirement lists) create a shared language among engineers, designers, and other stakeholders. ▪ Enable knowledge transfer and learning: Methods formalize experiences and best practices, making them teachable and reusable across projects and organizations.