Innovation and the
continuous development of new and improved products are key
to the design process. This topic considers the relationship between the design
cycle and the product cycle. It moves on to explore the role of invention in
innovation and the impact of market pull and technology push on product
innovation. Establishing and developing markets for products are a critical
element of the product cycle.
2 hours
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Assessment statement |
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2.1.1 |
Describe the product cycle. |
2 |
The cycle of a product from and idea through to conception and
usability |
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Discuss the role of the designer in the product
cycle. |
3 |
Designing is part of the product cycle: as a need
is generated, a product is designed, made and sold, eventually becoming
obsolete. The cycle is complicated by distributors, retailers, accountants
and production engineers, all of whom have an influence over the cycle.
Although the designer is an integral part of the process, he or she is not
necessarily in control (unlike in the design process). Computer-aided design
(CAD) and computer-aided manufacture ( |
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2.1.3 |
Outline the product cycle in terms of early,
mature and late stages of development. |
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In the early stages of the product cycle, many
changes to the product take place until it develops to the mature stage,
where it is diffused into the market, gains acceptance and sells well. In the
late stage, the product begins to decline in need and therefore in sales. |
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2.1.4 |
Identify products that are at the early, mature
and late stages of their product cycle. |
2 |
The ballpoint pen is in the mature stage, as it
still sells well although the design does not change much. The cassette tape
is in the late stage, as it has been overtaken by successive generations of
products. |
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2.1.5 |
Compare the design cycle with the product cycle. |
3 |
Highlight how the design process is aimed at
producing a suitable solution to a problem, and that the product cycle is
concerned with putting that solution into commercial practice. |
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2.1.6 |
Discuss why for many products the product cycle
has shortened. |
3 |
Compare a laptop computer and a ballpoint pen.
Laptop computers are an intensely competitive market, with size and power
being key issues. |
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3 hours
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Assessment statement |
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2.2.1 |
Define invention and innovation. |
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Invention-
The process of discovering a principle. A technical advance in a particular product
resulting in a novel product. Innovation – The business of putting an
invention into the market place and making it a success.
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2.2.2 |
Outline the stages of innovation. |
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Developing an idea into a viable product; its
production; marketing and sales; followed by redesign; and the cycle or
spiral continues. |
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2.2.3 |
Discuss the importance of science to invention
and innovation. |
3 |
Science explains how the world is. |
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Discuss the importance of technology to invention
and innovation. |
3 |
Technology uncovers new possibilities for
materials, manufacturing techniques and processes. |
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2.2.5 |
Explain why the majority of inventions fail to
become innovations. |
3 |
Consider marketability, financial support, marketing, the need for the invention, price, resistance
to change, and aversion to risk. |
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2.2.6 |
Explain the relevance of design to innovation. |
3 |
For continued innovations (re-innovation),
products and processes are constantly updated (redesigned) to make them more
commercially viable and to give consumers choice and improved products. |
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2.2.7 |
Define dominant design,
diffusion into the marketplace, market
pull and technology push. |
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The design contains those implicit features of a product that
are recognized as essential by a majority of manufactures and purchasers with
the wide acceptance and sale of the
product depending on the market demand
( market pull) and the technology push ( where the impetus of new design
emanates from a technological
development. |
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2.2.8 |
Describe a design context where dominant design
is relevant. |
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For example, ballpoint pen (Biro), Apple® iPod®, Coca-Cola®. |
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2.2.9 |
Explain the difficulties of getting a product to
diffuse into the marketplace. |
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Consider local, national and global competition.
The problems of getting novel products to market include product launches and
marketing. |
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2.2.10 |
Explain why it is difficult to determine whether
market pull or technology push is the impetus for the design of new products. |
3 |
Push and pull are present in most successful
innovations. The explanation should apply only to the origin of the idea or
where the idea seems to have been generated. |
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2.2.11 |
Define lone inventor. |
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An individual working outside or inside and organization who is committed to the invention of a novel product and
often becomes isolated because he or she is engrossed with ideas that imply
change and are resisted by others. |
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2.2.12 |
Discuss why it is becoming increasingly difficult
to be a successful lone inventor. |
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Most products are now extremely complex and rely
on expertise from various disciplines. Most designs are developed by
multidisciplinary teams. |
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2.2.13 |
Explain why lone inventors often find it
difficult to work in the design departments of large companies. |
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They are often used to setting their own targets
rather than working as members of teams. They can be dogmatic in their
methodology and less flexible than team workers. |
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2.2.14 |
Define product champion. |
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An
influential individual, usually working within an organisation, who develops an enthusiasm for a particular idea or
invention and champions it within that organization. |
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2.2.15 |
Compare the lone inventor with the product
champion. |
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The lone inventor may lack the business acumen to
push the invention through to innovation. The product champion is often a
forceful personality with much influence in a company. He or she is more
astute at being able to push the idea forward through the various business
channels and is often able to consider the merits of the invention more
objectively. |
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2.2.16 |
Explain why innovators may have difficulty in
obtaining financial support for an invention. |
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Most people with money to invest will be inclined
to wait until it is clearer whether an invention is going to be successful
before investing: the problem is to get them to take the risk. |
2 hours
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Assessment statement |
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2.3.1 |
Define
technophile, technocautious
and technophobe |
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Technophile-
someone who immediately welcomes a technological change. Technocautious –
someone who needs some convincing before embracing technological change.
Technophobe- some one who resists all technological change. |
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2.3.2 |
Explain how people can be broadly classified
according to their reactions to technological change. |
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People’s reactions to technological change vary
depending on their values and personal circumstances. First-order effects and
second-order effects should be taken into account, for example, personal gain
in owning a car versus social and environmental considerations. |
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2.3.3 |
Describe the corporate strategy |
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Long term aims and objectives of a
company and ways of achieving them by allocation of resources. |
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2.3.4 |
Describe the corporate strategy referred to as
“pioneering”. |
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Pioneering means being ahead of the competitors
by introducing a new product first. It is the most risky (costly) strategy
but one with the potential for the largest gains. A pioneering company
requires a strong research and development (R&D) capability, which is expensive.
A pioneering company needs to be financially secure and requires product
champions to push new ideas. Consider the Sony or Apple companies and their
various pioneering developments. Good market research can offset some risk,
but is problematic for novel products. |
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2.3.5 |
Describe the corporate strategy referred to as
“imitative”. |
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The imitative strategy aims to develop a product
similar to the “pioneered” product as quickly as possible. It takes advantage
of R&D invested by others, and is less risky, but is based on a strong
development capability. |
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2.3.6 |
Explain the benefits for a company of using a
hybrid strategy. |
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There will be less disruption within
the company should something go wrong. |
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2.3.7 |
Define market penetration. |
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Increasing sales to existing customers or finding new customers
for an existing product. |
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2.3.8 |
Describe a strategy that a company would use to
enhance market penetration. |
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Through advertising and promotion with existing
and new customers. |
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2.3.9 |
Define market development. |
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Finding
new applications for existing products, thereby opening up new markets. |
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2.3.10 |
Describe how a company would undertake market
development. |
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The identification of new markets for products,
for example, nylon was originally developed for parachutes. |
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2.3.11 |
Define product development. |
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The creation
of new, modified or updated products aimed mainly at companies existing
customers. |