A Study on Influence of Analogy in Product Design Process
Year: 2015
Editor: Amaresh Chakrabarti, Toshiharu Taura and Yukari Nagai
Author: Seelan, J.J.; Rajesh, R.
Institution: 1Engineering and Industrial Services, Tata Consultancy Services, Trivandrum, India and 2Dept of Mechanical Engineering, NI university, Nagercoil, India
Section: Design Knowledge and Theory
Page(s): 045-052
ISBN: 978-1-904670-60-5
Abstract
Quality, variety and speedy response are given due importance in New Product Development (NPD) process. Inadvertently or not, analogy plays a significant role in the entire NPD process. The mechanics of analogy could be explained by the principles of cognitive psychology, and it does connect with the NPD process. An attempt is made in this paper to identify the influence of analogy to the various steps in a typical NPD process. Although all the typical NPD steps are considered, particular stress is on early stages of the NPD process till concept generation. The findings of this paper are based on the observations of the product design activities done by a group of multidisciplinary engineers in a partly controlled setting. The study as part of an ongoing research work, and attempts are made to formulate the links of Analogy to the NPD process. The findings could act as a basis to develop an analogy linked product development framework.
Keywords: NPD, Product Design Process, Analogy