Conceptual Design

Goal of Conceptual Design

• Design approach agreed upon by the sponsors and the team

• Presented at the Conceptual Design Review (aka Preliminary Design Review)

• Reduces risk of investment of time and effort into the wrong approach

• In industry, often triggers authorization for next round of funding.

Arrive at an agreed-upon design that is ready for detailed design and implementation or fabrication.

Dangers•Premature fixation - focus on a solution

without considering alternatives

•Bounded ideation - limitations that the design environment can place on generating ideas

•Circumscribed thinking - influence that the outside sources can have on design decision making

•Paralysis by analysis - inability to move forward with concept

Suggested Process

•Decomposition of system

•Morphological chart

•Decision matrix

•Prototyping

Decomposition of System

•Divide big problem into smaller problems

•Known systems have known decompositions

•New products need new decomposition

Morphological Chart

•a.k.a. table of options

•an organization of concepts by function

•provide a structured approach to concept generation

•good for individual and group visualization

•complete concepts are created by choosing a solution for each function

Pictures or references Pictures or references to pictures are to pictures are

better!!!!better!!!!

How to Fill the Table?

•Brainstorming

•Sketching

•Build on the ideas of others

•Analogizing

Decision Matrix• Combine and improve concepts

• Is a good concept degraded by one feature?

• Can a minor change improve one concept while preserving uniqueness of the concept?

• Are there 2 concepts that can be combined to preserve good qualities and eliminate the bad?

• Select one or more concepts

• Reflect on process

• What are action items going forward?

Prototyping• Representation of the solution for analysis of

the known and unknown

• Prototypes are created to help you

• Learn about the user needs and potential solutions

• Communicate with managers, customers, team, investors,...

• Integrate components and systems

• Milestones in product development

Physical vs Analytical

• Tangible product

• Often best for communication

• If material/process/behavior is built differently may exhibit different results

• Represent things that are hard to quantify

• Mathematical representation of the system

• Often easiest to build and change

• If material/process/behavior is modeled differently may exhibit different results

Focused vs Comprehensive

• A specific piece of the whole product

• Often require multiple for complete prototyping

• Useful for specific questions

• The whole product

• Best for milestones

• Can be fully tested by users (and team)

Cost of comprehensive prototype

Ris

k

Low

Hig

h

Low High

Book

SoftwareCommercial

airliner

House

Notes on Prototyping

•Analytical prototypes are more flexible

•Physical prototypes help detect unexpected phenomenon

•Physical prototypes can reduce risk of iteration

•Most risk when there is high cost of failure, new technology, new application

Notes on Prototypes

•Use prototypes to reduce uncertainty

•Have a GOAL for each prototype!!!

•Avoid guess and check - the hardware swamp