S-72.124 Product Development of Telecommunication Systems

Workshop 2003

These slides at: http://www.comlab.hut.fi/opetus/124/workshop2003.ppt

Agenda

• Opening the Workshop– Objectives– Timetables– Methods

• Ideation & Innovation Space– Deliverables

• Company Presentation: Bitlips Ltd• Overview to Innovation Techniques• Case Overviews and Problem Framework Descriptions

(Bitlips / HUT)

- Workshop objectives- Workshop methods- Deliverables- Timetable

Innovation process - Mind and creativity - Ideation techniques

Case descriptions (HUT/Bitlips)

Innovation space

Workshop Objectives

• To get acquainted with real-life product development processes

• Early-phase product development problems are not well defined – there is a problem framework that is a description of interconnected elements

• Development teams strive to find applicable solutions; examine and validate the most promising solution(s) - in detail as possible

• In workshop group formation objective is creativity boosting: groups should be multidisciplinary! Group participants need not to know each other beforehand

• Note: don’t forget to map risks relating to your solution and tell why you selected the particular solutions

Workshop timetable 2003

Between compulsory sessions groups can decide where and when they do their "home tasks" (teamwork). Com. lab. offers some work premises in Otakaari 8 for the groups on Monday & Tuesday (1.12-2.12).

Methods• Modified Satama Interactive’s Innovation Space

= Innovation in a week!

• To cultivate your work apply Brainstorming and various other methods of ideation as Mindmapping, Fish bones etc. as explained later (see also lecture 1 handouts)

Innovatethe

problem

Innovatethe

problemDevelop Develop Present

Mon TueThu Fri

customercheck points

Wed

26.11 27.11 3.122.121.12

Decision

Innovation Space Summarized• Wednesday 26.11: first focus on problem: understanding the problem framework - don't discuss

about solutions

• Thursday 27.11 : continue innovating the problem - double teams. Thursday afternoon: groups generate long list of solutions

• Friday 28.11: select the most import solutions to focus on and prepare for customer check points. Start preparing idea document & business case

• Monday 1.12: focus on gathering all together and presenting them in customer check points

• Tuesday 2.12: evaluate solutions and prepare presentations

– applicable solutions - check point conclusions

– risks and how to get quality outputs - focus on development/production & target product/service

– degree of innovations - market potential & long run business vision

• Wednesday 3.12: group presentation show & feedback discussions

Deliverables

CaseIdea

Concrete deliverables are necessary to evaluate the concept!

Agriraha-asiakas5.3.5 Katso

Agriraha-tilannettaAgriraha-

järjestelmä

Tilausjärjestelmä

Kanta-asiakas

5.3.2.1 Katso laskun tarkennus

5.3.3 Katso Agribonus-tilannetta

Agribonus- ja asiakashallinta järjestelmä

Hinnoittelusopi- musten hallinta

5.3.1. Katso tilauksia

5.3.2 Katso laskut ja käteisostot

<<extend>>

5.3.4.1 Maksa ennakkomaksu

5.3.6 Katso sopimuksia

Ennakkomaksu- järjestelmä

5.3.4. Katso ennakko-maksutilannetta

Verkkokaupan asiakas

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

1 2 3 4 5 6

Series1

Business CaseWhat, why, context How a solution is used in

practise - example Business effects and

reasoning

Deliverables Group reporting: summarizes workshop results

idea document: context; who, where, why and when will use the innovation

case: cartoon or story; one example that explains the core idea - How solution is used in practice

business case: analyze business case: efficiency, production timetables, if this changes something, what happens in business: list assumptions and how and why the figures were obtained

Group submits two reports:

Company’s report: solutions, application guidelines, bases for solution, solution risk and quality estimate

Innovation workflow: problem framework, identified key issues, usage of ideation methods, rejected ideas, (rejection) arguments, discussions

An Overview to Innovation Techniques

Human Mind and Creativity*

filterbank

conceptextraction

ideagenerator

dreams

personality

New concepts are used to understand things different way

New information understood by usingnew concepts

ways to understandand act

society &genotype

*T. Korhonen, A. Ainamo: Handbook of Product and Service Development in Communication and Information Technology, Kluwer Academic Press, 2003

Process of Creativity

accessing ideagenerator

conceptformation realization

filteringideas

convergentdivergent

innovative logical

Cycle of Creativity

passion

fear

Pendulum of creativity

'Objective'observations:

seeing &knowing

security, values

individual social

Phase of clarity & knowledge

Phase of new concepts &new problems

Phase of fuzziness & ambiguity

Cycle of Creativity for High-quality Outputs

divergence,inspiration, way of arts

convergence,rationality, way of science

quality references

quality control

source references

Process of creativity is nonlinear!groupwork

own wayof thinking

social team and individual input

books, journals, web

cultural evolutiongenerated information

New, applicable concepts and inventions

disintegration

integration

divergence, disassembly,inspiration, way of arts

convergence,synthesisrationality, way of science

Brainstorming

• Used especially to introduce you to problem framework - Don’t discuss about the (best) solutions too early!

• Method:• Collect problems to Post-It notes (or use a

program)• Group/associate problems• Collect more data for each problem• Grade problems

• Group members: Session leader, Secretary, Tool-assistant, Customer representative, Social facilitator, Technical facilitator, other Group members

Group Members• Session leader:

– guide and facilitate – not to interfere with own opinions – track time – encourage the participants

• Secretary: – documentation – assist to track the session flow

• Tool-assistant: – aware of ideation tools – tools include

• computer programs • independent methods (as Fish bones diagram,

SWOT-analysis …)

Group Members (cont.)Customer representative (Check Point phase):

-Practical perspectives of the brainstorming objectives

-Interferes only after substantial amount of ideas have been mapped and there seems to be not many new ideas appearing

- Responsible to carry in customer's objectives initial opinions of company's executives practical constrains as - money - time - personnel resources

Group Members (cont.)

• Social facilitator: – has formed himself a framework of the brainstorming

themes – should not decide what the solution is, or even, what

the problem is – He is aware of the laws of group dynamics and

human personality – Well prepared to boost group creativity based on this

framework

Group Members (cont.)

Technical facilitator: technology related matters as

product development tools production technology general commercial aspects

Group members: open attitude communication skills able to visualize their ideas fluent oral presentation wide range of disciplines and cultures

Double Team*

1. Present the problem2. Innovate solutions in the teams of two

- a pair selects five ideas to present3. Pairs explain their ideas shortly4. Ideas are grouped into logical categories5. Pairs innovate more ideas into categories

- Pair selects two ideas they present6. Pairs explain their ideas 7. Grading of each idea with scores 1-38. Select the best ideas so far9. Discussion10. Select the best idea after discussions

*Recommended for generation of long list of solutions on Thursday

555

5

Problemframework

Grouping

222

2

Grading

Discussion

Fish Bones

Mind Mapping

new product

production

estimates

buying

planning

transportation

logisticsbusinesspartners

feedback

info

education

marketing

stocking

transportation

B2B B2C

customerselection

sales promotion

Five Whys (& Hows)

Problem: A machine does not work!

Why: Fuse blown!How: Voltage spike? something got jammed? overload? etcWhy: Why overload?How: Component malfunctioned! high resistance! no maintenance! etcWhy: Why there was no maintenance?How: Pump malfunctioned! a spare part was old a spare part was wrong! etcWhy: Why did the pump malfunctioned?How: Pump has overheated! electricity problems? etc.Why: Why did the pump overheated?How: Cooler filter was jammed!

So, We replace the filter and check in regularly …. Why and how this can be reassuredin the future ….?

Ask ”WHY-HOW” 5 times (at least):

Getting More out of Brainstorming

*Axon 2002 - program: http://web.singnet.com.sg/ ~axon2000/index.htm

facts: figures, information needs and gaps

intuition: feelings and emotions

logical negative:judgment and caution

logical positive:why something works

creativity: alternatives, proposals, what is interesting, provocations and changes

meta-cognition:creativity process control

• Method of Six Thinking Hats (Edward de Bono) or Six Eyes* (Rodney King) can be used to get Brainstorming to work better:

SWOT Analysis• SWOT is applicable for sorting unorganized knowledge

bases and analyzing current status• Successful SWOT yields structured mapping of the

problem at hand• For instance in product analysis

– identify strength and weaknesses of the product– search through possibilities and threats (for instance

for product launch)• Realization: List all the relevant properties and sort

them into SWOT boxes!

Strength WeaknessWeakness

OpportunityOpportunity ThreatsThreats

inside

outside

Special Notes in Reporting

• Make documents of the methods used when obtained your solutions

• Document intermediate steps in your path to final solution - this is required especially for Innovation workflow - report

• Strive to verify quality and risks of your solution

• Report especially – why final solutions were selected!– report/analyze your solution as in-detail as

you can to verify your claims!

Case: Power Line Communications (PLC)

Power Line Communications- an application example

Case Overview: Power-Line Communications

• Team overview: A four person team - some expertise in electronic design, telecommunications & business aspects

• Work done so far– PLC channel measurements– Modem investigations (modeling/alternative realizations)

• Outputs:– Service/product scenarios??– Expected product customer profiles??– Marketing aspects– Technology??– Risks - can they be minimized??

PLC’s Problem Framework• Market

– Costs, ways to reduce them? Where to invest?• Technology

– Interference/radiation - others?• Services

– Home networking / Internet distribution ...– Healthcare ….– Low voltage

• cars, ships, bicycles ...– Usage in different countries and environments

• Special application– PLC with general lighting LEDs

• Advanced applications?• Potential in market & technology?

PLC Practicalities• References: ISPLC’03 Proceedings (paper copy), FCC 03-100

Notice of Inquiry, C.N.Krishnan, et al: Power - Line As Access Medium – A Survey, N. Povlidov et al: Power Line Communications: State of the Art and Future Trends, Communications Magazine, April 2003 , IeeExplore (Available via Internet in HUT’s library)

• Group subtasks (Reference: Up-front homework, phase 1, next slide)– G1 PLC in home networks– G2 PLC in low voltage applications– G3 PLC in Internet distribution– G4 PLC in monitoring/control/surveillance applications– G5 PLC and general lighting LED applications

• Contacts during workshop: Ms Liu Er (liuer@cc.hut.fi, 040 8333 706)

Up-front Homework: The First Phase

1. A preliminary market assessment: a quick scoping of the marketplace toassess market existence, probable market size, and expected product definition;this is largely detective work: desk research; assessing available public andcommercial databases, reports, articles, etc.; utilizing in-house information andpeople; contacting a few lead users.2. A preliminary technical assessment: a quick technical appraisal topropose a technical solution, map out a probable route, and assess technicalcosts, times, and risks; this work is a largely conceptual: technical literaturesearch; utilizing in-house technical expertise; brainstorming and creativeproblem-solving sessions; reviewing competitive product solutions; drawing ontechnical gurus outside the firm.3. A preliminary business assessment: a quick financial assessment (e.g.,payback period) based on very rough estimates of sales, costs, and investmentrequired; a cursory legal assessment; and a quick risk assessment.For larger and more complex projects, many firms build in a second and morederailed homework phase, namely a detailed investigation stage, prior todevelopment.

from: Overhauling the New Product Process, Robert G. Cooper,Industrial Marketing Management 25, 465-482 (1996), © ElsevierScience Inc., 1996, 655 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY1O010, O019-8501/ 96/ $15.00:

The Second Phase

I. Detailed market studies and market research, such as:• user needs-and-wants studies: entails personal interviews with prospectivecustomers and users to determine customer needs, wants, and preferences;productperformance requirements; and it definition of the customer's wish list.• value-in-use studies: assessment of the customer's economics--what economicvalue the product will bring to the customer (this often involves an in-depthlook at the customer's use system, the current solution, and various costdrivers).• competitive analysis: a detailed look at competitors" products, pricing, bases ofcompeting, and performance (e.g., share and profitability).• concept tests: a testing of the proposed product (in concept orprotocept form)to gauge interest, liking, and purchase intent (and an estimate of expectedsales); also price sensitivity.

The Second Phase (cont.)

2. Detailed technical assessment: a more thorough technical activity toprove technical feasibility, identify the likely technical solution, deal with technicalrisks, assess manufacturability (route, costs, and probable capital requirements),and deal with safety, health, legal, and regulatory issues. This usually involvessome physical technical work, such as lab work, modeling, or the development ofa crude working model or protocept.3. Building the business case: this defines the business proposition andproduct, provides the justification for the project (the economic and businessrationale for the new product), and maps out the action plan through to launch.Tasks here include detailed financial analysis and business risk assessment.