Management Case

i want management questions. Product design decisions can be both. Structured decisions are those which have clear goal, familiar, easily and completely defined. On the other hand unstructured decisions are new or unusual; information is incomplete and requires the use of reasoning. I characterized product design has two phases. First phase is unstructured decisions which are start for any new design and then it goes to second phase which is structured decision which is real change and based on calculations and theory.Chuck Jones aimed to have a new design decision process supported by data and surveys instead of a return or payoff on the investment approach. At first when he presented his idea, authorities requested poof and Mr. Jones was unable to show them proof.

Then M. Jones started his process.

1. As a first step, he surveyed 15 "design-centric" companies, including BMW, Nike, and Nokia. To his surprise, few had a system for forecasting return on design

2. Mr. Jones needed to provide a new plan to focus on Customers preferences.

3. Good feedback from the public would equal possible future return on the investment that was requested by the research team.

4. Do not focus on Bottom-line returns

5. Puts Design prototypes in front of customer focus groups

6. Get detailed measurements of their preferences about Aesthetics, Craftsmanship, technical performance, ergonomics and usability

7. Chart the results against competing products and the company's own product

8. This approach gives the Decision makers a base-line of objective evidence from which to make investment decisions

Evaluation:

The Duet washing machine, launched five years ago, was the first big win for the common platform approach.

By redesigning an existing product, using the same underlying technology but with modifications to the appearance and user interface, the design team created a product that could be sold at three times the price of its predecessor and competitor products.

Design investment decisions are now based on facts not opinion.

The new decision making approach has transformed the company's culture. It had led to bolder designs because the designers can now make a strong case for making those investments.

By following this approach the company can do innovation in their products. The shift has enabled Whirlpool's designers to make the business case for investments and give financial folks greater confidence to ante up--resulting in bolder designs.

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