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Using Technology To Improve Product Development

The process of product design can be greatly enhanced and improved through the use of technology. New product development is often a long and complex process, but if you find the right technology for your needs then this process can be carried out much more quickly and for a far lower cost. There are a number of techniques that can be used, most of which involve computer technology.

Why use technology?

Product design can often be complex, and technology can help to ease the workload involved in new product development. It will also help to lower costs, as it is much quicker to change parts and product design around on a computer than it is to change them by hand. You can try out various features and ideas far more easily, which will help you to develop a better final product. Computers can also help to find weaknesses in your product that you cannot easily see yourself, by using long-term simulation models. Here are a number of ways technology can help to improve product design:

Decision-making and information

Technology can be used to aid product design by helping to sort data and make complex decisions that would take you a long time or would be impossible otherwise. An example of such technology is Analytical Hierarchy Processing or AHP. AHP can be used to make complex decisions where a large number of criteria need to be reviewed that are both qualitative and quantitative. This technology groups the decision elements into a family tree style design, which makes it easier for you to see the problem and make decisions about your product and its potential.

Teamwork

Product design is often about teamwork, and technology can be used to improve team efficiency. For example, asynchronous groupware can be employed to improve cooperation. This is computer software that allows people to work as groups, but they do not all have to work at the same time. This means that people can develop ideas on a staggered scale, and then combine them together easily to form a cohesive whole.

Finding customers

Computer technology can also be used to work out the potential for new product development. For example, by using computations such as the Brand Development Index, you can work out how many potential customers there are in a specific area, and target your product and marketing accordingly.

Models and Design

Perhaps the most important use of technology in product design is in the development of models are prototypes. Computers can play an important role in the modelling process, and can allow you to continually alter a model before a prototype is even built. Through the use of computer simulations, you can work out whether a product has any unforeseen problems, and what its potential lifespan is. You can also work out its potential usability through cognitive modelling, by simulating potential human responses to the product and anticipating user behaviour. This will allow you to greatly improve the efficiency and usability of your final product design.

One of the most common ways of using technology in design is through CAD, or computer-aided design. This technology allows you to design a 3-D model of the product on a computer, which can then be tested for problems before a real model is built. This can obviously save large amounts of money. For example, designers can create a 3-D model of a car and test its handling and safety potential without having to build a number of costly prototypes first.

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