FORCE+FIELD+ANALYSIS

We are in no doubt that all products can be improved upon. Even though it is possible to make improvements to products, sometimes as designers, it is hard to justify such changes, particularly when working with manufacturers. One of the ways in which you can decide whether or not to change a product is to carry out a Force Field Analysis. This is a useful technique for looking at all the forces for and against a decision.
 * PRODUCT ANALYSIS- Understanding the Pressures For and Against Change**

Firstly, detail your proposal/change, so in this case we are looking at whether to change the design of a portable stove. Then list the 'Driving' forces for making that change and the 'Hindering' forces against that change. Then give each of the forces a number (1-4) depending on how much impact it has. Lastly add up the scores for Driving and Hindering forces and whichever is higher is ultimately the decision! This is how it works using the proposal detailed above. Driving Forces = 13 Hindering Forces= 9
 * **Driving Forces** || **Hindering Forces** ||
 * Improve Sales (4) || Cost (2) ||
 * Desire to improve stability (3) || Impact on Manufacturing Techniques (3) ||
 * Introduce a range of supplementary products (3) || Size of product (2) ||
 * Improve versatility (3) || Promotion of 'improved' product (2) ||

The improvement in sales scored highly as this is the ultimate aim of any business- to make a profit! The cost of change did not figure that greatly as the small improvements could be made by adapting the existing manufacturing process. In this case the driving forces were greater than the hindering forces so a decision to change the product would be seen as a positive change.

This technique could be used when analysing existing products and pupils could resume the differing roles of client, designer, manufacturer and user thus providing an opportunity for them to develop higher order thinking skills.
 * How can this be used in the classroom?**