Design+Specifications+-+making+use+of+your+research

Now that you have done your research, you should be getting a feel for the bigger picture about the product that you are going to design. You should have a feel for what the similar products are and what their assets are and what their shortcomings are. However, when trying to generate new ideas, having a feeling for the bigger picture does not use the full potential from your research. All your research is scattered on multiple sheets of paper and you will probably get it wrong if you try to remember it all.
 * __Making use of your research__**

Creating a chart is a good method of organising all the information you have gathered and the thoughts that you have based around it. This example chart contains information from a project, where a pizza cutter had to be designed and manufactured. View example chart View example pizza cutter

Here are some tips on how to use the chart: Using your research, come to a decision on what the specification of your product should be for each particular criteria. For example, your decision might be based on a combination of what your target customers have said, a theme and what is already good about other products. Enter your decisions in the Ideal specification column beside the corresponding criteria. For the pizza cutter I decided that appearance should be hygenic and contemporary because that is what the general opinion was. The example chart only allows four entries, but you can make your chart to add as many as you need. Repeat this for each of the criteria. Decide if each of the specifications you have entered are essential or just desirable. Different people might have varied opinions on what is essential or not. It helps if you imagine using the product in context. In my opinion, the appearance of the pizza cutter is not essential. However, the appearance of an item of clothing would be. If you do think that a particular specification is essential tick the box or type 'Y' in it. Now look at the research you did on other similar products. Do they meet each of your ideal specifications? If two of the tested products did meet one of your ideal specifications, then enter '2' in the row for that specification. For the pizza cutter example, ten other products were assessed to see how they compared with the ideal specification. Seven of the ten cutters had wheels. It is the wheel type that struggled with the crust of the pizza. So the remaining three were entered into the chart in the 'Performance' row as conforming to the specification for cutting crust. Most of your design ideas will be needed at a later stage when you are sketching your ideas down. However, why not capture a few now while you are in deep thought. You have had to think to decide what your product should include within its specification. This will no doubt have generated some creative thoughts. Capture these thoughts by writing them down in the 'Proposed Improvement' column of the chart.
 * The 'Ideal Specification' Column**
 * The 'Essential' column**
 * The 'Existing Conforming Products' column**
 * The 'Proposed Improvement' column**

There are many similar charts which do roughly the same thing. This design plate is a similar kind of tool that was obtained from the university. It looks more attractive than the one that I did. Open it up and have a look. Design plate Next Page