Product Design and Development Process

Product Design and Development Process
Process decisions must be made when:-
A new or substantially modified product or service is being offered
Quality must be improved
Competitive priorities have changed
Demand for a product or service is changing
Current performance is inadequate
The cost or availability of inputs has changed
Competitors are gaining by using a new process; or
New technologies are available

Process decisions directly affect the process itself, and indirectly the products and services that it provides. Let’s focus on the relevant common process decisions. In general, Operations managers must consider five common process decisions.
These are:
1. Process choice - Whether resources are organized around products or processes. It depends on volume and degree of customization to be provided
2. Vertical integration -Backward integration, and forward integration
3. Resource flexibility -ease with which employees and equipment can handle a wide variety of products, output levels, duties, and functions
4. Customer involvement
5. Capital intensity- mix of equipment and human skills in a process
A common classification of production process structures
We often classify processes based on their physical configuration, material and product flow, flexibility, and volume expectation.
There are five different process types, which a manager can choose, keeping in mind the relative importance of the following attributes:-
Quality,
Time,
Flexibility, and
Cost.
These are:
1. Project process
Selecting location for new plant
2. Job process
Machining precision metal tubes
3. Batch process
Producing a batchof textbooks
4. Line process
Auto assembly
5.Continuous process
Oil-refining process