ME317 Course Content

Content and Methods

• ME317 teaches an integrated approach to systems development. In
• While the methods are structured, the application to each project is custom tailored throughout the sequence
• Soft vs. Hard
• Iterative/Revisit in ME317B

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ME317A	ME317B
Customer Value Chain Analysis	Pugh Selection Matrix
Context Map: Problem Space	Zero-Mass Design
Context Map: Opportunities	Ashby Material Selection Method
Prototyping	Design of Experiments
Scenario Graph	Process Capability
Use Case Analysis	Poka Yoke
Value Graph	Robust Optimization
KJ/Affinity Diagram	Requirements Flowdown & Quality Rollup
Quality Function Deployment (QFD)	Influence Diagram
Cost-Worth Analysis	Advanced NPV
Project Priority Matrix	Elevator Pitch
Product Definition Assessment Checklist
Functional Diagram
Structure Tree
Project Roadmapping
Design For Assembly (DFA) 101
Assembly Fishbone
DFA Analysis
Design for Variety (DFV) Product Structure Graph
Variety Voice of the Customer
Dimensions of Variety
DFV Complexity Charts
Failure Modes & Effects Analysis (FMEA)
Robust Conceptual Design
Scorecarding Framework
Morphological Diagram

ME317A

Customer Value Chain Analysis (CVCA)

CVCA is a system analysis tool that captures the system stakeholders and their relationships in terms of flows of money, information, material, complaints, etc.

Context Map: Problem Space

Problem Space Exploration/Context Map is a means of organizing/brainstorming different aspects of the problem that require further development or investigation. Early in a project they may involve basic background information that all team members need to come up to speed on. Later, they may include actual development activities and goals.

• Start with the project statement/goal/objective
• Then brainstorm about possible contexts that need further exploration
• Possible Contexts:
  • Company history
  • Product history
  • Competition/alternate approaches
  • Usage history
  • Potential markets
  • Project Goal
  • Usage scenarios

Context Map: Opportunities

When the project objective is unclear or at a very high level, consider it an opportunity (and explore)

• Voice of Society
  • Market Trends
  • Sources of Change
  • Societal Changes
• Voice of Technology
  • Scientific Research
• Voice of Business
  • Competitive Landscape
  • Mission and Vision
  • Target Market & Customers
  • Differentiation & Positioning
  • Core Competencies
  • Business Model

Prototyping

If a picture says 1,000 words, a prototype says 10,000 or more. Almost anything can be a prototype:

brick	mockups
found material	CAD Model
sketches	previous versions
artifacts	competitor's products
movies	use cases
skits	elevator pitch

Scenario Graph

The Scenario Graph is a tool for capturing the possible contexts in which a solution is offered

Use Case Analysis

A use-case is a method for capturing the user requirements of a system. Each use case provides one or more scenarios that convey how the system should interact with the end user or another system to achieve a specific business goal. Use cases typically avoid technical jargon, preferring instead the language of the end user or domain expert.

Value Graph

The Value Graph is a brainstorming tool for clarifying the goals of a product and exploring alternate concepts. It is also used to capture the “What” of the system—the Voice of the Customer, the Engineering Metrics, and Physical Structure.

KJ/Affinity Diagram

The Affinity Diagram is a method of clustering data into related groups. Although traditionally used for organizing the Voice of the Customer, it can be used to categorize almost any qualitative data set, including EMs, Functions, Use Cases, etc.

Quality Function Deployment (QFD)

QFD is a tool for exploring how customer requirements are satisfied by the solution elements of a designed system. QFD House I maps the Voice of the Customer (VOCs) to the performance (engineering) metrics of the system. QFD House II maps the Engineering Metrics to the Solution Elements of the system

Cost-Worth Analysis

The Cost-Worth graph plots the cost vs. worth position of each solution element versus an ideal “value efficiency” zone. Ideally, every component should fall near the 45º diagonal, having a close relation of cost to worth. The important aspect of this analysis is locating parts that fall outside of the boundary. Parts that are above the ideal zone cost significantly more than they are worth and should be examined for potential cost reduction. Parts that fall below the zone have a high worth potential and should be enhanced to maximize customer value.

Project Priority Matrix

The Project Priority Matrix is a powerful consensus building tool that uses a 3-by-3 matrix to clarify the project priority with respect to product performance (features), development cost (cost), and time-to-market (time).

Product Definition Assessment Checklist

The Product Definition Assessment Checklist is a project management exercise designed to assess many risk factors in a project. It is generally conducted several times during the course of a project, and highlights areas of risk in project execution.

Functional Diagram

A Functional Diagram (or function tree) is a hierarchical representation of the functions of a system. This systems analysis tool is valuable in and of itself as a conceptual representation of the system; it can also be used for:

• conducting value analysis (why do you need this function?)
• conducting FMEA (what if the function fails?)
• deriving Engineering Metrics (how do you measure the performance of the function?)
• performing solution brainstorming (how will I satisfy this function?)

Structure Tree

A structure tree is a hierarchical view of the structure of the system. The elements do not have to be physical; in many cases, these structural elements are “virtual” in nature (software, process steps, etc.). The structure tree serves as a convenient snapshot of the system embodiment, and is also useful for pairing with the function tree in order to determine how part failures can impact functional performance

Project Roadmapping

Design For Assembly (DFA) 101

Assembly Fishbone

DFA Analysis

Design for Variety (DFV) Product Structure Graph

Tool for graphically representing product variety in a concise format.

Variety Voice of the Customer

Dimensions of Variety

DFV Complexity Charts

Failure Modes & Effects Analysis (FMEA)

Robust Conceptual Design

Scorecarding Framework

Morphological Diagram

The Morphological Diagram is a method for focusing solution brainstorming on the required functions or attributes of a system

ME317B

Pugh Selection Matrix

The Pugh Selection Matrix is a method for selecting concepts based on an established set of criteria.

Zero-Mass Design

Ashby Material Selection Method

Design of Experiments

Process Capability

Poka Yoke

Robust Optimization

Requirements Flowdown & Quality Rollup

Influence Diagram

Advanced NPV

Elevator Pitch

The Elevator Pitch is a concise description of the problem you are trying to solve and how you plan to solve it. The elements of the Elevator Pitch may change depending on who is your audience (boss, executive, teaching team, uninformed masses, etc.)

-- KurtBeiter - 13 Oct 2010

• Assembly Fishbone:
  

• Robust Conceptual Design: