New products and services are vital to all companies. Maximizing the success of new products and services can drive growth and shareholder value, lead to significant competitive advantage and leapfrog a company ahead of its competitors. However, innovation is risky and most new products fail in the marketplace. Often, failure is due to an ineffective process. Thus, expertise in the design and marketing of new products is a critical skill for all managers, inside and outside of the marketing department. In this course, the first focus on the tools and techniques associated with analyzing market opportunities and then focus on designing, testing, and introducing new products and services. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches are covered. In particular, the course covers the new product development process, strategic opportunity identification, how to generate new product concepts and ideas, mapping customer perceptions, segmentation, product positioning, forecasting market demand, product design, market entry strategies, and testing. It emphasizes how to lead the organization in the process, incorporate consumers, customers and competitors into all of these aspects of new product development.
29 March 2026
Assignment 1 (20%): Comprehensive Literature Review Compilation for Master Project in New Product Development (NPD)
To effectively prepare for your Master Project and the subsequent review paper, please follow these detailed steps:
- Draft Your Master Project Title:
- Formulate a clear and concise title that encapsulates the essence of your research focus.
- Conduct a Comprehensive Literature Search in Scopus:
- Access the Scopus database through your institution’s library portal.
- Utilize the search function to input your project title or relevant keywords.
- Apply filters to refine your search results, such as publication date range, document type, and subject area, to ensure relevance.
- Select and Export References:
- From the search results, select at least 50 pertinent references.
- Click on the “Export” option.
- Choose the “Plain Text” format for export.
- Ensure that all selected documents are included and that the “Abstract” option is checked to provide comprehensive information.
- Proceed to export the file, which will typically be named “scopus.txt.”
- Organize References in Excel:
- Open the exported “scopus.txt” file using a text editor.
- Select all content, copy it, and paste it into a new Excel spreadsheet.
- Save the Excel file with a descriptive name related to your project.
- Prepare for Your Review Paper:
- Utilize the compiled references to conduct a thorough literature review.
- Analyze and synthesize the information to identify trends, gaps, and key findings in your research area.
- Draft your review paper, ensuring it aligns with the objectives of the New Product Development (NPD) course and is suitable for inclusion as a book chapter.
Additional Tips:
- Data Management: Ensure that the data is organized systematically in Excel, with separate columns for authors, titles, abstracts, publication years, and other relevant information.
- Reference Software Integration: Consider importing the references into a reference management tool like EndNote or RefWorks for efficient citation and bibliography management.
- Stay Updated: Regularly check for new publications in your research area to keep your literature review current and comprehensive.
Class on 11 July 2026
Class on 12 July 2026
Assignment 2 (20%)
- How can the concept selection methods be used to benchmark or evaluate existing products? Perform such an evaluation for five automobiles you might consider purchasing.
- Propose a set of selection criteria for the choice of a battery technology for use in a laptop computer.
- Perform concept screening for the four pencil holder concepts shown below. Assume the pencil holders are for a member of a product development team who is continually moving from site to site.
Assignment 3 (20%)
Assignment Objective
Develop a commercially viable product by applying the complete Product Design and Development methodology from problem identification through concept evaluation and final design selection.
Assignment Tasks
Task 1 – Product Opportunity Identification (10 Marks)
Identify a real market problem.
Discuss
- Current market situation
- Existing competing products
- Customer pain points
- Market opportunities
- Sustainability issues
- Innovation opportunity
Deliverables
- Problem statement
- Market analysis
- Product opportunity
Task 2 – Design Objectives (5 Marks)
Construct an Objective Tree showing the product objectives.
Example categories
- Performance
- Ergonomics
- Safety
- Cost
- Sustainability
- Aesthetics
- Manufacturability
- Reliability
- Smart Features
Task 3 – Product Design Specification (PDS) (10 Marks)
Develop a complete Product Design Specification.
Include at least
- Performance
- Dimensions
- Weight
- Materials
- Manufacturing
- Cost
- Reliability
- Safety
- Environmental conditions
- Ergonomics
- Maintenance
- Product life
- Standards
- Sustainability
- Packaging
- Users
- Market
- Testing
- Intellectual Property
Task 4 – Functional Analysis (10 Marks)
Develop
- Black-box diagram
- Functional decomposition
- Functional block diagram
Clearly identify
Input
↓
Main Functions
↓
Output
Task 5 – Morphological Chart (15 Marks)
Identify at least 5 product functions.
Generate at least 3 alternative solutions for every function.
Example
| Function | Option A | Option B | Option C | Option D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water purification | UV-C LED | Carbon filter | Ceramic filter | Electrolysis |
| Bottle material | Stainless steel | Tritan | Aluminium | Glass |
| Power source | Rechargeable battery | Solar | Replaceable battery | USB-C |
| Temperature display | LCD | OLED | LED | None |
Task 6 – Concept Generation (15 Marks)
Develop
Six (6) completely different product concepts
Each concept must include
- hand sketch
- exploded view
- brief description
Task 7 – Concept Screening (15 Marks)
Using Pugh Concept Screening, compare the six concepts against an existing commercial product (Datum).
Suggested criteria
- Lightweight
- Manufacturing cost
- Ease of assembly
- Ease of maintenance
- Durability
- Sustainability
- Ease of use
- Safety
- Appearance
- Manufacturability
Prepare the complete Concept Screening Matrix.
Task 8 – Concept Scoring (10 Marks)
Select the three best concepts.
Perform weighted concept scoring.
Assign
- criteria weight
- rating
- weighted score
Rank all concepts.
Task 9 – Final Product Selection (10 Marks)
Justify why the selected concept is the best.
Include
- engineering justification
- commercial justification
- sustainability justification
- manufacturing justification
