2.74 OPTIMAL PRODUCT DESIGN

ASSIGNMENT 2. DESIGN BRIEF

Objectives

Select a new VersaPak project for your group, get to know your group, and form a basic idea on what you want to design into your selected product. 

Deliverable

A single report for your whole group. This should include:

1. A one page Design Brief for your project, and
2. A diskette with the Design Brief word document on it.

Work Required

As a part of this, I expect you to:

1. Explore the Black and Decker Versapak product line, and look for holes in the portfolio that you can develop as a complementary motor driven product to add to the Versapak product portfolio.  As a start, visit the Black and Decker website http://blackanddecker.com.  Possible suggestions include: back massager, blender, hand mixer, coffee chopper, electric knife, electric potato peeler, electric toothbrush, dental water pick, grill rotisserie, solar powered recharger. 
2. Browse existing competitive non-Versapak products in the motor driven, $25-$37 range, 20-40 part range, and select one. Pick a product you want to use, you should enjoy this project, you will be with it all semester.  If you seriously use a current VersaPak product and want to redesign it, that is also acceptable, but talk to me about it.
3. Purchase 2 copies at under $100 MAX reimbursement. You must turn in receipts for any reimbursement. You will have $500 minus the amount you spend ($400 MIN) for experimental and prototyping materials and further copies of the product and versaPak products required for the project. Plan on $100 for basic materials (plastics, rubbers, etc.) beyond the duplicate purchases of the product and of Versapak products used for modification. 
4. For this assignment, collectively act as the project manager who pays your design team. Identify a target market segment. Identify a primary problem with the product you feel needs improvement. Write this up as a one page Word document Design Brief to be given to the design team (which is yourselves as a group).
5. Every team member share their temperment type with the others in the group. Print sufficient copies of the one page resulting score to provide one to each member of your team and one for your assignmnet report.

The computers in 3-446 are available for each group's use on 2.74 Assignments.

Due: Wednesday September 22, 1999, at the start of class.

Useful Templates

To download these, click and hold on the links below, possibly with the third mouse button. Your web browser will then pop-up a menu list. Choose the save option, and save as source.

Download a Word template of a Design Brief. Compressed ZIP version.
Return to 2.74 Optimal Product Redesign.
Return to the Mechanical Engineering Department.