A Design Science Approach to Analytical Product Design

Product design involves many diverse disciplines and is often treated as an experience-based skill following an apprenticeship learning process. While this is a valuable approach, it can be greatly enhanced by analysis capabilities derived from the diversity of disciplines that contribute to design, including engineering, economics, marketing, and psychology. Quantitative models from these disciplines can be integrated into a design decision model framework. Analytical product design is an exemplar of Design Science, and serves as a basis for teaching product design and for designing products taking into account market and policy environments along with the usual engineering requirements. This article describes the basic ideas in constructing the design decision model framework and provides examples of its use in education, industry and policy.