Interdisciplinary product development education at MIT and RISD

Design Management Journal, Summer 2002 by Eppinger, Steven D, Kressy, Matthew S

This popular course has a decade-long history. Students come from a range of backgrounds and explore how teamwork and a cross-section of talents are fundamental to the product design process. Steven Eppinger and Matthew Kressy summarize the main features of their class, provide examples of student projects, and thoroughly enumerate the lessons learned in this demanding but exciting teaching exercise.

As product design professionals know, effective development of products is an interdisciplinary process. That is why we believe the most appropriate educational setting in which to teach product development is an interdisciplinary one in which students from various backgrounds can experience the process. Indeed, a number of universities now offer interdisciplinary design courses. This article describes the graduate course we teach for students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).

Overview of the course

Product Design and Development involves students who are studying engineering design, manufacturing, management, and industrial design. We build upon their disciplinary training by teaching them about the activities comprising the product development process, including product planning, customer needs analysis, concept development and testing, financial analysis of products, design for manufacturing, intellectual property, and project management.

We have been running this course at MIT for more than 10 years, with RISD students involved since 1995.1 In 2002, we have almost 100 students enrolled in the class, including 15 industrial design students from RISD.

Pedagogy

The course uses several pedagogical tools, including:

Readings. Assignments from the textbook2 provide the basics of a modern, structured product development process.

Lectures. We provide lectures on many key steps in the product development process (for example, product planning, customer needs analysis, concept development, prototyping, and financial analysis), as well as contemporary issues facing design teams (for example, environmental responsibility, intellectual property).

Hands-on exercises. We have developed classroom exercises to build skills in some of the development steps (for example, design of experiments, concept selection, design for manufacturing).

Class discussion. Students are easily engaged in discussion about product design because there are examples of good and bad design all around them. We are therefore able to discuss their experiences both as consumers and as practitioners.

Case studies and guest speakers. Published case studies from the Design Management Institute and other sources provide the basis for lively discussion and the opportunity to emphasize the applicability of the methods presented in class to the real world. Guest speakers from industry also bring new perspectives and compelling examples.

Product examples. We show real products in every class. This not only brings the subject to life but also demonstrates that product design is part of our everyday lives.

Projects. We firmly believe in the value of experiential learning. Students undertake a 12-week, team-based product development project that follows a schedule linked to the class topics presented. This project is described in the next section.

Feedback. Students receive feedback about their project work from peers, faculty, and outside experts.

Projects

The key learning vehicle is a team project in which teams of six to eight students collaborate to develop new products. Each team includes a cross-functional mix of students majoring in industrial design, manufacturing, engineering, and business,

Projects begin with a design brief in the form of a perceived market opportunity. Each student is required to present one project proposal at the beginning of the course. We also present design briefs from any industrially sponsored projects. (Industrial sponsors provide some of the funding for the course. In exchange, we present a project opportunity from the sponsor to the class.) We then select projects and form teams based on students' expressed preferences. Sponsored projects have always been of sufficient interest to warrant assigning teams, but most students choose to work on market opportunities suggested by the class.

The teams then explore the market, benchmark competitive products, develop numerous concepts, create working models, select one concept to pursue in detail, build a production-intent alpha prototype, test the product with customers, and finally evaluate the business potential of the resulting product. Completed projects are shown in professional-quality multimedia presentations before a cross-disciplinary panel of experts.

Each team receives a budget of $1,000 to cover out-of-pocket project expenses. Students use these funds to purchase competitive products, model-making materials, off-the-shelf components, and other supplies. They are also able to contract for outside custom fabrication services if they do not have the skills or equipment to make certain parts themselves (for example, CNC machining, casting, circuit fabrication, welding).