MKT 420 & ME497

Biomechanical Design and New Product Development

Spring 2015
1145 Engineering, T&Th, 1:00-2:20

Healthy Curiosity is a Great Key in Innovation Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha

Background Information
Professors:
Office:
Office Hours:
Phone:
E-mail address:

Hang Nguyen, PhD

N306 North Business Complex
3:00 4:00 T&Th (e-mail to confirm)
(517) 432-6465
hnguyen.msu@gmail.com (preferred)
nguyenh@broad.msu.edu
D2L

Course Web Page:

Tamara Reid Bush, PhD

2455 Engineering Bld
2:203:20 T&Th
(517) 353-9544
reidtama@msu.edu

Course Information
Course Overview and Objectives
New products are vital to all firms. The success of new products can drive growth and shareholder value,
lead to significant competitive advantage, and help the firm leapfrog ahead of its competitors. However,
innovation is risky and a majority of new products fail in the marketplace. Often, failure originates from an
ineffective process. Thus, expertise in designing and marketing of new products is critical for marketing and
engineering managers.
This course focuses on the development of and marketing new products that incorporate biomechanical
function. Biomechanical products function mechanically with people or other animals. Some typical
product areas are tools, medical devices, devices to enable people with disabilities, seating, protective
equipment, human-machine interfaces, and sports equipment. Synthesis and analysis of biomechanical
product design includes consideration of the biomechanical function with mechanical design, aesthetic
design, market research, and project management. Product design and management will be illustrated by
cases from the instructors experiences, guest lecturers, and the literature.
The content and structure of this course will help you develop the ability to:

(i)
(ii)
(iii)

Identify and develop product concepts and definitions for an unmet market need;
Design, prototype and present a product that
incorporates biomechanical function,
is evaluated by multiple potential buyers and users, and
can be manufactured successfully and sold to a well-defined market;
Develop a marketing plan for the launch of the new product.

This course emphasizes experiential learning. The major work in the course is performed in small teams (no
more than five) with recommended team composition of two or three engineers and two or three marketers.
Grading will be based on the product definition from inclusion of customers needs by market research,
design, prototype development and presentation, and project management.
Prerequisites
Junior or higher standing in the College of Engineering or College of Business.
Engineers must have had ME371 or be taking it concurrently.
All students (both engineers and marketers) are required to have shop training. Engineers will receive a shop
training card and will need to present the card upon entry into the shop. Marketers will sign a document
after shop training that will be held in the shop for the semester to verify you attended training. ALL will
need SAFETY glasses ($5 at the bookstore) for shop training.
Enrollment
Engineering Students enroll in ME 497; Business Students enroll in MKT 420.
Course Materials

Textbook: Product Design and Development, 5th edition, Karl T. Ulrich and Steven D.
Eppinger, McGraw-Hill, Inc. (on reserve in the Engineering library).
The 4th edition of the textbook is acceptable, however table numbers and page numbers
from the syllabus will not match this version.
Supplemental Readings and Course slides/notes posted on D2L
Prototype materials each person should expect to contribute $20 toward the cost of the
prototype

Final Course Grading

The final course grade will be a weighted average of the assignment grades using the following percentages:
Assignment
Innovation Tournament
Phase I Needs & Metrics Tables
Phase I Functioning Prototype
Exam
Phase II Market Test Report & Launch Plan
Phase II Functioning Prototype
Phase II Presentation
Participation

Weight
5%
15%
20%
20%
15%
10%
10%
5%

The final grade average for the course will lead to course grades, as follows:
Final grade average:
90% - 100%
85% - 89.99%
80% - 84.99%

Final course grade:

4.0
3.5
3.0

Final grade average:

70% - 74.99%
65% - 69.99%
60% - 64.99%

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Final course grade:

2.0
1.5
1.0

75% - 79.99%

2.5

59.99% and below

Course Policies
1. Academic dishonesty (e.g., submitting someone elses work as your own) will be severely penalized
(including but not limited to a failing grade for the assignment and perhaps the course).
2. Topics and associated readings for each class are identified in the Course Schedule. To be
adequately prepared, it is important to do the assigned readings before class. Lecture notes will be
available on the course web page prior to class. Students should bring their own copy of the
lecture notes with them to class.
3. Supplemental readings based on current topics from the business press (e.g., Wall Street Journal,
Business Week, etc.) may be posted occasionally on the course web page prior to class. These
readings will be used during class as an example of a real-world application related to course topics.
Students should bring a copy of these supplemental readings with them to class.
4. All assignments are due at the beginning of the class session or at pre-designated times during the
class session. Without prior arrangement, late assignments will be penalized at the rate of 15% per
day late.
5. We are available to discuss written assignments before they are due, but we will not read, review,
and comment on written assignments prior to the due date. However, we strongly encourage
discussion of prototype development prior to due dates with Dr. Bush. Approval of product and
design is required prior to Innovation tournament.
6. Assignments may be added or changed as the term progresses.
7. Please silence all communication devices that are not directly relevant to the class (e.g., cell phones,
MP3 players, smart phones, etc.).

Course Work Descriptions

Innovation Tournament
Deliverables Due: 02/17/2015
An innovation tournament is a competition among innovation opportunities. For the innovation tournament,
you research customer needs and identify important unmet needs. A written product concept that identifies
the form, technology and benefits should be developed. Initial concepts should be sketched to help visualize
the planned product and two design solutions included on the poster. You then develop a physical, nonfunctional, product form prototype addressing the need. Finally, you clearly communicate the needs and
solutions.
The deliverables for this phase are the first team meeting minutes uploaded to the drop box on the course
website prior to the Innovation Tournament, a poster (a standard tri-fold board), comments strips, a drop
bag/box for the comment strips, and a non-functioning prototype made from foam, cardboard, etc.
1. First team meeting minutes. Throughout the semester, teams need to hold meetings where the discussion
and action items are formally documented. Each team member takes a turn leading and documenting the
meetings throughout the semester. All meetings should be documented using the document template
available on the course website. Hold one team meeting before the Innovation Tournament and document it
using the First team meeting minutes document available on the course website. Upload the minutes
within 2 days of the team meeting prior to the Innovation Tournament.
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2. Poster and comments sheet. The poster should include a product name as the title, photographs
(preferably) or drawings of people exhibiting the needs, a brief description of the needs (use bullet points
and phrases rather than paragraphs), and sketches of at least 2 possible design solutions. Also include
separate comment sheets so that class members can provide feedback for improvement. List the team
number and team members names on the back of the poster; do not identify yourselves on the front of the
poster.
3. Physical form prototype. The prototype should be a three-dimensional, scaled model of the product
solution you think is best (i.e., most advantageous AND most feasible). This prototype does not need to be
actual size, but should depict accurately a smaller version of a potential product.
One class session is allocated to the Innovation Tournament. Student teams can begin signing up on the fifth
class session (1/27/2015). At this time you will randomly draw your team number -- only complete teams
will be allowed to sign up.
On the Innovation Tournament Day, student teams showcase their ideas anonymously by displaying the
posters and prototypes in the classroom for all students to review. Time will be allocated for all students to
review all ideas. After the review period, all students vote for the ideas they believe have the highest
likelihood of market place success. Market place success results when two conditions occur: 1) a product
offers advantages over existing alternatives, and 2) the number of customers and their willingness to pay
combine to deliver an attractive return on investment. Thus, it is important the mechanical design solutions
clearly convey why they will be successful in the market place.
Each student will be given a limited number of voting tabs that they will attach to the ideas they prefer.
Team members CANNOT vote for their own poster. When voting is complete, we will count the number of
tabs on each poster. All teams will be rank ordered from top to bottom based on number of votes received
and team grades will be assigned accordingly.

Phase I Progress Review

Deliverables Due: 03/24-04/2/2015
At the Phase I Progress Review, Drs. Nguyen and Bush will spend approximately 8-10 minutes per group
reviewing the Phase I prototype and Phase I Needs & Metrics Tables. The instructors will ask detailed
questions about your data collection, prototype development and plans for Phase II. It is important that ALL
members communicate about ALL aspects. Therefore, specific market research questions may be directed to
the engineers while specific prototype development questions may be directed to the marketing team
members. Bring TWO hard copies of all written and digital materials to the progress review .

Phase I Needs and Metrics Tables

Prior to building the Phase I prototype, your task is to identify customer needs by interviewing and/or
observing a minimum of 10 customers and then translate customer needs into product specifications. The
deliverables are (1) two team meeting minutes, (2) interview guide, (3) five tables (3A-E), and photographs
of interviewees, described below.
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1. Team meeting minutes. Hold the second and third team meetings between the Innovation Tournament
and the Phase I progress review. Each meeting should be led and documented by team members who have
not yet done so, using the Team meeting minutes document available on the course website. Upload the
minutes within 2 days of each team meeting held prior to the Phase I Progress Review.
2. Interview guide. Before conducting interviews, you need to prepare an interview guide that helps you
direct the conversation towards the topics and issues you want to learn about and to elicit an honest
response. While the format of your interview guide is open, you should include the following questions:
When and why do you use this type of product?
What do you like about the existing products?
What do you dislike about the existing products?
What issues do you consider when purchasing the product?
What improvements would you suggest for the product?
You should also ask several demographic questions to profile your respondents and to make sure that they
best represent your target customers. To effectively interact with customers, you should use verbal
descriptions and/or visual stimuli of the product (e.g., sketches, photos, prototypes, actual products). If the
interview is conducted in the use environment, have the customer demonstrate the product and/or typical
tasks related to the product.
3. Tables
A. Customer selection matrix. Develop a customer selection matrix similar to that shown in Exhibit 5-5 on
page 79 of the textbook. Identify market segments for your product based on customer needs resulting from
the context of products. Next identify customer types, which typically fall into two primary categories: users
and channel members. Users are those who actually use the product, while channel members are those
involved in delivering the product from the manufacturer to the user. Examples of channel members include
wholesalers, retailers, sales people, and customer service personnel. Provide a brief description of your
respondents.
B. Customer data sheets. Develop customer data sheets following the template shown in Exhibit 5-6 on
page 82. Create a data sheet for each customer and have the customer sign and date the top of the sheet at
the beginning of the interview. Do not use this form to collect raw data; document the customer interaction
separately using one or more of the four methods (audio recording, notes, video recording, and still
photography) described in the textbook (pp. 80-81). Photograph each customer and attach the photograph to
the customer data sheet regardless of your interview methods (face-to-face, phone, Skype, etc.). After the
interview, complete a data sheet for each customer you interview and/or observe, converting customer
statements into interpreted needs.
C. Hierarchical list of customer needs. Follow the guidelines in the textbook (pp. 83-85) to organize the list
of needs into a hierarchical numbered list similar to that in Exhibit 5-8. List the needs in order of importance
as evaluated by the team members based on the customer interviews.
D. Product metrics list. For each need, generate a metric. As the text suggests, consider what precise,
measurable characteristic of the product will reflect the degree to which the product satisfies that need
(page 95). List the metrics and their units in a table like that in Exhibit 6-4.
E. Competitive benchmarking chart (metrics-based). Develop a competitive benchmarking chart listing
specification values for each metric from at least two competitive products (see Exhibit 6-6). Briefly explain
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why these competitive products were chosen and provide your comments on the competitive advantage of
your product relative to competitors.

Phase I Prototype
After the product metrics list is completed, build a fully functioning biomechanical prototype and bring it
to the Phase I progress review for Dr. Bush to evaluate. Also, bring any items necessary to use the device
e.g. if your device assists and individual in changing light bulbs, then bring a lamp and light bulbs. If you
are not sure of the best approach for the development of your product, you are strongly encouraged to
develop multiple prototypes. You are also strongly encouraged to discuss your idea and potential solutions
with Dr. Bush PRIOR to the Phase I review. Prototypes must consist of a mechanical system and have
components such as links, levers, cams and springs.
HAVE THREE PEOPLE BRIEFLY TRY THE PHASE I PROTOTYPE PRIOR TO YOUR PHASE I
PROGRESS REVIEW. Bring a photo of each person using the prototype along with a sheet with the
users signature and the date of signature. At Phase I, the instructors will interview your group about
these interactions.

Exam
The closed-book, open-notes in-class exam will consist of 40 - 50 multiple choice and true-false questions.
The exam will cover all material in the course up to that point, including lecture materials from Drs. Nguyen
and Bush and all guest lecturers (even material that is not posted online), and assigned readings from the
textbook. Calculators are allowed, but no other electronic devices may be on, visible, or used during the
exam.

Phase II Final Project (Phase II begins immediately after Phase I Project Review with Drs. Bush
and Nguyen)
Deliverables Due: 04/16-28/2015
In this phase, you test the Phase I prototype with at least 10 heavy users, document their feedback, improve
the prototype based on the feedback, and develop a market launch plan. The deliverables to be given to Drs.
Nguyen and Bush at the Team Presentations are (1) a market test results, (2) perceptual map figure, (3) the
launch plan document, (4) the presentation, (5) the Phase II prototype and prototype report, and (6) the peer
evaluations. Additional details will be provided in class regarding Phase II.
Bring 1) ONE hard copy of the ten surveys (including the photographs), 2) ONE hard copy of the Phase II
prototype report, 3) TWO DVD/CDs of your complete presentation, 4) the Phase II prototype, and 5) ONE
hard copy of the Market Test Results and Launch Plan

Phase II Market Test Results and Launch Plan

Conduct a market test of your Phase I prototype with a minimum of ten heavy users. These users are
DIFFERENT than the 3 individuals who reviewed the device prior to the Phase I review. Allow the users to
actually experience the product and provide you with feedback and suggestions for improvement. This may
require that you leave the prototype with them for a few hours or days so make sure you plan
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appropriately. Take a photograph of each user using the product. After the users have experienced the
product, ask them about (document their answers in writing or record their responses):
a.
key problems uncovered and the seriousness of the problems.
b.
their suggestions, if any, for solving these problems.
Also administer a survey to collect the following (have the users sign and date the survey):
a.
importance ratings for the top customer needs,
b.
ratings of your product and competitive product(s) (or current solution used by user) for
meeting top customer needs,
c.
purchase intention ratings for your product,
d.
pricing information (e.g., willingness to pay) for your product.
1. Final team meeting minutes. Hold the final team meetings between the Phase I progress review and the
Phase II final project. Each meeting should be led and documented by team members who have not yet done
so, using the Team meeting minutes document available on the course website.
2. Market test results. Develop a table showing user ratings of your product and two competitor products,
importance ratings for each need, calculate user preferences for each product, and purchase intentions for
each product. Include a summary column concluding how well your product performs vs. the competition in
meeting the most important customer needs (better, similar, or poorer). Develop a perceptual map (graphic)
of the most important customer needs that shows the location of your product and competing
products/alternatives (See the concept testing class notes for more details). Do not just provide the data
sets, we are most interested in your interpretation of the results, so include those in the report.
3. Launch plan. Describe your market launch plan, including the five sections listed below. Each launch plan
should be typed (double-spaced), coherent, and well-organized. There is no page limit, but be as focused and
concise as possible (the shorter, the better). Reserve the main body for analyses, strategies, and
explanations; place detailed supporting material in the appendices.
a.
Product and Price Product features, package (e.g. components, #/pack), product line,
accessories, price.
b.
Advertising/Promotion Show an advertising example and brochure. Explain message and
intended effects.
c.
Distribution channels Retail, internet, mail order, sales reps, etc.
d.
Forecast how many units you expect to sell in the first two years using the Q=NAP approach.
Use data from articles, industry/trade reports, demographic reports, census information, as
needed.
4. Appendices. Completed surveys with respondent descriptions (e.g. name, occupation, etc.) and photos,
product brochure, and any other supporting information you deem necessary (e.g., bibliography, competitive
information, article summaries, etc.).

Phase II Prototype and Report

1. Prototype. Develop a fully functioning Phase II prototype by modifying the Phase I prototype or building
a new prototype that improves the prototype design and functionality BASED ON USER FEEDBACK (not
just what the team members believe needs to be modified). These changes need to be supported and

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documented by the interactions and surveys from your heavy users. Thus it is CRITICAL for the engineers
to be present (but silent) during the heavy user evaluation.
2.
Report. Compile the following information into a separate document for Dr. Bush. This
document should be no more than 5 pages have a title page with your team name, team number and
team members names. The report should be single spaced, 12 point font, 1 inch margins and figures
should be placed at the end of the 5 pages (photos/figures do not count toward the 5 written pages). The
report should at a MINIMUM contain the following headings:
Prototypes
a. Provide a sketch (hand sketch is fine) of your initial concept from the innovation tournament
b. A photo of your phase I prototype
c. Provide a 1) technical sketch or CAD drawing, 2) photo and 3) text describing your phase II
prototype, thoroughly describe the functionality. For example, identify the mechanical
components of your prototype and a written discussion on the mechanics, i.e. how it works
(linkages, springs, types of mechanical components).
Phase II changes based on Market Research
d. In this section clearly document the significant changes made from Phase I prototype to Phase II
prototype and link these changes to your market research.
Engineering Analysis
e. Perform an engineering analysis on at least one key component of your design. (You should use
statics, strength of materials or dynamics in this analysis). You should discuss what you are
analyzing and why. You should have a free body diagram, identify all variables, and discuss
how you obtained your information (i.e. weighed a trash can). You should walk the reader
through the solution, and discuss rationale for items such as what Factor of Safety was selected
and why. The problem should be solved and a complete solution provided as a figure in the
appendix, in addition to the discussion provided in the text.
Manufacturing
f. Address the type of material that you used to develop your prototype; provide the advantages
and disadvantages of using this material.
g. Provide a discussion as to how you envision that this product would be manufactured if
commercialized. Include a discussion of possible materials used what would be optimal, what
would be most cost effective, also what type of forming process would you envision (lay up,
stamping, blow molded). You may need to conduct some research on manufacturing techniques
or consult a text book to provide a reasonable discussion.
h. CD of your presentation that includes multiple photos of the prototype both in use with a
consumer, and without a user.

Phase II Presentation
Details of Phase II presentation will be given in a lecture on 04/07/2015. Additional details of the final
Phase II Market Test Results &Launch Plan and Phase II Prototype &Report also will be provided during
that class period

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Phase II Peer Evaluations

At the end of the semester, Confidential Peer Evaluations will be collected. See Appendix for the Peer
Evaluation form, which are to be submitted on the day of the teams presentation .

Class Attendance and Participation

Throughout the semester, Drs. Bush and Nguyen will randomly record attendance and/or conduct a
participation activity. This will be incorporated into your final grade as noted in the Course Grade section of
the syllabus.

Deliverables Timeline
1/12

2/17

3/5

3/24-4/2

4/16-28

4/30

|-----------------------------|---------------------------|----------------------------|--------------------------------|-----|
Course

Innovation

Begins

Tournament

1st Meeting & Memo

Exam

2nd& 3rd Meetings & Memos;

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Progress

Final

Review

Project

Final Meeting(s) & Memos;

Competition

Appendix
ME497 and MKT420 New Product Design and Development
Student Self and Peer Evaluation
** CONFIDENTIAL **
You must complete this evaluation form and turn it in by the last class to receive a grade.
Your product name: . Your team number..
Your name:...................................................................................
Use this form to evaluate yourself and all of the other members of your product group by giving each of you a
grade from 4.0 to 0.0. Consider your class attendance and the amount of time and effort you and the others spent
on your project. Be fair. Profs. Nguyen and Bush will use your evaluations with their own evaluations of your
exam, prototypes, presentation, and phase I and phase II reports to assign your grade.
You must justify your grading in the comments space available and on other side of this sheet.
Self evaluation grade:
Comments:

Evaluation of other project group members.

Their name:..................................................................................
Grade: (on a 0.0 to 4.0 scale)
Comments:

Their name:..................................................................................
Grade:
Comments:

Their name:..................................................................................
Grade:
Comments:

Their name:..................................................................................
Grade:
Comments:
Use the reverse side if needed.

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