Teacher

prof. Stefano FILIPPI

Credits

6 CFU

Language

Italian

Objectives

This course deals with and goes deeper in methods and tools for product innovation applied using a co-design point of view, current evolution of the classic user-centered design. Emphasis is placed on interaction design, usability evaluation and testing, and systematic innovation (TRIZ theory). All of this in order to lead the students through the whole design process, made real thanks to a case study that will be developed with the teacher help and discussed during the final exam.

Acquired skills

- Analysis of the context where designing interaction or evaluating usability.
- Integration of product interaction aspects in industrial design and engineering.
- Use of methods for usability evaluation.
- Multilevel analysis of products and processes.
- Knowledge about methods and tools to solve engineering problems by exploiting the symbiosis among different domains.
- Use of formalisms and methods to collect data and formulate innovative ideas.
- Product and process reconfiguration aiming at systematic innovation.

Lectures and exercises (topics and specific content)

Introduction: overview of the design process, the role of interaction design and usability evaluation (2 hours).
Problems and processes in industrial design: decomposition of mechatronic systems; types of design problems; information management (2 hours).
Designers and teams: human models for processing information; characteristics of the creative designer; design teams (2 hours).
The detailed design process: the phases of the design process; designing quality; communication during design (2 hours).
Project planning:  project definition; ISO 9000; the five steps of planning; Gantt diagrams (2 hours).
Usability: in-depth description and analysis of the usability notion (2 hours).
Understanding the engineering problem: understand the user; definition of the user's needs, translation into engineering requirements focusing on interaction; the QFD and the house of quality (6 hours).
Concept generation: product functions; the morphology; other methods for concept generation (TRIZ, axiomatic design, etc.); rules for interaction design; design for errors detection and recovery (8 hours).
In-depth analysis of human needs in designing interaction: vision, colors, hearing, haptic, motor system, memory, attention and implications on interaction design (2 hours).
Concept evaluation: methods and criteria for concept evaluation (applicability, go-no go, decision matrix); Robust decision making, reliability and safety matters (6 hours).
Product engineering: the importance of drawings; rapid prototyping; bills of materials, PDM§; designing interaction thanks to successive prototypes (4 hours).
Production: shape generation (embodiment), material selection, marketing-driven development (2 hours).
Product evaluation: evaluations about functions, performance, costs (hints), production, assembly, reliability, testing and maintenance, environment, usability (6 hours).
Exercises: exercises, alone or in team, about real problems of product configuration, optimization and innovation (14 hours).

References

- R. Polillo, Facile da Usare. Apogeo. 2010
- David G. Ullman, The Mechanical Design Process, McGrawHill, 2003
- Kevin Otto and Kristin Wood, Product design, Prentice Hall 2000
- Donald Norman, La caffettiera del masochista. Psicopatologia degli oggetti quotidiani. Giunti ed. 2005
- A. Dix, J. Finlay, G.D.Abowd, R. Beale, Interazione uomo-macchina. Ed.McGraw Hill, 2004
- Ahshuller G. And suddenly the inventor appeared-TRIZ, the theory of inventive problem solving. Worcester, MA: Technical Innovation Center; 1996
- Terninko J, Zusman A., Zlotin B., Systematic innovation-an introduction to TRIZ. New York: St Lucie Press; 1998

Type of exam

Oral and/or work

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