Flashpoint Development bridges academia and industry. We examine and research innovation, industry best practice, and beneficial processes at high-growth companies, both nascent and established. Our research gives us a view into companies developing the next generation of life enhancing products and services. The academic process of creating hypotheses, performing ethnography and advanced surveying, analyzing statistical results, and proposing future studies is a core attribute of our business and a clear distinction and advantage over our competitors. Simply put, we research and develop the latest processes, methods and tools to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of your project.
Below are sample papers that we have published and/or presented at conferences.
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ABSTRACT
Tucker J. Marion, Henri J. Thevenot, Fabrice Alizon, Timothy W. Simpson
As a result of outsourcing and off-shoring, the combination of low labor rates, reduced tooling and component costs is allowing firms that design consumer products to shift away from product platforms. Given the rapid rise of off-shoring, manufacturing set-up and purchased component integration is becoming a much smaller percentage of total project cost; and this is allowing firms to design unique products for specific market segments because the cost and timing of new tooling and component sourcing is no longer a factor in many cases. This frees up the designer to develop products that meet discrete market niches without having to spend the additional time and cost to develop a product platform. In effect, the firm’s underlying core technology and development process – their process platform – is their ability to quickly and effectively commercialize new products while leveraging the advantages of a global market place. In this paper, a historical context on globalization and new product development is discussed. A framework for shaping the firm’s core development process is then proposed. An in-depth case study of three firms is then given, highlighting their engineering and sourcing process platform within the context of the applied framework.
| International Conference on Engineering Design 2009 - A Framework for Balancing Efficiency and Effectiveness in Innovative Product Design |
ABSTRACT
Tucker J. Marion
Improved design innovation through the use of new product development activities, methods, and tools has been an area of fertile research for the past several decades for both academics and practitioners. High-level management process study has given way to the development of detailed, quantitative tools and techniques whose mission is to enhance the process of innovation. This research seeks to understand the link between academic research and industry best practice. In this article, we report on the results of an empirical study of best practice design and innovation firms. State-of-the-art practitioners are balancing development efficiency and effectiveness by eschewing onerous methods and quantitative tools by adopting and adapting flexible processes and activities during product design. Resource draining methods and quantitative tools see limited use and are implemented only when necessary. A framework illustrating the need to keep design innovation on a critical path by balancing the efficient and effective use of activities, methods, and tools is presented. The paper concludes with directions for further academic research.
| International Conference on Engineering Design 2009 - Moving New Venture New Product Development from Information Push to Pull Using Web 2.0 |
ABSTRACT
Tucker J. Marion, Marinita Schumacher
With the rise of global competition, innovation through new ventures and products are seen as a vital part of industrialized nations’ quest to sustain economic growth. An integral part of fostering continued innovation are improvements in the new product development and project management process - as research has shown that for new ventures these two areas are key factors for success. This rise of social networking, digital design tools, and virtual teams are setting the stage for a transformation in how products are developed. New product development has historically been a ‘push system,’ with individuals and teams transmitting information and waiting for feedback. We propose methods and tools that will leverage social networking and shift the paradigm of product development from a ‘push’ to a ‘pull’ system where communities can actively drive input to the project, rather than respond to active requests. This article proposes a collaborative Web 2.0 environment that will foster improved communication, design solutions, and innovation speed.
| ASME Design Engineering Technical Conferences 2006 - Two Methodologies for Identifying a Product Platform within an Existing Product Family |
ABSTRACT
Elizabeth D. Steva1, Elizabeth N. Rice, Tucker J. Marion, Timothy W. Simpson, Robert B. Stone
As companies are pressured to decrease product development costs concurrently with increasing product variety, the need to develop products based upon common components and platforms is growing. A key element in adopting a product platform and platform-based product portfolio is the ability to reengineer existing or competing product lines and identify common components and the underlying platform elements. Unfortunately, published literature on using product dissection for product family analysis and platform identification is surprisingly sparse. This paper introduces two platform identification methodologies that use different combinations of tools that can be readily developed based on information obtained directly from product dissection. The first is a simple methodology based on bill-of-materials analysis and Design Structure Matrices. The second utilizes functional diagrams, the Functional Basis, and Function-Component Matrices, and Product-Vector Matrices to perform a more in-depth analysis. Both methodologies are used to identify the basic platform elements in a family of five single-use cameras that are currently available in the market. The proposed methodologies identify the film advance and shutter actuation platform elements of the cameras, which include seven distinct components. The results are discussed in detail, along with the limitations of these two methodologies, proposed extensions, and future work.
| ASME Design Engineering Technical Conferences 2006 - Design for Mass Customization in the Early Stages of Product Development |
ABSTRACT
Tucker J. Marion, Matthew Freyer, Timothy W. Simpson, Richard A. Wysk
This paper describes a method for the early stages of new product development that supports the conceptual design of modular, platform-based, and customizable components. The method includes up-front product planning encompassing definition of customer requirements, market segmentation, and competitive product analysis, ultimately leading to product specifications. The results from product planning are combined with tools for developing a product platform architecture with easily customizable customer interface components, which are based on well-defined interfaces. The method and tools are applied to a family of bactericidal door handle products. The major elements of the customizable door handle product architecture are defined, and several concepts are generated that utilize modularity, customization, and product platforms within a single design. The results are discussed in detail with specific comments on applying up-front planning and design tools in terms of modularity and customization for commercialization based on well-defined interfaces. Finally, we conclude with comments on the limitations of the method, proposed improvements, and future work.
ABSTRACT
Tucker J. Marion, Timothy W. Simpson
Disciplined product development has been a hallmark of mature companies for many decades, resulting in shorter development cycles, reduced costs, and higher quality products. Unfortunately, these tools and processes have typically been applied in large, well-established firms, not start-up companies. In this paper, we describe a simplified new product development process for early-stage firms and its application to a consumer product in which the process was executed during a 14-month development cycle. The process consists of 15-steps in 3-phases, two decision gates, and provides a step-by-step guide for development, with specific call-outs as to what, when, and where tools such as market segmentation, platform planning, industrial design, and cost modeling should be applied. The proposed process is applied to design a new consumer product, and the case study results are discussed with specific emphasis on costs, duration, and applicability of the process and its related engineering tools. Finally, we conclude with comments on the limitations of the proposed process, potential improvements, and future work.
ABSTRACT
Tucker J. Marion
As a result of globalization, the Internet, and electronic collaboration tools, the design engineer now has the ability to direct design decisions based on actual supplier quotes much earlier in the design process. This allows the designer to make fact-based decisions on the design of components, the extent to which design for assembly and manufacturing techniques are applied, the use of common components, and the adoption of common architectures and shared platform elements. Additionally, cost modeling early in the new product development (NPD) process allows the design team to better meet cost targets once the product reaches the market. In this paper, a historical context on globalization and new product development is discussed. A framework for early cost modeling in the NPD process using the global supply chain is then proposed. An in-depth case study of a current design effort is detailed, highlighting the iterative design process using global cost modeling.
ABSTRACT
Tucker J. Marion, Rifat Sipahi
Resource constrained early-stage firms commercializing assembled products face supply chain (SC) problems that could ultimately cause the company to fail. Delays, complexity, and associated cost overruns throughout the SC can quickly drain cash flow, putting the new firm in a disadvantaged position. This is exacerbated by the increased use of outsourced global suppliers, demands of resellers, and pressure for rapid growth. A decision-making tableau over a conceptual SC model is revealed, which identifies qualitative behavior of inventories with respect to delays inherently present in the SC. This tableau can aid the entrepreneurial manager in strategic decisions. A case example is given followed by discussion on the results, limitations, and direction of future research.
