Fuzzy Front End and Concept Formulation

The Fuzzy Front End is the messy "getting started" period of new product development processes. Whether you are Developing here in Southern California , San Diego , Los Angeles or in Silicon Valley you are typically starting from the same point. Also Common today is Companies having multiple Design centers around the Globe all working on the same project concurrently .It is in the front end where the organization formulates a concept of the product to be developed and decides whether or not to invest resources in the further development of an idea. It is the phase between first consideration of an opportunity and when it is judged ready to enter the structured development process . It includes all activities from the search for new opportunities through the formation of a germ of an idea to the development of a precise concept. The Fuzzy Front End ends when an organization approves and begins formal development of the concept.

We can distinguish five different front-end elements (not necessarily in a particular order):

• Opportunity Identification
• Opportunity Analysis
• Idea Genesis
• Idea Selection
• Concept and Technology Development

The first element is the opportunity identification. In this element, large or incremental business and technological chances are identified in a more or less structured way. Using the guidelines established here, resources will eventually be allocated to new projects which then lead to a structured NPPD (New Product & Process Development) strategy. The second element is the opportunity analysis. It is done to translate the identified opportunities into implications for the business and technology specific context of the company. Here extensive efforts may be made to align ideas to target customer groups and do market studies and/or technical trials and research. The third element is the idea genesis, which is described as evolutionary and iterative process progressing from birth to maturation of the opportunity into a tangible idea. The process of the idea genesis can be made internally or come from outside inputs, e.g. a supplier offering a new material/technology, or from a customer with an unusual request. The fourth element is the idea selection. Its purpose is to choose whether to pursue an idea by analyzing its potential business value. The fifth element is the concept and technology development. During this part of the front-end, the business case is developed based on estimates of the total available market, customer needs, investment requirements, competition analysis and project uncertainty. Some organizations consider this to be the first stage of the NPPD process.

Cost, function, aesthetics, manufacturability and marketing all contribute requirements to a product. The role of Creative Engineering is to generate a design that meets these sometimes conflicting goals while carefully balancing the resulting compromises in order to deliver the best possible product.

Development Process

Brainstorm

Based on your performance goals and design limitations we will develop creative ideas to solve difficult design problems such as: helping to create a revolutionary new product, improving on an existing product or avoiding a patent infringement.

Design

Once a brainstormed solution has been selected we will embody it in a preliminary design. We will focus on keeping the design as simple as possible while ensuring that it fits within the required physical envelope and meets the design requirements.

Breadboard

A proof-of-concept model may be required to demonstrate the validity of a design. This "breadboard" model can also be used as a developmental prototype to try out different components such as springs, gears and motors.

Engineer

Using the parameters established with the breadboard as a guide, complete tooling ready CAD models are created in Pro/ENGINEER or Solidworks. Shaded renderings, perspective drawings and orthogonal views with cross sections communicate the progress.

Prototype

An accurate functional prototype of the product is created using Rapid Prototyping technology, CNC machining, or both. This sample can be used to validate the design, test with consumers, show to customers, photograph for catalogs, etc.

Refine

Customer feedback and functional evaluation of the prototype drive final design changes and improvements that are implemented before freezing the design for manufacturing. Components are carefully checked for manufacturability.

Document

Product documentation capabilities include: Bill of Materials, descriptive text, 2-D detail drawings, 3-D CAD data, core and cavity surface data, perspective views, shaded renderings and computer animations.

Manufacture

Creative Engineering is accustomed to working with manufacturers in the U.S. and in the far east, and can work closely with the factory to ensure a smooth launch.

Debug

Creative Engineering can evaluate your pre-production and pilot production samples to help solve any problems that have been identified in early safety and performance testing and to help "groom the tooling." Digital photos of physically modified parts, updated CAD data, and/or dimensioned drawings communicate updates clearly and quickly.