Internet Exercises

Chapter 4– Product Design

  1. Donald Norman has published several books on design - The Design of EverydayThings, Turn Signals are the Facial Expressions of Automobiles, and Things that Make Us Smart. Visit his website at and find out why his "spin" on design is generating so much interest. Access a sample chapter from his latest book or read one of his essays. Send him a question if you like. Write a summary of what you found interesting.
  2. Some designs of products and services are inherently bad. Read about them at the bad designs web site. Make a list of the factors that make a design unworkable. Nominate your candidates for bad design.
  3. Business Week publishes a Best Product Design issue each summer. Find this year’s issue and read about the winning designs. What were the trends this year? What designs did you like best? Why? Business Week also has a weekly blog (or podcast) called Nussbaum on Design. Search the archives and select a topic to review.
  4. Ever heard of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative? Go to and read about how a $100 laptop was redesigned for children of underdeveloped nations. List the types of problems underdeveloped or poorer nations have with computer use. How is this product consistent with the environment and limited resources? Does the interface make sense to you? What does this product encourage children to do? If there were no “Windows” with its files and folders, how would you design a computer interface?
  5. No discussion of design is complete without considering Apple.Search the Internet for articles on Apple’s iPod, iPhone or other products that you enjoy, and discuss how they consistently come up with innovative designs. What makes their designs so good?
  6. Explore benchmarking at theAmerican Productivity and Quality Center (APQC), iSixSigma, and the Benchmarking Exchange. What are the ethics of benchmarking? What types of things do APQC and the Exchange benchmark? If possible, access one of the free benchmarking reports. Summarize the report's findings.
  7. Link to the Sandia National Laboratory. Why was this center formed? What does it do? Are there any other government sponsored research facilities like this? List several projects that the lab is currently working on.
  8. The key to innovative new products and services is research and development. Access some of the best known corporate R&D labs - Xerox, Bell Labs, and 3M. What types of activities are these labs undertaking? List three new products or services (your favorites) that will be available in the next century. Choose one of the research projects to read about in more detail. Write a brief summary and be prepared to present your findings in class.
  9. Sometimes failures provide the best opportunities for new products and services. Read the Post-ItNote story. Can you find any other failure-success stories in product or service design?
  10. There has been some discussion about the seeming conflict between innovation and Six Sigma. Read this initial article published in Business Week, then search the Internet for more articles or references. What do you think? Can innovation and Six Sigma co-exist? How would you manage a company that needs both?.
  11. Read more about GM’s HyWire Concept Car called the AUTONOMY. What do you think about the feasibility of the design? How will it change community attitudes towards vehicles?
  12. What does green design mean? Read about the Green DesignEducation Initiative and LEED certification. Then search the Internet for two companies that use green design. Describe their activities. How do their approaches differ?
  13. Access the Environmental Protection Agency and read about extended producer responsibility (EPR), sustainability and product stewardship. How do EPA’s initiatives compare to those of the European Union?
  14. Estimate your carbon footprint at What activities are available for offsetting your footprint?
  15. Go to the website of two companies whose products you use. Look at their commitment to sustainability. What activities or goals are included? How do they differ?
  16. Similar to ISO 9000, ISO14000 sets standards for environmental activities in industry. How did this set of standards get started? How do they pertain to design? Is ISO 14000 required for doing business in certain countries?
  17. How widespread is quality function deployment? Find out more about QFD from the QFD Institute. Use their search links to find other QFD resources.
  18. Explore Taguchi's idea of robust design at iSixSigma. Explain how Taguchi methods are used in Design for Six Sigma (DFSS).