Concept engineering

Concept engineering is a method used to frame the project and develop it. The main steps of concept engineering are:

• framing the project - definition of main and secondary results, limitations and assumptions, success criteria
• collecting data - collecting information on currently used solution or solutions available on the market, benchmarking
• analyzing data - analysis of collected data, finding possible improvements, changes, features that product should have
• selecting options - development of project options (various scenarios of achieving results), comparing options, choosing best option.

As the concept engineering is associated with high innovation, many consulting and engineering companies use "concept engineering" as their name.

Concept engineering in costumer's environment

Concept engineering includes a process that combine two alternate levels of showing product. First one is the level when something is being design - this level is based on predictions and analisis. Second one is the level of acquired knowledge - this level is based on experience that company had obtained. Combining those two depictions allows to understand costumers expectations and how to meet and measure them (G.W. Burchill 1993, pg.18) According to costumer's analysis we can specify those five stages of concept product development:

• Analysis of costumer's environment - development team is obligated to describe types of costumers and their environment to meet expectations of future buyers. We can say that this stage is a type of client's environment exploration.
• Changing into requirements - transformation of data collected in stage one into requirements that product need to enclose.
• Operations on collected data - main purpose of this stage is to ensure that main requirements that developing team explored in previous stages are easily measured.
• Generating concepts - at this stage team is using many perspectives of development to meet expectations. All problems with product's requirements need to find a way to solve them. Main, complex problems are putrefy into smaller, easier to solve.
• Choosing concept - at final stage development team choose right product concept. Thanks to previous stages team have many solutions to meet expectations (G.W. Burchill 1993, pg.20-23).

Meaning of product form or design

Concept engineering helps develop the type of good or service that will be wanted on marketplace. Form and design of product definded by this model are undisputed features causing succes of goods on their marketplace (P.H. Bloch 1995, pg.1)

Analyzing costumer's environment, searching for their expectations determine design and form of product. Concept engineering prevents situation in which company manufacture goods that are not selling in scale that manufacturer expected or are not selling at all. The importance of meeting costumer's expectations is unquestioned. In model of concept engineering expectations are not only defined but they are change into requirements of product development process.

New product can bind many problems that company tries to solve at many stages of development. This is cause of many changes in design of goods or services. Concept engineering model can help to avoid this issue because of full preparation on development stages (S. Khandani 2005, pg.5).

New product development need to involve customers. Customers’ point of view on new products are analysing less often then providers’ (K. Brockhoff 2003, pg.1). Customers cooperation can be unsolicited which mean that potencial client can make complaints or suggestions. It is more common when company expands the range of products and customers feedback is linked to present goods and services but manufacturer can improve concept creation with those suggestions. Of course, suggestions are more desirable than complaints but both ways are easier and cheaper to collect. Every analysis is connected with costs of making it. If costumer is telling his thoughts about manufacturing goods, company do not need to search this information for itself (K. Brockhoff 2003, pg.3-5).

Schedule of Concept engineering

In entire model of concept engineering significant is plan of process. Model is based on team and individual work, but all working sessions need to be well coordinated. Really important section of plan is schedule of all stages. There is not one imposed period wherein all companies’ development teams need to make the plan. Concept engineering can be completed in term that depend on product type and customer's environment. Especially stage of collecting data about customers can take a lot of time. Team need to understand environment within they will analyze customers expectations. Moreover, they need to know exactly what methods of analysis will be the best in their case. These factors contributes to time that is need to spend on preparation and making research (G.W. Burchill 1993, pg.153-155).

Examples of Concept engineering

1. Product Design: Concept engineering is a key part of the product design process. The concept engineer must gather all relevant information about the product, such as customer needs, technical requirements, budget, and timeline. They must then develop a concept that meets all of these criteria. This includes creating a product concept statement, developing functional specifications, and creating a prototype.
2. Software Development: Concept engineering is also used in software development. The concept engineer must gather all relevant information about the software, such as customer needs, technical requirements, budget, and timeline. They must then develop a concept that meets all of these criteria. This includes creating a software concept statement, developing functional specifications, and creating a prototype.
3. Business Development: Concept engineering is also used in business development. The concept engineer must gather all relevant information about the business, such as customer needs, market analysis, budget, and timeline. They must then develop a concept that meets all of these criteria. This includes creating a business concept statement, developing a business plan, and creating a prototype.

Advantages of Concept engineering

Concept engineering is a process used to frame the project and develop it. It can be used to create ideas, develop solutions, and create a product or service. The main advantages of concept engineering are:

• Concept engineering can help to identify customer needs and create customer-centric solutions. It helps to bridge the gap between the customer's needs and the product or service being provided.
• Concept engineering allows for the exploration of various ideas and solutions to a problem. This can help to create innovative solutions that meet customer needs.
• Concept engineering can help to improve efficiency and reduce costs. By focusing on the customer’s needs, the solutions created can be tailored to meet those needs while also aiming to reduce costs.
• Concept engineering can help to create better user experiences by ensuring that customer needs are met. By understanding a customer’s needs, a team can create solutions that will improve the user’s experience.
• Concept engineering can help to create new products and services that meet customer needs. By understanding customer needs, a team can create innovative solutions that provide a unique value proposition.

Limitations of Concept engineering

Concept engineering is an effective way of framing a project and developing it, however, it has several limitations. These include:

• Lack of flexibility: The process is quite rigid and inflexible, meaning there are limited options to adapt to changes or unexpected situations.
• Limited scalability: It is not suitable for large projects, as the process can become overly complex and time-consuming.
• Costly: Due to the complexity of the process, it can be quite expensive to implement concept engineering.
• Difficulty in evaluating success: It can be difficult to accurately measure the success of the process, as there are no established criteria.
• Limited transferability: The results of concept engineering may not be applicable to other projects or situations, as the process is tailored to the specific project.

Other approaches related to Concept engineering

Concept engineering is a method used to frame the project and develop it. Other approaches related to concept engineering include:

• Scenario-based design: It is a process of designing products and services by creating and simulating different scenarios.
• User story mapping: It is a method used to visualize the product development process. It helps to identify user stories and prioritize them according to customer needs.
• Design thinking: It is an iterative process that focuses on understanding user needs and creating solutions that meet those needs.
• Human-centered design: It is a process of creating products and services that are easy to use and meet the needs of users.

In summary, concept engineering is a method used to frame a project and develop it, and there are several other approaches related to it, such as scenario-based design, user story mapping, design thinking, and human-centered design.

Concept engineering — recommended articles

Stage-Gate process — Feature-driven development — Decision point — Model of creativity — Advantages of simulation — Quality Function Deployment — Lean startup — Value analysis — Lean product development

References

• Avramenko, Y., & Kraslawski, A. (2006). Similarity concept for case-based design in process engineering. Computers & chemical engineering, 30(3), 548-557.
• Bloch, P. H. (1995). Seeking the Ideal Form: Product Design and Consumer Response. "Journal of Marketing", July 59(3), pg.16.
• Brockhoff, K. (2003). Customers’ perspectives of involvement in new product development. "International Journal of Technology Management", 26(5-6), 464-481.
• Brown, S. L., & Eisendhardt, K. M. (1995). Product development: Past research, present finding, and future directions. The Academy of Management Review, Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 343-378.
• Burchill, G. W. (1993).Concept Engineering: an investigation of TIME vs. MARKET orientation in product concept development. PhD Thesis.
• Khandani, S. (2005). Engineering design process. Education transfer plan, August 2005.

Author: Maciej Soczówka