Eastern Michigan University
College of Technology
Ph.D. in Technology
Course Syllabus
Course Number, Title, and Credit Hours: COT 705- Technology Design,
Development and Transfer - 3 credits
Semester and Year: Winter 2007
Prerequisites: COT 700 (previously COT 600)
Instructor:
Dr. Dan Fields
Office hours: by appointment, call direct.
Phone: (734) 487-2040
e-mail: dan.fields@emich.edu
Text: Ulrich & Eppinger, Product Design and Development (3d Edition), McGraw-Hill,
NY, NY, 2004.
Catalog Description: This course examines the processes involved in designing and
bringing new products to market, and the engineering, cultural, political and business
factors that influence those processes. Special attention is paid to the concepts of humancentered and gendered design, the structure and functioning of product development
teams, and the philosophy of concurrent engineering. Also covered in this course is the
role that governments and agencies play in supporting technology transfer from research
laboratory to marketplace, and from country to country.
Expectations:
This is one of three core courses in the Ph.D. in Technology Program. It is a practiceoriented course, aimed at developing and applying the interdisciplinary skills required for
successful product development in today’s competitive marketplace. Participants with
varied backgrounds will function in product development teams to walk through the new
product development process, learning the tools and techniques to execute each process
step along the way. The outcome will be the development of a marketable product, with
prototype.
Objectives: Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to:
1. Demonstrate competence with a set of tools and methods for product design and
development.
2. Demonstrate their abilities to create a new product.
3. Describe and apply the role of multiple functions in creating a new product (i.e.
marketing, finance, industrial design, engineering, and production).
4. Function as a team member to coordinate multiple interdisciplinary tasks in order to
achieve a common objective.
5. Apply specific knowledge from other courses and experience through practice in an
action-oriented setting.
Grading:
95 – 100% = A
90 – 94% = A87-89% = B+
83-86% = B
80 – 82% = B-
77-79% = C+
73- 75% = C
70 – 72% = C<70% = E
Weights of grading components:
25% quality of preparation for and participation in class discussions and exercises
10% quality of individual assignments
35% quality of team’s work on project-related assignments
30% quality of team’s final project presentation
Schedule: (subject to change)
Week Date
Topic
1
1/11
Introduction
2
1/18
3
1/25
4
5
6
7
2/1
2/8
2/15
2/22
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
3/8
3/15
3/22
3/29
4/5
4/12
4/19
4/26
Development Process, Organizations, and Product
Planning
Identifying Customer Needs
Product Specifications
Concept Generation
Concept Selection
Concept Testing
Product Architecture
Industrial Design
Design for Manufacturing
Prototyping
Robust Design
Patents & Intellectual Property
Product Development Economics
Managing Projects
Project Presentation Preparation
Project Presentations
Reading
(Chapt.)
1,2,3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Class Preparation and Participation: Reading assignments are given in the schedule.
You are expected to come to class prepared to discuss the readings and suggested
exercises and questions. Further, it is expected that you will have applied the concepts
toward the product development project prior to each class. This permits constant
feedback and corrections of course based on lessons learned. Individual class
participation grades will be based on evidence of preparation and practice, and in-class
remarks during discussions.
Individual Assignments: Exercises at the end of the chapters will periodically be turned
in. Others are simply intended to prepare you for class discussion.
Projects: The challenge in the project portion of this course is to design a new product
and to produce a prototype version of it. The goal of this exercise is to learn principles
and methods of product development in a realistic context. Most product development
professionals work under tremendous time pressure and do not have time to reflect on the
development process. The project activity will be integrated into in-class discussions and
activities…read about it, do some exercises, apply to the project, review results and
problems encountered, evaluate, make adjustments and move on to the next step. There
will typically be insights provided at later stages in the development process that will
make us want to return to earlier stages. Project ideas will come from class participants
or some from inventors or companies outside of EMU. Project teams will select which
project they wish to pursue. Guidelines for reasonable projects are provided below.
Project team membership will be determined in the second week of the semester.
Guidelines for Project Selection: You are strongly encouraged to choose a project
satisfying all of the following constraints:
1. There should be a demonstrable market for the product. One good way to verify a
market need is to identify existing products that attempt to meet the need. Your product
need not be a variant of an existing product, but the market need addressed by your
product should be clearly evident. The product does not need to have a tremendous
economic potential, but should at lease be an attractive opportunity for an established
firm with related products and/or skills.
2. Products should be material goods, not services. While many of the concepts in the
course apply to service and software products, many do not (i.e. design for
manufacturing).
3. The product should have a high likelihood of containing fewer than ten parts.
Although it is not possible to anticipate design details early on, it is easy to anticipate the
number of parts from a similar existing product.
4. You should be confident of being able to prototype the product with minimum costs,
using EMU labs and equipment, and within the time constraints of the semester.
5. The product should require no basic technological breakthroughs. You don’t have the
time to deal with technological uncertainties.
6. You should have access to more than five potential lead users of the product (more
than 20 would be nice). For example, consumer products rather than specialized
processing products used by a few manufacturers.
7. Don’t select highly proprietary ideas. We will openly discuss the projects in class.
8. Successful project tend to have at least one team member with an interest in the target
market.
Some Examples from Previous MIT Graduate Classes (Prof. Steven Eppinger,
Product Design & Development):
Clipboard for disabled persons
Beverage holder for sail boats
Rowing foot stretcher for crew shells
Beer bottle capper for home brewers
Grocery bag carrier for urban shoppers
Brake for in-line skates
Canteen for in-line skaters
Book bag for college students
Portable sharpener for ice skates
Laser level for carpenters
Reading/area light for campers
Clamp for theatrical lighting
Tripod for birders
POLICIES:
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Attendance and punctuality are expected. Success in this course is highly dependent
on your active participation in all aspects of the course.
Beginning with the second class meeting, you should have the required text at each
lecture.
You are responsible for reading assignments, lectures, demonstration information,
and problem sheets dispensed during the course.
No extra credit papers or projects will be accepted. Your final grade will depend
solely on grading criteria identified above.
I will not give time extensions for assignments unless agreed upon by the entire class
and me.
I will give "I" (s) ONLY in accordance with Eastern Michigan University's
guidelines.
If anyone requires accommodations due to a disability that may affect your
performance in the course, please discuss this with me. You may also contact the
EMU Office of Students with Disabilities for assistance:
If you are experiencing difficulty with any of the course content please seek a
private consultation with me to discuss remediation of deficiencies.
I welcome and encourage your feedback concerning course requirements,
assignments, tests, or course content.
Academic Honesty
In any University-level course, a statement of policy regarding academic honesty
should be entirely unnecessary. However, it should be noted that the policy of the
School of Engineering Technology is that any student who engages in any activity
constituting academic dishonesty will receive an "E" for the course in which the
activity occurred. This policy relates to all forms of work associated with the course
requirements; including examinations, quizzes, and all assignments. It is your
responsibility to review the college catalog in order to determine those activities that
constitute academic dishonesty at Eastern Michigan University, which includes both
cheating and plagiarism.