Building the better mouse

Assignment Help Finance Basics

Reference no: EM13771192

Acme Corp. new product development team. The team is comprised entirely of design engineers and is meeting in the engineering conference room. The team leader is the Chief Design Engineer, Michael Carroll, who invited you to sit in today. Michael addresses the team. "We've been tasked with designing a new mouse to sell with the next generation of personal computers. We have six months to have working prototypes ready to present to marketing and three months after that to have the new mouse in production. It's very aggressive schedule - we have no time to waste. Let's start by brainstorming ideas for the mouse. Please be as innovative as possible." Michael stepped to the white board prepared to write all the ideas that emerged from the meeting. Ideas began to surface: "Why does a mouse have to have only 2 buttons and a scroller? Why not add an additional button for the thumb that can be programmed to serve as a function key?" "Why not make the mouse available in many colors rather than just the drab black, grey, and off-white?" "Why not send power to the mouse using RF rather than using a battery?" "Why do we need a mouse anyway? Why not implant a chip into user's index fingers?" "Let's make the mouse a glove. Just move your fingers to move the cursor." As the ideas were offered, Michael wrote them on the white board. After about 30 minutes the flow of ideas had about stopped. There were a total of 28 ideas generated. Michael divided them loosely into categories: electrical; physical; functional. He asked the team to divide themselves into three groups along functional lines and each group to select a category to develop further. "Please pay particular attention to technical feasibility and manufacturing cost when you evaluate the ideas. Let's plan to meet again in two weeks with each group giving a report on their ideas. We'll try to narrow the ideas down and start tough prototyping the most promising ideas." After the meeting, Michael asked you for comments about the process he is using to design the new mouse. What comments and suggestions would you make to Michael?

Reference no: EM13771192

Questions Cloud

Variable frequency drive-cost-capacity exponen : The variable frequency drive (VFD) for a 290 hp motor costs $19100. How much will the drive for a 115 hp motor cost if the cost-capacity exponent is 0.642?

Concept of human factors relate to ergonomics : Explain the concept of human factors. How does human factors relate to ergonomics? Identify and explain some examples of human factors in safety.

Implementation and communication of a strategic plan : Why is it important to continuously update the implementation and communication of a strategic plan? Who should be responsible for updating and communicating a strategic plan? Why?

Consider a market containing four identical firms : For all problems consider a market containing four identical firms, each of which makes an identical product. The inverse demand for this product is P = 100?Q, where P is price and Q is aggregate output. The production costs for firms 1, 2, and 3 are..

Building the better mouse : Acme Corp. new product development team. The team is comprised entirely of design engineers and is meeting in the engineering conference room.

Role of leadership in managing innovation : Innovation management plays an important role in the innovation process. How do you describe the role of leadership in managing innovation? If you were a leader of an organization, what steps would you take to create an effective innovation manage..

Primary reasons that contribute to falls on the job : Research and provide some of the primary reasons that contribute to falls on the job. What are some general strategies for preventing these types of falls? What do you think is ultimately the most effective strategy? Provide an example.

The profits of non-merged firms and to product price : For all problems consider a market containing four identical firms, each of which makes an identical product. The inverse demand for this product is P = 100?Q, where P is price and Q is aggregate output. The production costs for firms 1, 2, and 3 are..

Define vulnerabilities are patched on hosts on a network : Is there any reason why a network administrator should ensure that known vulnerabilities are patched on hosts on a network that has no connection to any external network

User Account

All Pages