Reference no: EM132315711

Textbook - Product Design and Development, Fifth Edition, Author - Karl T. Ulrich by Steven D. Eppinger. ISBN 978-0-07-340477-6.

Chapter 10 - Product Architecture

Exercises -

1. Draw a schematic for a wristwatch, using only functional elements (without assuming any particular physical working principles or components).

2. Describe the architecture of a Swiss army knife. What advantages and disadvantages does this architecture provide?

3. Take apart a small electromechanical product (which you are willing to sacrifice if necessary). Draw a schematic including the essential functional elements. Identify two or three possible clusterings of these elements into chunks. Is there any evidence to suggest which architecture was chosen by the development team?

Thought Questions -

1. Do service products, such as bank accounts or insurance policies, have architectures?

2. Can a firm achieve high product variety without a modular product architecture? How (or why not)?

3. The argument for the motorcycle architecture shown in Exhibit 10-5 is that it allows for a lighter motorcycle than the more modular alternative. What are the other advantages and disadvantages? Which approach is likely to cost less to manufacture?

4. There are thousands of architectural decisions to be made in the development of an automobile. Consider all of the likely fundamental and incidental interactions that any one functional element (say, safety restraints) would have with the others. How would you use the documentation of such interactions to guide the decision about what chunk to place this functional element in?

5. The schematic shown in Exhibit 10-6 includes 15 elements. Consider the possibility of assigning each element to its own chunk. What are the strengths and weaknesses of such an architecture?