Seminar paper from the year 2016 in the subject Engineering - General,
Basics, grade: 1,3, Linnaeus University (School of Engineering and
Business), course: Methods at Work, language: English, abstract: Only
suitable methods can help to move forward in the process of product
development. Therefore it is important to choose a method that fits the
product, current stage of development process and the team. The project
is currently in the evaluation phase in accordance to the value
methodology. One of the major purposes of this stage is to come up with
a short list of projects with the highest potential. Hence, a selection
process needs to be executed to produce a focused concept. The focus
concept will then be used in the next stages to be developed further.
The weighted matrix is a method that is used at an early stage in
product development process to select a concept that looks the most
promising. This method helps to increase customer value and at the same
time make a selection that is objective. Therefore the weighted matrix
was chosen in this project to help make a selection among the choice of
concepts. Often it is difficult to come to a consensus among group
members as everyone is biased by their profession. Everyone has a
subjective way of ranking the concepts according to their experiences
and knowledge. Such a ranking can lead to dissatisfaction and conflicts
in the team as well as choosing a concept that has not the most
potential from a customer perspective. The weighted matrix makes the
decision process on the one hand a group experience where everyone is
involved and gets the acknowledgement of their knowledge and on the
other hand more objective.
