Software Product Using Fuzzy Quality Function Deployment

Importance of process design on the product

Describe about the Software Product using Fuzzy Quality Function Deployment.

Apple being a pioneer in computer and Smartphone technology has an opportunity in front of it in the wearable devices area. To complete the iOS ecosystem, wearable devices needs to be introduced in the existing portfolio of Apple where the device will bridge the gap between the lifestyle of the users and the analytical side of the data generated from the lifestyle. The new device in the portfolio of Apple will work on the similar lines of Fit bit jawbone and Garmin Asus fitness bands where the device will be equipped with the capabilities of tracking the vitas of the users, sleeping patterns, activity level, and connectivity with the existing Apple devices and other accessory functions (Bhatia & Sharma, 2015).

The band will be equipped with the basic functions of monitoring calls, texts, emails and other push notifications that a smartohone is capable of through mediums such as vibrations/ sound.Aesthetically, the band will have a touch screen, which can be tapped onto to navigate through pages on the device with each page leading to a separate functionality (Bendoly, Bharadwaj&Bharadwaj, 2012).  The Apple device will have GPS, which can let the user track themselves, over any terrain through their smartphones or any other Ios capable device. The heart rate monitor on the band will let user know the rate at which the body is working and will notify in case the heart rate dips or exceeds the safe limits. Being a Wi-Fi enabled band, it will automatically sync all the user data onto the Apple devices at a convenient time of the day so as to allow further data processing to generate insightful leads on the lifestyle of the user (Cui, Chan  &Calantone, 2014).

The Apple band will be called the “I- run” and will have a 24/7 wear ability with dust and water resistance at all levels. Personalized goals that the user wants to achieve such as daily calorie burn, daily distance to be covered or even daily medicine intake can be programmed onto the device through a simpleapplication on I-phone, I-pad or Mac book and can be altered any time. The device is true gap filler between the technological capability of Apple and the lifestyle requirements of the users and can prove out to be a game changer in the fitness wearable’s market. The “I-run” will be available in 7 colors with interchangeable band so as to allow users to switch bands as per their choice (Creusen ,Hultink&Eling, 2013).

Overall aim and objective of the product

Process design in the Apple fitness band –“I – run” holds utmost importance in cutting through the competition that the electronics industry has nurtured over the years. A unique process design can not only deliver creative satisfaction to the manufactures of the product but can also pay the company financially through intellectual property rights on the design (Frankenberger, Badke-Schaub&Birkhofer, 2012). Apple has been known as a company, whichcapturescreators and delivers a unique value proposition to its customers through intensive research and development of its products and associated services (Djelassi&Decoopman, 2013). The process is very crucial for the overall success of the company as through its design sensibilities, Apple has been able to put itself on the global electronics circuit. The company follows a “ 10 to 3 to 1” approach where the designs of the company makes 10 good designs over period of months and then they zero onto 3 good designs which finally lead to a single strong design (Fung, 2014).  Apple has a philosophy that the strongest design emerges from this strategy and is important for the Apple I run fitness band and other Apple products in general as the process helps the company churn out the best product which is competent enough to fight against any product in any product/service class.  The process is of utmost importance as from concept to the actual design of the product gives Apple a visual aid to determine the right features, characteristics and aesthetics for the product. Also it is important as most of the designs are eliminated and the real issues inherent in any design comes to life which can be eliminated in further processing.

A key important aspect of process design is that it helps the company to better service the product that customers own. With a keen bent on the design, a robust process can churn out products that require minimalistic to zero servicing. This has been evident from Apple’s  way of servicing its customers around the globe with less servicing time and easy procedures to service the product back to the customers.

By carefully analyzing the process design of the Apple I-run fitness band, it can be stated that the overall aim of the product is to bridge the gap between the fitness and lifestyle requirements of the customers and the technological capabilities of the apple products. The main objective at hand of I-run fitness band is to provide a data driven solution and tracking device to the customers, which can analyze and project the data collected from the lifestyle of an individual in a comprehensible manner. Fitness being promoted up in the priority list of customers have given rise to the I-run fitness band which not only will help the customers understand their lifestyles in a detailed fashion but will also help them progressively set daily marks to reach out to their ultimate fitness goals. Technology is made to come into play through the I-run fitness band which will serve as an interface between the daily human activities and the technological capabilities which can derive meaningful insights from the data generated (Oehmen et al.,2014).

Stages of product

The schematic design and production process is given below while a detailed actual process will follow after this process design.

Defining the product

This is the foremost stage in the process design of the Apple product and is pervasive across all the products. This stage is of importance to the company as through his stage the company strategizes on the possible avenues of entry into the mainstream customer base. Apple has been able to innovate through defining the customer needs over and over again which has led to tremendous success of the company (Drucker, 2014).

Idea generation

This stage is very crucial for the overall success of the company as through its design sensibilities, Apple has been able to put itself on the global electronics circuit. The company follows a “ 10 to 3 to 1” approach where the designs of the company makes 10 good designs over period of months and then they zero onto 3 good designs which finally lead to a single strong design (Fung, 2014).  Apple has a philosophy that the strongest design emerges from this strategy and is important for the Apple I run fitness band and other Apple products in general as this stage helps the company churn out the best product which is competent enough to fight against any product in any product/service class. This stage of process design is useful to zero onto the best design both ergonomically and functionally and through methodical elimination, Apple’s chances of success increases exponentially (Gmelin, &Seuring, 2014).

Prototype

This stage of Apple’s process design is also known as “pixel perfect prototyping “where the company creates working models known as prototypes of the idea/s that the company zeroed on (Gustafsson, Herrmann,  & Huber, 2013). This stage is of utmost importance as from concept to the actual design of the product gives Apple a visual aid to determine the right features, characteristics and aesthetics for the product. Also this stage is important as in this stage most of the designs are eliminated and the real issues inherent in any design comes to life which can be eliminated in further processing. Apple being a pioneer in design lays special focus on design as well as functionality of its products and hence prototyping stage comes into picture.

Apple new product process (ANPP)

Apple new product process (ANPP) is the step by step book that is a blueprint to getting the final product done from scratch (Han, Kuruzovich&Ravichandran, 2013).  It involves al the processes inherent in the product manufacturing and helps in coordination between the engineer and the designs of the products. The I run being no different from its siblings in the apple product portfolio works on the same manufacturing principle. This strategy is important from the manufacturing point of view as a fixed line of command helps avoiding chaos in the system and enables streamlined process of manufacturing of I run fitness band (Holahan, Sullivan & Markham, 2014).

Analyzing the product

This is the final stage in the process design of Apple where the company rolls out the product in the market and gets feedback on the functioning and other features of the product. This stage is useful in final improvisations in the product and is also instrumental in fine-tuning the fitness band to the tastes and actual needs of the customers (Loonen et al., 2014).

The actual process of I-run fitness band development can be demonstrated as follows:

Feasibility study

I-run fitness band has a huge market potential with the fitness being promoted as the primary driver in many products. Garmin asus, Sony Samsung, Xiaomi as well as Goqii are some of the prominent brands in the market which have brought their offerings to the customer in form of fitness bands. The device serves, as an interface between humans and machines and it is right to state that wearable devices are the future of electronics. The industry of wearable devices is nascent in its cycle, which makes it imperative for apple to enter the market before any player dominates it. The demand for fitness bands is ever rising among health conscious customers and the market is expanding in developed economies as well as emerging markets (Yeniyurt,  Henke&Yalcinkaya, 2014).

Planning

This stage of Apple I-run fitness band is characterized by the drafting of the plan necessary for the design, building and manufacturing of the device. This stage encompasses all the strategic groundwork such as financials, operational feasibility as well as the probable success of the device in the future. Issues such as the cost- benefit analysis of the product and the chances of increased sales of other products with the launch of this product are also discussed in this part of the process (Laroche et al., 2012).

Design phase

This phase looks at the design process of the product where the Apple device will be scrutinized at every step to arrive at a perfect combination of product features. This stage is also important from the aesthetics and functionality point of view as Apple is perceived to be the pioneer of product designs and spectators look forward to design inspirations from its devices the designs that are created for the band are eliminated at every stage to arrive at the best possible mix of features, ergonomics and visual appeal (Marion et al., 2015).

Release

The product is then finally launched in the market through Apple’s signature events where Tim Cook introduces the product to the market. At this stage, the overall mood of the customers is gauged and any final adjustments are made to the product depending on the intensity of feedback from the prospective customers (Red et al, 2013).

Production

At this stage the Apple I-run fitness band are finally produce through the company’s manufacturing partner- Foxconn which takes the ANPP from Apple and gives the final product in bulk to the company (Wu, Tseng & Chiu, 2012).

Maintenance

Finally all the faults that may arise in the Apple I-run fitness band are taken care of at this stage and alterations in the product are made depending on the priority of the issues in the product. New variants are also introduced in this stage of the product development process depending on the tastes of the customers.

Apple I-run fitness band needs to be scrutinized against the five performance objectives – quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost so as to have a holistic view of the performance of the final product to be rolled out in the market.

Quality

Quality performance objective refers to the degree to which Apple I-run fitness band conforms to the specifications. Apple being a forerunner in electronics produces high quality products which are backed by high order of research and development activities. Apple I-run fitness band is a high quality device, which emerges ahead of its peer in terms of its performance and ruggedness. The company has invested thoroughly in terms of design sensibilities and performance requirements.

Dependability

Apple being a trusted vendor will be able to deliver Apple I-run fitness band to its customer right on time and the agreed prices. The Company has been able to consistently roll out its products in all the markets globally at almost same price structures, whichare indicative of the distribution structure stability of the company (Nwogugu, 2015).

Flexibility

Apple has flexible production lines owing to the technological edge that the company commands. The Apple I-run fitness band production lines are supposed to be made in such a manner that they can accommodate different variants of the product in its lines efficiently. Not only will this strategy yield better products with tried and tested production line but ill also lower down the production cost of the Apple I-run fitness band (Sosa &Marle, 2013).

Speed

Apple is able to roll out its product at a fast pace and going by the past trends Apple I-run fitness band will be in the markets in less than 2 weeks from the launch date. The concept to product time for I-run fitness band is very short which the company can capitalize in future.

Cost

With more variants of Apple I-run fitness band launched by the company, the incremental per unit cost will rise and vice versa. However, with fewer variants, the company can increase the volume of production of the devices and can significantly lower the cost of production of Apple I-run fitness band.

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