L.7 - Designing
Science and Engineering ventures, With experience/education you could make, Or through technology transfer, Successfully oneself betake.
UDYAM SHASTRA - Chapter 07, Verse 13
Key Objectives:
This module and its associated exercises should enable the students to get a brief understanding of good design as part of the process of creating a product, or producing services which satisfy customer needs.
Enterprise Concepts:
Designing.: The process of converting an enterprise idea into a product or service, that can be produced and sold, is largely referred to as "Designing".
Prototype.: A prototype is the model of a product developed in the initial stages of design. It serves as a specimen for testing. The prototype also helps in standardising the further process of manufacture and / or service.
Design information.This would broadly refer to data about materials, processes, costs, test parameters, sources of information etc. needed in Design Process.
Quality.: In broad terms "Quality" of a product or service implies its Fitness for use by a customer.
Reliability.:This broadly refers to "Quality" performance of a product for a specified period of time.
What is good design?:In simplified terms, a good design has to be
1. Appropriate
2. Achievable.
Above shows a diagrammatic representation of "Appropriate" and "Achievable" aspects of design.
There could be many more points important for "Designing".
The students should be encouraged to think of these by themselves.
Here, the objective is only to provide a simplified introduction.
THE DESIGN PROCESS
Trainer should explain to the students that they should first gather "Design Information".
Then they should draw up a "Design Plan". Refer the students to the "Design Process Flow Chart" in the module 7 of their Students Activity Book.
This flow chart could prove useful in drawing up a "Design-Plan".
Enterprise Skills:
The student 'Activities' in each lesson are designed to clarify the ENTERPRISE CONCEPTS of the lesson and develop some ENTERPRISE SKILLS (E.SKILLS).
The E.SKILLS included in a lesson may not be exhaustive, but are indicative. E.SKILLS stated in a lesson elsewhere may also get addressed through the activities of a particular lesson.
Some useful E.SKILLS are dealt with below:
Problem solving.: Ability to comprehend a problem, and research and implement tangible solutions.
Record keeping.: As a designer, an entrepreneur needs to keep careful notes of the interim stages of a design process.This helps in decision making at various stages of design and production.
Integrating information.: In the Design process, an entrepreneur needs to skillfully combine and integrate information from various resources like Market Research, Test-Laboratories, Production Facilities etc. in order to successfully design and develop a product or service.
Documentation and file keeping.: During and at the end of the Design Process, the entrepreneur should be able to prepare neat records and documents of the Design-information that he wishes to finally retain for going into production.
He should file all this information properly for future reference.
This includes the final list of materials and components, production process, tools like soldering iron, spanners etc. Quality and Reliability parameters, and anything else the entrepreneur feels important.
Adaptability.: The ability to cope with new situations and find creative solutions to problems.
ANHAD (beyond sensory limits).:In our waking stage we think and perceive the things around us based on signals received by our brain through our sensory organs of eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin.
Some of the intellectual skills for e.g. situational analysis, compiling data, structural analysis etc. are based on what one perceives and understands through these sensory organs. This may be also referred to as "Conscious Thinking Skills".
But an entrepreneur thinks about his enterprise 24 hours a day, whether he is awake, sleeping or dreaming.
Thus other than his "wakeful conscious thinking" he often deploys his super conscious, sub conscious, infra conscious and ultra conscious faculty of mind for his enterprise ,knowingly or unknowingly.
This intellectual thinking beyond the sensory limits is being referred as Anhad here.
Anhad is a Sanskrit term loosely translated here for enterprise skill purposes as meaning : "that which is beyond the sensory limits".
Since Anhad is relatively unknown dimension of enterprise skills, and the states of consciousness mentioned here are also not fully researched , specific exercises on this skill have not been developed in this manual. But the Trainer should make a note of this skill and keep a watch for brilliant ideas coming from the students, which appear to come from their inner-most and perhaps unknown levels of consciousness.
Such thinking is very often pure and visionary in nature. Encourage this !
There are certain disciplines and methods of training in the Anhad skills. eg. are Yoga, Meditation, Pranayama (Breathing exercise) etc. Since these are large discipline by themselves they are only being mentioned here for purpose of information.
Activities:
Activity 1 - "DESIGN INFORMATION RECORD CHART (D.I.R.C.) FOR CRICKET BALLS"
Instruction To Students
You have to examine the comparative design of two types of cricket balls: One made of glass and other made of cork and leather. Fill the blanks in the ‘Design Information-Record –Chart’ (D.I.R.C). Add your own items and design criteria through discussions.
After completing the activity, each group should present and share its main discussion points with the rest of the class.
Conclusion:- (Which is the better design for cricket-balls: Plastic or Leather ball) _______________________________________________________________________________________
Activity 3 - MAKE YOUR OWN DESIGN PLAN
Instruction To Students
Students should study the design process Flow chart .
Students have to make their own Design Plan for any service or product.
Students can frame the questions suitable to the business they have chosen.
After completing the activity, each group should present and share its main discussion points with the rest of the class.
Work Sheet
1. What product or service do you want to prepare your Design Plan for?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2.Enumerate the design information you need to gather and integrate for your chosen product/service ?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3. How will you make a proto-type?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
4. How and where will you test for quality and reliability ?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
5. What criteria will you use to determine if your design is APPROPRIATE and ACHIEVABLE ?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
6. How and where will you do ‘Documentation and File Keeping’. ?
_______________________________________________________________________________________