In this module, we will learn what a prototype is, what a product is, what are the differences between the two, what does it take to design a good product, difference between product features & benefits, what is product design, steps involved in product design, principles of good product design, importance of quality in product design, product quality attributes, and a case study.

Hello Budding Tinkerers, Innovators, Product Designers and Entrepreneurs !  

Welcome to the Product Design workshop.  This is Kiran Kumar, your Mentor.  I am associated with Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, Government of India.  I will guide you through the next 5-days of the workshop, during which you get an opportunity to acquire foundational skills in Product Design.  In the process, you will also be able to hone your creative thinking & critical thinking skills (key 21st-century skills) and be able to stand out from the crowd !

Before we begin, let's ponder over a few basic questions that will give us clarity on why were are participating in this workshop:  As an tinkerer or innovator at your ATL, you must have worked on one or more tinkering / innovation projects.  What happened to your project after you completed it?  Maybe, you showcased it at a competition, and even won a prize.  Beyond that?  Hmmm... most likely not much.  In fact, most tinkering and innovation projects don't go beyond the competition stage.  They just die.  The students who worked on it just move on to another project.  But, wouldn't it be great if you could take your prototype further along the journey, design & build a full-fledged product, sell it to paying customers and make some money?  And, what would you say if you could accomplish all these things while still studying in school?  

You might say "I learnt these things in the ATL Tinkerpreneur bootcamp".  Well, in the Tinkerpreneur bootcamp, you built a digital product.  However, you didn't get to learn product design as such.  Moreover, you didn't get to design or build physical products.  You will learn just that in this workshop.  By combining your learnings from this workshop with that of the Tinkerpreneur bootcamp, you can become a child entrepreneur - designing, building or selling any type of product.

If you say: "Yes, I would like to do just that", then, you have come to the right place !  The Product Design workshop will show you the steps and rigor involved in converting a prototype into a full-fledged product that can be sold in the market.  Over the next 5-days (including today), you will learn the art & rigor of designing products using 10 product design principles and 25 product quality attributes.

So, let's get started !  And, let's start "near" before we go "far".  We begin with what we already know (i.e., prototypes), and then learn many more things along the way...  

A product is nothing but a refined prototype that has gone through a rigorous process of successive refinements to fine-tune its features, functionality and quality to a level where it is ready for use by its customers in the real-world. 

A product is a tangible or intangible solution for a user's need.  A product solves a problem or addresses a challenge.  It may even create and address a desire where none existed before.  It brings something new to the world.  It is a creative act that finds practical application in the hands of its users.  The purpose of a product is to provide physical as well as psychological value and benefits to its users.  Here are some examples of products:

A tangible product is one that has physical shape and size.  It can be touched and felt.  It occupies space in three-dimensions.  It may be hand-made, custom-made or mass-manufactured.  Examples of tangible physical products are cars, food items, furniture, computers, telephones, etc.  

An intangible product is one that does not have physical properties. Digital products such as downloadable music, mobile apps, cloud-based software services or virtual goods used in virtual economies are all examples of intangible products.  Insurance policies, tourism packages, etc.  are often considered as intangible products though they are delivered to users in the form of services.

Digital products can be sold and bought online via the Internet using computers or mobile devices. A digital product can be built once and sold multiple times by digitally copying the original digital version.  Many of you may have learnt how to build digital products during the ATL Tinkerpreneur bootcamp.  In this workshop, we will learn more about designing physical products, although the concepts you learn in this workshop can also be applied for digital products.

Are any of the below products usable?  Well, if a product is not usable, it will not be valuable to users.  As a result, the product will fail.

Which of the below products are possible to build with mature technology?  If a product is built with unstable or not-sure-mature technologies, users will not be able to make effective use of it.  As a result, the product will fail.

How many customers will find the below products valuable for the cost involved in using them?  A product that does not offer value at an affordable price will find it difficult to gain widespread acceptance.

So, how do we design a product that is successful in the market?  Check out this simple example...

In the case of Umbrella, the user needs a weather proof (feature) product to protect self from rain or shine (benefit).  So, "weather-proof" is the feature that gives the benefit of "protection".  

In the case of the music player, the user needs 2 GB of storage space (feature) in order to have a collection of 2000 songs (benefit) at his or her finger-tips.  So, "storage-space" is the feature that gives the benefits of "playing many many songs".  

In the case of ice cream, the user needs a gluten-free (feature 1) and organic (feature 2) ice cream to enjoy a healthy (benefit 1) and guilt-free ice cream (benefit 2).  So, "gluten-free" and "organic" are the features that gives the benefit of "health" and "guilt-free enjoyment".  

In the case of the wax lamp, the user needs non-toxic (feature 1) wax lamp that burns for 30 hours (feature 2) to fill the home with warm, cozy and inviting scent (benefit).  So, "non-toxic" and "30-hours of burn" are the features that gives the benefit of "good feeling through warm, cozy scent".  

Here are 10 principles of a good product design.  Watch the video to learn more about each principle:

1. Craft a product vision to build a common understanding of “what we are trying to build and why.”

2. Come out with a product strategy that defines a product’s journey through a series of achievable goals towards the product vision.

3. Call out the product's value proposition: what it is, who it’s for, and when and where it will be used.  

4. Define the key success criteria so that you have clear goals to achieve with the product.  

5. Conduct user research, market and competition research to understand what your users and the market actually need and what is already out there. 

6. Conduct user analysis to identify features & functionalities that need to be implemented in the product.

7. Construct customer journey maps, day-in-the-life scenarios, storyboards, user stories, and ideate to come up with the product design.  Use sketching or wireframing techniques to illustrate the product design.  

8. Use paper, cardboard, foam, clay, wood or other materials to prototype the design.

9. Conduct in-house as well as end-user tests to validate the design and gather feedback from users.

10. Gather metrics on how users are using the product post-launch so that you can use the insights to improve the product design further.

Watch the below videos to understand the importance of quality in building products.

Most innovators focus all their energies on designing and implementing features and functionalities in a product. However, they often overlook key expectations of users.  When we dig deeper, we understand that users not only expect the product to do what it says it does, but additionally expect the product to be simple to operate, safe to use, be durable, be reliable, etc.  These expectations can be expressed in terms of attributes such as simplicity, safety, durability, reliability, etc. They represent how well the product works and influence product quality.  If the attributes aren't implemented in the product, users may get disappointed or dissatisfied.  They may consider the product to be of inferior quality.  We therefore refer to these attributes as "product quality attributes" since quality is an expression of how well the product performs its function or job.

Below is a list of 25 product quality attributes that product designers and engineers routinely employ in designing and building a variety of products in diverse disciplines and industry verticals:

In the rest of this workshop, we will delve into several product quality attributes and learn how to build a successful product that not only meets user needs, but also addresses user's quality expectations.  We will do so with the help of a product case study.  The product we will consider for the case study is a "Work Chair" - one that is used in offices, meetings rooms or at homes.

Now, let's learn the art of designing by actually attempting it...

Incorporate any 4 principles of good product design you have learnt today to a product of your choice.  Sketch the product design on paper - showing how you have incorporated the attributes.