Wrap Up – Conceptual Design and Tools
Summary
This chapter explored creative ways to explore the design space and develop innovative concept solutions. Techniques such as brainstorming and mind mapping can help you to generate and capture ideas. More specifically, a morphological matrix can be used to develop sub-solutions for all of the sub-functions of your product. Through synthesis, you can combine these sub-solutions to form a large and diverse set of concept solutions. Finally, after these ideation activities, your team can use decision-support tools such as the Pugh chart to evaluate, refine, and select the most promising concept to move forward to detailed design.
