Designing the Smarter TV - Case Study Example

Designing a TV Name: Tutor: Course: Date: Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Chapter 1: Introduction 3 Chapter 2: User Needs Situation Brief 3 Chapter 3: First Design Proposal 4 Chapter 4: Parametric and Matrix Analysis 6 Chapter 5: Provision of Product Design Specifications 7 Chapter 6: Initial Conceptual Design 9 Conclusion 10 Chapter 7: Project Plan for the Conceptual Design 13 Gantt chart 13 Network Diagram 13 Reference List 14 Chapter 1: Introduction The project is to establish a market for a new digital TV product that is set to have superior and desirable features from those already offered in the competition. This requires adoption of initial marketing data, analysis, undertaking the initial conceptual design and product design specification. The new digital TV is dubbed “The Smarter TV” and will meet the needs of the market such as customized software delivered in a single unit (Barker, 2007). The objective is to create the market, draft design proposal, conduct parametric and matrix analysis, product design specification, initial conceptual design and a broad conceptual design. This will be run through a Gantt chart showing the resources, responsible persons, duration and activity sequencing. The design’s specifications are meant to meet customer requirements and position the smart TV as differentiated and unique in the TV market (Cresswell, 2002). Chapter 2: User Needs Situation Brief The design and make of the new digital TV “The Smarter TV” will offer a range of exciting and innovative features that will appeal to the middle working class aged between 25 and 40 years. The project will develop the digital TV that will meet the needs of the large market segment. Present customers want entertainment delivered in digital state in form of programs like Spotify, Skype, and Neflix. The problem was that these programs were ported to customized software on individual TV brands that compromised the desired program functionality (Cross, 2006). Also, the additional peripherals like Video Game Consoles resulted in higher entertainment fee as they are purchased separately. The smart digital TV will help solve the problem by having all the brands and programs commanded through a single unit and run in the original platform operating system of Windows 8. Though requiring high internet connectivity and greater power consumption, the benefits outweigh the costs. The digital TV will be able to respond to the market needs and apply the operating system which is reliable, superior and user friendly (Cuffaro & Zaksenberg 2013). Chapter 3: First Design Proposal The Smarter TV will be beneficial to the customer since it operates on a single unit while running on a Windows 8 operating system. The program functionality will be great and affordable (Hales & Gooch 2004). The objectives are; to produce a highly functional and superior TV that appeals to working middle class customers within one year, command a new television set market for smart TV with a market share of at least 3% in one year and sell more than 5000 units of smart TV in the next 8 months. The product specifications to be met are; Must be an LED of 32” and 1920*1080 resolution It should have Smart home, Apps, Photos and Videos, Kids entertainment and Web browser Voice control of at least six different languages, branch design, 8.1kgs weight and a dimension of 730*450*50mm The strategy of attaining the product, market share and profits will be through hiring qualified design and inspection staff, investing in TV set marketing and promotion and also offering quality smart TVs (Johnson 2014). The plan of action is broken down into smaller tasks; Table 1: Smart TV action plan Activity Duration Costs Verification procedures Quantification of performance Conceptualizing the LED Smart TV design 2 weeks $50,000 Conceptual plans Preliminary approvals Audios, Video, Plastics, optics, and electronics Hiring and selection of design and inspection team 1 week $23,000 HR contract agreements, qualifications, and experience Performance contracts, results documentation Prototype design 3 weeks $55,000 Prototype reviews Management approval Inspections, laboratory testing and field testing Single unit applications Procurement of raw materials and components 2 weeks $135,000 LED technologies checklists Meets all the minimum LED TV specifications Construction and testing of production line 3 weeks $65,000 Based on new smart TV model System performance, control of entertainment devices, integrated programs Initial sets rolls on the assembly line 1 week $15,000 Functionality of design, appearance, function Performance of processes, tools, machining, robots and modifications Market feedback 2 weeks $25,000 Market responses questionnaires Sales Performance, market share %, and profitability indices Chapter 4: Parametric and Matrix Analysis Parametric analysis is meant to optimize on both marketing and engineering aspects of the Smart TV and positions it in the competitive market. It offers gainful insights into the interrelation and structure of different parameters inherent in the product relationships under consideration. The parameters are cross-plotted to obtain the relationships. Figure 1: Parametric analysis of Smart TV components The graph above shows a direct relationship between design features and the weight of each parameter. With increase in design features, there is increased weight on the brand for all the brands offered by competitors such as LG Smart TV, Samsung, Sony, Panasonic and DIMMZ. This indicates that the main desirable features of the TV are Input/Output, display and smart TV characteristics for all the brands (Kamrani & Salhieh 2002). The matrix analyis constitutes all the features of TV competitor products on the vertical axis and horizontal axis showing the model type. Table 2: Matrix analysis of smart TV brands The matrix analysis above shows that Input/output is 24.4% is the highest of the models compared while 1.8% is the lowest. It can be concluded from the above matrix that Input/output features is incorporated in 24.4% of the eight features or models compared (Kamrani & Salhieh 2002). Likewise, weight of the television and dimension are incorporated in 1.8% of the eight features or models compared. It shows that Input/output is a very essential feature in design and production of modern LED television sets. Chapter 5: Provision of Product Design Specifications The aim of the project is to produce an LED television that will meet the needs of the large market segment. Present customers want entertainment delivered in digital state in form of programs like Spotify, Skype, and Neflix. The smart digital TV will help solve the problem by having all the brands and programs commanded through a single unit and run in the original platform operating system of Windows 8 (Murthy, Rausand & Osteras 2008). Product design specification gives an outline of what is required to design and produce the LED television. The smart LED TV specifications are as shown in the table below; Table 3: Smart LED TV Specifications Feature Design Specification Display 32” with 1920×1080 screen resolution Video 600 clear motion rate, Mega dynamic contrast ratio with film and natural mode support. Dolby digital, DTS Studio sound and premium audio 5.1. Front firing subwoofer speaker and 10W(×2) sound output. 3D sound and customizer Smart TV Smart Home, Apps, photos and videos, Kids entertainment and Web browser Interaction Voice control of six different languages Input/Output Value 1: Ethernet (LAN), Component in (Y/Pb/Pr), Composite in (AV), and Satellite Input Value 2: Headphone Value 3: USB Value 4: HDMI Design Branch design, Slim type, White color, Auto power off, 36W power consumption and 75% luminance and contrast performance Weight 8.1kg Accessory Power cable, 3D glasses, E-manual, User guide manual, remote controller and wireless LAN adaptor Features Timeshift, Auto channel search, auto power off, auto volume, caption, picture-in-picture, sleep timer, HDMI 1.4 3D auto setting, radio tuner, smart phone remote support, Wi-Fi and 3D converter Dimension 730×450×50mm Chapter 6: Initial Conceptual Design The various problems brought about during conceptualization to testing are brainstormed and discussed for possible solutions based on Pugh’s controlled convergence; The design timescales should not be extended since it will create cost overruns. The project should use the networking or PERT techniques to identify the duration of the project. Product costs should be kept low while being realistic. Correct estimation of direct and indirect costs be done based on real time bill of quantities and inflation (Pugh, Clausing &, Andrade 2006). The processes should meet the required constraint of quality, time, cost and schedule. Company constraints such as finances, human resources and culture should be aligned to meet design projections. Quality reliability should be high with minimal cases of defects or rework which increases failure costs and reputation of the organization. Disposal directs need to be clear with evidence of disposal instructions and compliance with environmental rules and regulations. Testing of design prototype and the complete TV set should be immediately conducted and results shared among the design teams (The Open University 2001). Quality and meeting of customers needs should be enhanced through total quality management where quality is ingrained through partnership with suppliers, cooperation among design teams and foresight on the side of management. The superior feature of the smart TV should be examined against those in the competition such as Panasonic, DIMMZ, Sony and Samsung. The controlled convergence provides for product inspection, compliance with local and international patents, maintenance, packaging, aesthetics, installation, performance, shipping, standards specification, materials and ergonomics. The quality of inspections should meet the industry standards, while packaging should be attractive and appealing (Kamrani & Salhieh 2002). Shipping requirements need to consider that the sets are fragile and need to be handled with care. The materials procured ought to be those specified above while the final product should be provided in a manner consistent and convenient to the behavior and comfort of users. The optimal solution agreeable to the concept of controlled convergence is performance. The smart TV should be able to deliver all the features expected by the customer through a single unit. Customer’s expectations are highly based on performance before other issues like weight, environment, product life span, and storage and market constraints (Murthy, Rausand & Osteras 2008). The features required for performance of the television are; Ethernet, Satellite Input, HDMI, Headphones, AV, PC Input, USB and Digital Audio Out. To perform, the design core should constitute a processor of dual core and LED display type. Conclusion The product specification and customer requirements have been met through design listing of needs. The principle goal of the product design specification exercise is to identify a design process which produces the smart TV and haves all the brands and programs commanded through a single unit and run in the original platform operating system of Windows 8. The design process has helped produce a digital TV based on entertainment needs of customers (Phillips 2004). The design state has optimized both parametric and matrix analysis to obtain the favorable features and brands desirable to customers. It was observed that performance is the optimal solution to the customer needs besides other product features. Figure 2: Smart TV integrated circuit board Figure 3: Smart TV assembly Figure 4: Projection through a cathode ray tube Figure 5: Pugh convergence method for the smart TV Figure 6: white LED Performance Chapter 7: Project Plan for the Conceptual Design Gantt chart Figure 6: Smart TV design Gantt chart Network Diagram Figure 7: Network diagram of smart TV design progress Reference List Barker, D P 2007, High-tech tubes: today's technology delivers the best TV pictures ever. Popular Mechanics, p. 60. Cresswell L 2002, Product Design Graphics with Materials Technology, Heinemann Cross, N., 2006. T211 Design and Designing: Block 2, page 99. Milton Keynes: The Open University. Cuffaro D & Zaksenberg I 2013, The Industrial Design Reference & Specification Book: Everything Industrial Designers Need to Know Every Day, Rockport Publishers. Hales C & Gooch S 2004, Managing Engineering Design, Springer. Johnson A 2014, Sustainability in Engineering Design, Academic Press Kamrani A K & Salhieh S M 2002, Product Design for Modularity, Springer. Murthy D P, Rausand M & Osteras T 2008, Product Reliability: Specification and Performance, Springer. Phillips P L 2004, Creating the Perfect Design Brief: How to Manage Design for Strategic Advantage, Skyhorse Publishing Inc. Pugh S, Clausing D &, Andrade R 2006, Creating Innovative Products Using Total Design. Addison Wesley Longman. The Open University (UK), 2001. T881 Manufacture Materials Design: Block 1: The design activity model, page 9. Milton Keynes: The Open University Read More