| Summary: | Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1998. === Includes bibliographical references (leaves 55-56). === Product development is an inherently information intensive process. The quantities of information and the complexity of the development efforts both contribute to this state. To address this and other product development issues, the National Science Foundation and six sponsoring companies partnered to begin the MIT Center for Innovation in Product Development (CIPD). The incentive for this research was to evaluate the needs of the industry sponsors and critique the research strategy of the Information-Based Development (IBD) research thrust within CIPD. Twenty-six interviews were conducted at seven companies with products ranging in scope from electrical connectors on up to airplanes. The Voice of the Customer methodology was applied in assessing the information needs in product development. The following questions provided a framework for each interview. "Where do you see information-related problems or inefficiencies? How do they impact product quality and time to market? Which are the most critical?" Customer statements were grouped in an affinity diagram according to the KJ method as outlined by Jiro Kawakita. Current IBD research projects were then mapped into this diagram to highlight the unmet needs. Through this process, four areas of opportunity for improvement were identified: the awareness of available information for access, the complete capture of information, the ease of use of information in decision making, and the design of an information infrastructure which is appropriate for all stages in the development process. === by Heather Dawn Wasserlein. === S.M.
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