Browsing by Author "Terris, David"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • No Thumbnail Available
    ItemOpen Access
    Interest In The Commercial? Using Commercial Design Projects In Pedagogy
    (INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ENGINEERING AND PRODUCT DESIGN EDUCATION 3 & 4 SEPTEMBER 2015, LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY, DESIGN SCHOOL, LOUGHBOROUGH, UK, 2015-09) Meadwell, James; Terris, David; Ford, Peter B.
    This paper considers the issues surrounding the use of live commercial design research projects as teaching material for Product Design students. The premise for the paper is based around the Design Unit, a design and research group at De Montfort University in Leicester, staffed by academics who are also involved in lecturing product design students. It highlights an observation that students may not become highly engaged when presented with assignments based on ‘real life’ design projects that have previously been completed by Design Unit staff. It could be argued that such projects are simply too big, the detail can seem esoteric and feel irrelevant to the fledgling designer. In addition, the commercial constraints of the real world project could, at times, impose inappropriate restrictions on student designers. As a lecturer used to dealing with industry experts and then being expected to present to design students on a project within a new industry sector, it could be quite easy to become complacent with regards to the student’s prior knowledge. The aims of this paper are to explore what key areas can be extracted from commercial projects to make the best use of them as educational material. It will aim to suggest tools that could be used to present the material in an effective way and how this could better engage the student to help them understand the validity of the proposed design project or teaching aid.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemEmbargo
    An Intimate Approach to the Management and Integration of Design Knowledge for Small Firms
    (Wiley, 2018-02-20) Ford, Peter B.; Terris, David
    In August 2012, I presented a paper entitled ‘‘The Fuzzy Front End of Product Design Projects: How Universities Can Manage Knowledge Transfer and Creation’’ at the International Design Management Research Conference. Via a series of design projects and design support schemes, the paper investigated how a higher education institution with a particular approach to the management and integrating of knowledge on behalf of small firms could bring together manufacturers, subcontractors, design consultancies, market researchers, intel-lectual property specialists, funding bodies, and other higher education institutions to make for an extremely effective design support network. In particular, the paper dealt with the dynamics of knowledge acquisition during the fuzzy front end of product design projects. It was suggested that, through this novel approach, the management and integration of the different players involved in new product development (NPD), higher education institutions could help small firms in particular achieve effective knowledge transfer, develop new knowledge, and generally reduce and manage uncertainty in the process and therefore utilize design more effectively in generating new products and increasing profitability. This article investigates the work that has taken place in the ensuing years, including material that led to outstanding impact in the 2014 UK Research Excellence Framework evidencing significant economic growth as a result of this approach to the management of the NPD process for small firms. It proposes that the management and integration of those factors leading to successful NPD for small firms require an intimate style of engagement to be effective, demanding a broad knowledge of, and/or an ability to manage, those factors pertinent to the needs of small firms. Based on four case studies, this article attempts to identify the nature of this intimate approach and therefore its potential significance.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    ItemOpen Access
    A little knowledge is a dangerous thing? – Do BSC Product Design courses discourage collaboration?
    (INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ENGINEERING AND PRODUCT DESIGN EDUCATION 8 & 9 SEPTEMBER 2016, AALBORG UNIVERSITY, DENMARK, 2016-09) Meadwell, James; Terris, David; Ford, Peter B.
    BSc Product Design Courses aim to equip the Product Designer with a better understanding of the needs of professionals such as manufacturing engineers, material specialists, electrical engineers whilst also maintaining a focus on conventional design skills. One could debate that this greater understanding of these engineering disciplines should allow more productive collaboration with their respective practitioners. A key area looked at by this paper is, does this bias towards the technical, affect the designers predisposition towards collaborating with end users or those involved in the user experience in driving a new product design forward? It will also consider the argument that the Product Designer is now in a position to collaborate less with other technical disciplines, with ever simpler tools such as FEA, CFD being part of CAD suites, allowing designers to carry out the kind of validation that would have once been exclusively the preserve of specialists. The paper examines two completed design projects for SME clients, by a design research group based at De Montfort University. One project was undertaken by a BA graduate, the other a BSc graduate. It will look at how each graduate collaborated with end users and technical specialists and the effect this had on the project outcome. One of the projects will then be presented as a hypothetical live project to final year BSc and BA students and their approach to collaboration with end users and technical specialists examined.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    NPD, Design and Management for SME's
    (Design Research Society, 2017-06) Ford, Peter B.; Terris, David
    It is generally acknowledged that small and medium sized enterprises (SME’s) contribute significantly to a country’s economic performance. It is also generally acknowledged that it can be problematic to provide effective, public sector research, development and innovation support for SME’s given their size and diversity. It is also considered that vertical cooperation with customers and suppliers is more effective in new product development (NPD) for SME’s than horizontal co-operation with research institutions and government agencies. This paper discusses how higher education institutions (HEI’s) engaged in design research, can effectively support SME’s in NPD by actively participating in the design process whilst simultaneously working with SME’s to facilitate the development of knowledge networks local to specific SME’s, by acting as an intermediary. A number of design support schemes and specific SME, NPD projects undertaken by the author are used to advocate a participatory intermediation role for HEI’s in supporting NPD for SME’s.