Exploring the possibility of product design

Exploring the possibilities is a process of divergent thinking, reminding ourselves that our goal is not to find the solution, but to explore as many possible solutions as possible. In this connection, we first want to discard the constraints from all sides (including form, cost, technology, etc.), and secondly to keep the brain open so that it can accept ideas from anywhere. Usually brainstorming is a quick way to stimulate thinking.

Of course, such empty guidance does not help us find solutions, and Ulrich presents an important method of exploring possibilities--problem decomposition. Problem decomposition refers to the decomposition of a large design problem into several child problems, by solving the child problem to find the whole problem possible solution. The first step is to break down the design problem, as the criteria for decomposition can be broken down by key requirements, or by user behavior order or function. The second step is to find a solution for each child problem, when the target problem becomes more specific or smaller, and the difficulty of finding a solution is reduced. Finally, the solutions of these sub problems are combined and integrated to form the solution of the whole design problem. You will be pleasantly surprised to find a huge solution space through the free combination of solutions for each child problem. Even if those incompatible solutions are excluded, the likelihood of getting them is still considerable. The figure below is a graphical explanation of the entire exploration process in the Ulrich course.

The following two examples in the course illustrate the use of the problem decomposition method:

Question one: how can we improve the experience of car rental services?

For this design problem, we decompose it according to the user behavior order. A typical car rental service can be broken down into: Select service provider-> scheduled-> car-> use-> return car. You can then explore ways to improve the user experience in any of these links and combine them to get a preliminary solution.

Question two: How to create a hand-held, better tool to scoop out ice cream balls from containers?

We also decompose the problem, the standard for this decomposition is function. According to the problem description, the target tool requires two main functions: one is to separate the ice cream from the container, and the other is to form a round sphere. The rest of the work is to find solutions for these two features, and eventually integrate them to get our target tool.

Problem decomposition is a practical and efficient way to explore possibilities, and is almost applicable to all design problems.