Course syllabus

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PPU085 PPU085 Product planning - needs and opportunities lp2 HT20 (7.5 hp)

Course is offered by the department of Industrial and Materials Science

Contact details

Please refer to the course memo, which can be found in the "Course information" module.

Course purpose

The aims are that the student should develop an understanding of how product development coincides with business development and the fundamentals of product planning and analysis of different stakeholders' needs and requirements. The course also develops certain generic research skills, including problem formulation and research design, as well as skills in written and oral communication of research results.

Schedule

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Course literature

Please  refer to the course memo, which can be found in the "Course information" module.

Course design

Please  refer to the course memo, which can be found in the "Course information" module.

Changes made since the last occasion

The following changes have been made since last year:
• The scheduled has been revised to include dedicated timeslots for specified team work tasks.
• A guide that identifies suggested tasks for each team work session has been introduced.
• The project grading has been modified to align with three rather than two assignments in the project.
• Research ethics has been added as a learning outcome and will be a consideration when designing and carrying out your customer needs studies.
• The Canvas page has been re-structured with the aim of making it easier to find pertinent course information.
• A number of COVD-19 adaptations are made, prominently:
o Lectures are arranged in online format using zoom
o Seminars will take place through peer review of pre-recorded powerpoint presentations rather than in physical form
o The written exam will be replaced by an oral exam

Learning objectives and syllabus

After completion of this course, the student is expected to be able to:

  • Explain what is meant by a product’s (market) lifecycle and its implications for companies’ product planning
  • Explain the role, tasks organization and deliverables of product planning
  • Describe and use established tools for carrying out an analysis of societal and market trends, and conclude on the business implications of the analysis
  • Explain what is meant by market segmentation and describe aspects by which a market can be segmented. Carry out a segmentation of the market for a defined product (area)
  • Estimate the target market size for a future product
  • Describe what a business model is and how it can be documented in a business model canvas
  • Explain and differentiate between the meaning of key terms such as customer/user/consumer, needs/customer/user or engineering requirements etc.
  • Explain why different requirements are more or less accessible using, for example the Kano model and the Iceberg phenomenon as bases
  • Explain the differences between exploratory and confirmatory research in the early phases of product development
  • Explain what is meant by primary research and exemplify the information sources that can be used
  • Explain what is meant by secondary research and exemplify the information sources that can be used
  • Relate different types of research methods/tools to different market research purposes/objectives
  • Choose between and combine primary and secondary sources in customer needs mapping.
  • Plan a study for eliciting customer/user needs and requirements for a technical product, including to make a purposeful choice between different methods and tools for eliciting, analysing, communicating and documenting customer needs and requirements
  • Execute a study for eliciting customer/user needs and requirements for a technical product, including the skilled application of different methods and tools for eliciting, analysing, communicating and documenting customer needs and requirements
  • Describe the principles of and apply tools for analysing qualitative and quantitative (market and customer needs) data respectively
  • Apply research ethics principles and apply them in the design, execution and reporting of a customer needs study
  • Identify product opportunities that derive from new technologies and services, and latent needs
  • Compile information about and assess the state-of-the-art in a particular technological domain and/or application area
  • Describe and analyse a novel technological idea regarding e.g. freedom to operate, novelty, competition and potential application areas through the use of patent databases, benchmarking and other means
  • Assess technology readiness and use that to develop strategic product and technology development plans
  • Develop a mission statement for a particular product development project
  • Account for how product planning is carried out in selected corporate contexts
  • Describe innovation ecosystem components and actors, and explain how they can support product and venture creation
  • Cooperate in a group with international members
  • Communicate orally and in writing with different groups in English

Link to the syllabus on Studieportalen.

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Examination form

Please  refer to the course memo, which can be found in the "Course information" module.

Course summary:

Date Details Due