• Uncategorized February 23, 2009 No Comments


    The easiest route to creative product innovation is to start with something we already have and ask some simple questions about it to suggest new ideas. For the sake of demonstrating how this can be done, we’ll suppose that we want to design a new kind of bicycle.

    We start by asking a lot of questions about the existing product. Along with each of these questions, we ask “What new ideas or possibilities does this suggest?” The following are some of the questions you might start with.

    What complaints do people have about this product?

    Complaints or “problems” are a great place to start looking for innovation opportunities. In the case of a bicycle, people might complain about the uncomfortable seats, for example, which leads to all sorts of ideas about how to make them better. Maybe buyers could sit on a substance that takes an impression of their bottom, in order to build seats to fit the individual.

    What else could be added to this?

    What possibilities does this suggest? A “pet carrier” in front of the handle bars comes to mind, with a strap to hold in your cat or small dog. A GPS unit for bicycles is another possibility. A “roof” to keep the rain off of you might work.

    Why do people buy this?

    Product innovation often comes from asking why people use an existing product, and considering different and possibly better ways to meet that same need or desire. In this case we can guess that people buy bicycles for transportation, to get exercise and, in the case of mountain bikes, for adventure. We can consider each of these motivations in looking for new ideas.

    “Transportation” make me think about other forms, like trains, and this immediately brings to mind the idea of a bicycle of sorts that travels on rails very fast from city to city by pedal power alone. “”Exercise” suggests looking beyond stationary bikes and regular bicycling that is limited by season. How about an indoor track that has turns and hills and is designed to make winter biking possible and interesting? Adventure biking suggests speed to me (among other things), and makes me wonder if a spring system, wound by the riders pedaling, could be used for a sudden burst of speed.

    What are the various limits involved, and how can they be changed?

    A bicycle typically is limited to one or sometimes two people, but what if it could hold twenty? This question suggests a pedal-powered bus that a group of people could travel in. Price is another limit if you want to sell bicycles. Weight is other limiting factor. There is definitely a market fore lightweight bicycles. At the moment light materials are the usual solution, but what about making everything smaller? This also makes the bike easier to store.

    There are other questions you can ask to suggest new ideas. “How can I make this cheaper?” for example, is a question that could help almost any new product design be more marketable. “What else do buyers of this item want?” is another good one. And by the way, whether they are good or not, all the ideas above came to me from the questions asked and during the twenty minutes it took to write this. Generating ideas for product innovation is relatively easy once you practice with a few good techniques, like the questioning method outlined here.

    Share/Save/Bookmark

    Tags: , ,

  • Uncategorized February 22, 2009 No Comments


    In any company, it is a priority that workers will work with harmony and efficiency to produce a quality product. That is why it is important that they know and understand the needs of the workers. Maintaining the air conditioning unit all the time minimizes discomforts and minimizes any untoward reactions of the workers thus preventing any delays in the job and arguments between colleagues and bosses. That’s why there are big companies that are located in London that really allots time and focus on maintaining air conditioning units. Their specialty is all about maintaining your unit and giving you less worries and more productivity whenever and whatever you are doing.

    Maintaining the air conditioning unit assures the owner that the life span of the unit will last longer if proper care is given. Rather than thinking that it will just always function like new, why not give it a cleaning service because it doesn’t include in the manual that air conditioning units has self cleaning characteristics with it. The owner should be responsible enough to check the unit once in a while for problems. One small problem might become big and may be unrepairable. Instead of just leaving the unit why not fix it before the problem becomes worst. There is a big difference if the unit is maintained or not. It cannot go unnoticed because it is ultimately very obvious. For those which are ill maintained, their function becomes weaker in almost all of its aspects. It gives lesser cold air, its not as strong, the air seems to be damped and dirty. Whereas a well maintained air conditioning unit will do the total opposite. All the bad things will turn into good. The air is going to be cooler. Because it is stronger, the cool air can also occupy all parts of the room. Clean air will also be inhaled. Positive benefits of the well maintained air condition will also affect the working environment. There are times that air pollution inside the offices are much worst than outside air. This will of course affect the workers and they might produce low quality work. It is very important that these threats be recognized to avoid the stale air in the circulation.

    Being in a company, it is not far that communicable disease is just a door away. Because everybody are inhaling and exhaling in the same room, it is not impossible that the person next to you will not get contaminated by your sickness. Virus can easily spread. It is very important that the air conditioning unit be well maintained and checked regularly to avoid this epidemic of diseases.

    Share/Save/Bookmark

    Tags: , ,

Recommended Information

Sponsored Links