Colloquia

Summary

Vepa, a furniture manufacturer, has grown rapidly in recent years, leading to a feeling within the company that the current product development process is insufficiently supported to adequately fit the company’s growth. This research investigates how Vepa can enable insightful decision-making in its product development processes and develops a solution to this challenge through research by design.

Design for X (DfX) methods were researched to identify key design factors and objectives for Vepa, including optimising for cost, sustainability, quality and modularity. However, these objectives often conflict, making trade-offs inevitable. To address these trade-offs, a conceptual framework of the development process was developed to foreground the important design factors and objectives for Vepa. The study also identified that insightful decision-making is difficult at Vepa due to unclear responsibilities, broad requirements and a lack of project planning and documentation. This results in decisions often being driven by gut feelings. 

To address these challenges, a tool was developed through research by design by a case study of developing a hemp composite product for Vepa. The tool is designed to capture and communicate relevant project information, define clear product requirements, formulate a planning and visualise trade-offs effectively, all to facilitate insightful decision-making.

This research concluded with a developed product that will be launched in mid-January and a tool that has proven valuable for Vepa's product developers and management. This tool enables insightful decision-making in product development processes for Vepa, and potentially other companies facing similar challenges, ultimately helping to stay ahead of the competition.