Product Design & Development (PDD)
MOB-7555
Product Design and Development (PDD) is an integrated management
course that provides students with a solid, field-based understanding of the
fundamentals of conceiving, evaluating, and developing successful new products.
It is a roll-up-your-sleeves, team-based environment for learning how to
translate a new product idea into a product concept and design. In the course,
you will learn, through doing, what "design thinking" is, which is becoming
critical for managers to thrive in the emerging "Creative Economy."
The course takes teams of graduate students through the entire process of
product development from market and user analysis to idea generation and concept
development, to concept selection and refinement, to product design and
prototype manufacturing. Several workshops are integrated to support the teams
with specific tasks such as brainstorming, sketching, and model building. Teams
will have opportunity to build their own workspace in the Product Design Lab.
The course culminates in the MBA Product Design Fair in early December where
teams present their products to the Babson community and beyond.
Teams of students select and/or are assigned product design opportunities that
are carried out in collaboration with participating client companies.
Alternatively, students propose new product ideas for consideration as course
projects.
The course deals with three key areas: capturing and defining customer needs,
understanding and implementing good design strategies and thinking, and
structuring and managing the development process. While the main focus is on
manufactured products, the course can accommodate the design of certain kinds of
services and software products. Guest speakers are part of the course (4.5
credit hours). This course is currently offered only in the Fall semester.
The 2013 Babson MBA Product Design Fair was a great success!
On Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., eight teams presented their work. Check it out (click on image below)!
Sponsors of 2013 projects were Essential Design, Oduga, TripAdvisor, and Vedavoo. Check here for the invitation.
Check out PDD projects from previous years (click on the posters below to view more images)
2012
Sponsors of 2012 projects were Essential Design, New England Burials at Sea, Portico, and Vedavoo. Check here for the invitation.
2011
Check here for photos from the 2011 MBA product design fair. In 2011, sponsors were Essential Design, New Approach, and Preserve. And here is a link to the invitation.
2010
Check here for photos from the 2010 MBA product design fair. In 2010, sponsors were Essential Design, Mimoco, P'Kolino, and Top Sprouts.
2009
Check the
Babson news blog for pictures of the 2009 MBA product design fair.
External sponsors in 2009 were
Essential Design and
Design-that-Matters.
2008
See pictures of the 2008 MBA product
design fair on the
Babson news blog. External project sponsors in 2008 were
Essential Design,
Feed Resource,
Mimoco, and
P'kolino. Some teams build a business around
their products and bring them to market; for examples from 2008 see the 'foldable
flats' and check the 'bear bag'
(also reported on in the
Boston Herald).
