Last updated: 1/26/2011

University of Toronto
MIE- 540 Product Design
Group Project Part A
Spring 2011

Report Part A due date: Feb. 16 at the start of class

Report Part B due date: Apr. 6 at the start of class
Presentations due: Mar 30 or Apr 6
Work in teams of 4-6.
Late Reports: Late reports will be accepted at a penalty of 10% each day.
Late presentations will not be accepted.

Purpose: The learning objective is to integrate all aspects of the product design course into a
practical, hands-on project. Students are urged to implement the material taught into their
project each week while the module is still fresh.
There are two parts to this project. Part A integrates the business, economic and marketing
aspects of product design into the creative side of engineering. Part B deals with the technical
optimization of the design, verification of optimal control factors, latitude definition and
tolerance analysis.

Total grade allocated for this project: 40 %

Breakdown of project grading
Part A:
15% Report A

Part B:
15% Report B
10% Presentation & Demonstration

Team Contract:
It is highly recommended (but not required for grading) that you form a “team contract” prior to
beginning this project. This will ensure that the team members you have selected all have the
same objectives and are working towards the same goal (whatever those goals may be). The
team contract might address the following:
 The group’s objectives for this project (grade, learning experience, etc...)
 Logistics (How will decisions be made, how often to meet, how to handle late or no show
members, etc…)
 Ground rules: (for example: Be respectful of others, everyone participates, resolving
potential issues, provide constructive feedback, etc…)

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Background & Direction

Spin Master Ltd. is a children's entertainment company based in

Toronto, Canada.

The origins of the company began in 1994 when the three company
founders came out with a product called The Earth Buddy. It was
originally incorporated at that time as Seiger Marketing, Inc. In 1995 the
company adopted the name of Spin Master Toys. In 1996 the
company released the Air Hogs line of air-pressured flying toys based
on the design of two British inventors.

Today, Spin Master has over 600 employees. In addition to its global headquarters in Toronto,
the company has offices in London, Paris, Hong Kong, and the United States.

Construction Toys
We define the “construction toy category” by what product is available to the consumer in
the mass market retailers and specialty toy stores (virtual or “Bricks and Mortar). For reference,
a power point deck describing the dominant products in the construction toy market (and most
successful historical products) is attached. Note that this is not an exhaustive list of the prior
art. We seek a compelling product that can participate in this category – not a “me too”
product.

Your product proposal can be;

a. a “new and never seen before” product,
b. a “refresh” of a historic product a small but meaningful innovation that leverages
consumer nostalgia for a product from the previous generation) on a historical product
(where we can obtain ownership, or license to use),
c. additive building element(s) to an existing public domain construction toy on the
market.
Target Market: Children age 3-12.

Materials:

There are few restrictions on materials – most plastic, wood, foam, cardboard, organic
materials can be in your prototype. Be creative, but note that final production materials will
need to be rigorously screened for heavy metals and toxicity. You should also note that if
magnets are used, that there are limits on the strength of the magnet, and that it must be
secured with a minimum breakaway force to a second piece that does not fit into the choke
tube. (see diagram).

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Deliverables Part A- The Business Case

Include the following:

1. Design plan (Gantt chart)
2. Concept generation
3. Capturing VOC
4. Concept selection
5. Visual representation (Proof of Concept)
6. Product Functional Decomposition diagram
7. Economic report on the design project
8. Design FMEA

1. Design Plan (Gantt chart): Every successful design begins with a schedule. Using
MS Project list the required tasks to design and develop this product within the 1 year
development period. (Do not use a 4 months term).

Note: In the past students have listed all the tasks required to launch a product –
including marketing and manufacturing activities. The focus of this course is the
product design cycle- so limit your plan to the design activity taught in this course.
Include start date, finish date, and any other information you feel is relevant. Identify
the critical path and any opportunity to reduce the time. Include a 1-2 page Gantt chart
plan and a one-page assumption sheet.

2. Concept Generation: Given the direction above, make use of the brainstorming tools
to explore all possible concepts. Document your findings by providing a summary of
the raw ideas, the need and the target market segment. You may want to include tools
such as classification tree, systematic exploration tables or a thought process map in
the appendix.

3. Capturing VOC: With a concept in mind, capture the VOC using an appropriate
method. This exercise should help validate your concepts. You may choose to focus
on one concept or many concepts. Include the survey or focus group questions, the
raw data and a conclusion / interpretation of the data. (For purposes of this course you
do not need to obtain a valid statistical sample. A sample size of n=10 is adequate to
illustrate the use of the tool).

4. Concept selection: Once you have completed the brainstorming stage you will have a
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large number of ideas that will require filtering. Use a systematic method (such as a
Pugh matrix) to focus your ideas. You may want to run a concept screening matrix( +/
-) to narrow your ideas down to the top five and then a concept scoring matrix (score 1-
5) to help select the top idea. When selecting your concept, consider features that
would differentiate your product from the competition.

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5. Visual Representation & Description**1: You and your team must first determine what
type of visual representation should be used to best articulate the design (sketch, CAD,
videos, prototypes, etc…). Keep in mind the richer the media the more information is
communicated in a short time frame. Consider the reason for the visual representation. (For
example: are you trying to illustrate the size, aesthetics, fit/function, etc…) Your proof of
concept should include the concept of your connector system. If you decided to create a
prototype, you may choose to prototype a very small subset of the product in order to validate
proof of concept. (For example: you may use a rapid prototyping technique to represent the
connector method if you feel this is relevant). In many cases visual representation does not
necessarily need to be to scale. You may choose to change the scale of the prototype to get a
better feel for the product, and get around the prototype tolerance /resolution issues. Note:
Students of MIE540 will have access to an FDM machine (if you are interested please email
Jason Bazlak for details and restrictions: jbazylak@mie.utoronto.ca)

The visual representation should also include a brief write up that helps describe the
concept. This is your chance to sell your idea! Take the time to describe what is
novel and different about your product. (Why should SpinMaster award you first
place?) You should address the following points:

a. What makes your concept emotionally compelling for a child to play with?

b. Would you classify your product proposal as a “new”, “refresh”, or “compatible”

product?

c. Within the target market, what is the “Bulls Eye” or sweet spot that your product is
designed for?

d. Identify the top 2-3 direct competitors to your products.

e. Identify the points of parity and the points of difference to your defined competitive set.

f. Successful construction products have provided both “guided play” and “open ended”
play. How does your product enable the satisfaction of completing a defined end result
(via. Instructions) and also allow the child to create their own imaginative end results?

g. Are your construction elements re-useable, or one time use?

h. How durable/robust are the finished results created with your building elements?

i. Provide an explanation of the play pattern (i.e. “use case”) of the concept (flow chart,
photos, illustrations or video is beneficial in communicating this to the judging panel)

6. Product Functional Decomposition diagram:

Include a PFD diagram of your selected concept design. Be sure to include
different boxes to distinguish between a Control Factor and a Specification.
. Product economics report:
Include all costs and revenue expected (broken-down by quarter as per the
example shown in the lecture material). Calculate the NPV and write an executive
1 Spinmaster will have a strong focus on this section when awarding their prize.
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summary. Some questions you might want to answer in the executive summary are:
• Is this product worth pursuing?
• Does it make financial sense to continue the development?
• Are there any risks, barriers, or showstoppers?
• What are the qualitative factors that could influence the economic success of
this project?
• What interest rate was used in your calculations and why?
• Run a scenario analysis to understand the sensitivity to key factors
• You must create a preliminary forecast model to complete this section. State
your assumptions.

General Information:
• The entire economic analysis occurs in 4 years.
o Year 1: Product development (no sales revenue)
o Year 2, 3 and 4: Product sales and support.
 For this report assume that after year 4 the product will be removed from
the market. (No additional sales after year 4).
• Marketing and support costs are required for as long as the product is sold.
• Production costs begin one quarter before the start of sales and end one quarter before
the product life cycle is terminated (it leads by one quarter from sales revenue).
• Marketing and support costs are estimated at $150,000 per year.

Development Costs:
You and your team of prospective engineers and managers must estimate the
development costs required to deliver this product to market. The suggested time
frame for developing this product (including hard tool development) is 4 quarters. The
total development engineering salary will be $250,000 per quarter for the first year and
then $75,000 each quarter after that for as long as the product is in production.
Include an additional $250,000 to be spent in the first quarter. This will be a one-time
fixed cost and includes: rigs, development fixtures, data acquisition boards and other
equipment costs.
Tooling Costs:
Based on the product design selected, provide a rough estimate of the hard tool capital
expenditure required. Your estimate should take into account the tool complexity
(slides, number of cavities), and location of tool (North American vs alternative
locations).

Production Cost & Price Targets:

Platform system – components can be grouped together in various
quantities/combinations to support a spectrum of price points from $5.99 to $99.99 with
the dominant price points being $5.99, $9.99, $14.99, $19.99. Note: You do not
necessarily need to hit the dominate price points- (novel new ideas may be more or less
than these given price targets).
Cost of Goods (COGS) should be approx 20-23% of retail price points.
You must estimate the cost of producing each part. Part of the cost estimation should
be based on material, tolerance specified and manufacturability.

8. Design FMEA: Include a FMEA tailored to the actual design. As a team, determine
what the possible pit falls of your selected design are and what can be done to fail safe
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against these potential pit falls. (Note: Your final design does not have to include
these changes- it is enough that you have thought of counter measures).

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Appendix A: Grade breakdown (Worth 10% of final grade).

• Part A- The Business Case
Project Planning & Front-End Development
Deliverable Grade %
Design plan (Gantt Chart) 10
Concept generation 10
Capturing VOC 10
Concept selection 5
Visual Representation & Description 30
PFD diagram 10
Product economics report 10
Appearance 10
FMEA 5
Total 100%
Notes:
• This is only a guideline – specific project grades may need adjusting due to
circumstances beyond student control)

• The grading of your project is dependent on the quality of work submitted, the level
of detail articulated for each deliverable and the relative performance compared to
other groups.
• In the event that group attrition should occur, each team member must provide a
breakdown of the work that they contributed and a grade allocated to each member
(including themselves).

Important information regarding MIE540 Group Project:

(TO BE CONFIRMED Jan 19, 2011)
This group project is a practical case study. You must submit one copy to me for a grade
evaluation and you may submit a second copy to SpinMaster. If you submit 2 copies you are
providing an opportunity for a Canadian company to benefit from your ideas, potentially
exposing yourself to another industry and testing your creative skills outside of the classroom.
Spinmaster will provide a financial reward to the best idea. The best idea would be the concept
that Spinmaster feels is worth investing in.
Monetary Rewards:
Grand Prize: $2500 (to the group)
Second Prize: $1500 (to the group)
Third Prize: $1000 (to the group)
Note: The project grade and financial reward are not necessarily related. Your group may
present a concept that is of no interest to Spinmaster (no financial reward) but still obtain full
marks.
Protect yourself!
Print the page ” Construction Toy Contest Entry Form”, sign and include it with your Project
deliverables.

1. If you decide to only submit the assignment to MIE540 you may want to protect your
idea further by including a non-disclosure agreement for the TA to sign. (This goes for
any course and any project).

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MIE540 Product Design

Construction Toy” Contest Entry Form

Title of
Entry:___________________________________________Date:_________________

Thumbnail image or description of Concept:

I have decided to submit this report to MIE540 only □

OR
__________________________________________________________
I agree to the terms and conditions of the contest parameters and confirm that as an employee
of Spin Master and in accordance with my employment agreement, all concepts related to my
submission(s) shall be the property of Spin Master and considered works for hire

I have decided to submit this report to Spinmaster and MIE540 □

OR Check one only
I have decided to only submit this report to MIE540. □

I have read and understood the above arrangement: □ (must check)

Names and signatures of all team members required below.

Name:_________________Student number ____________Signature________________

Name:_________________Student number ____________Signature________________

Name:_________________Student number ____________Signature________________

Name:_________________Student number ____________Signature________________

Name:_________________Student number ____________Signature________________

Name:_________________Student number ____________Signature________________

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