Axiomatic Design

This paper describes the successful combination of the two methods Axiomatic Design and TRIZ based on the practical use case in a product development project at a small enterprise. The task included the design and prototypical implementation of a small tractor for viticulture. The major challenge in developing the concept was the requirement that the tractor must move in the narrow streets between closely lying pergolas as well as in steep terrain. The application example underpins the performance of the combined application of Axiomatic Design and TRIZ for the identification and resolution of technical and physical contradictions and shows how even small businesses can bring innovative and sophisticated product ideas targeted for implementation in close cooperation with research institutions.

The success rate of new products or services can be increased only by a consequent orientation at the customer value: the customer needs drive the buying decision! Existing methods for customer need determination are not suitable for the development of novel products or services: after all, we have to find out customers preferences about something that does not exist yet. In this paper a methodology is presented which helps to identify systematically the customer needs and the relative customer requirements and how to define on their basis the functional requirements for product development. A practical example helps to illustrate the successful application of the approach.

In the last years of general economic depression, European small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) have compensated for the large enterprises’ loss in value and job creation. A trend towards a “pulverization” of the economic system from large to small companies could be noticed. On the other hand, growth is an economic prerequisite for sustainable business success. Must a SME therefore grow and become a large enterprise in order to succeed? Not necessarily. Business growth is not a perpetuum mobile; it is restricted by internal diseconomies of scale and scope caused by the increased complexity of large organizations. In this paper, a new approach is presented which shows how small and medium sized companies can realize sustainable growth without losing the advantages of a small organizational structure.