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Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, February 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-110). / In the course of the last decade there has been a growing movement away from traditional product development and manufacturing associated with mass production to entirely new processes required to support Mass Customization. Mass customization is both a product development and manufacturing process that is being mandated by increasingly heterogeneous customer needs. It requires very flexible designs, and manufacturing and delivery processes that reduce the economic order quantities to a single customer order. It also requires a means to identify the elements of the product that should be customization capable. This thesis seeks to define Mass Customization, its relationship to the automotive industry, and its increasing importance in turbulent markets. It also considers two key enablers required to effectively implement Mass Customization: product modularity and customer preference measurement through the use of innovative Internet applications and tools. A significant focus of this thesis is to investigate the use of Mass Customization methodologies and of Internet based preference measurement methods for product design (e.g. conjoint analysis) to facilitate the timely incorporation of customer preference information further upstream in the PD process. An Internet based Conjoint Study, Kano Models and Trade-off Analysis was designed to determine customer preference for customizing certain attributes and their willingness to trade-off customization against delivery speed. Data illustrating the possible customer responses shows how the conjoint analysis results can be analyzed to aid product development teams in making the necessary design tradeoffs by understanding the customer preferences and associated homo/heterogeneity of the population. In addition a framework for understanding manufacturing complexity was developed. It proposes a way to understand the providing the attribute. A Value/Cost map was created to assist teams in making necessary tradeoffs regarding where to customize and where to standardize from a development and operational perspective. Also, an original approach for identifying the complexity related to product and process design was developed and proposed. Through this framework, development teams can more readily assess the true effect of product options on product combinations and discrete decisions related to complexity. Finally, a Customer vs. Product map was developed to help teams understand and implement the various methods of Mass Customization proposed by both Pine and Andersen. This thesis focuses how to implement Mass Customization by simultaneously incorporating engineering, marketing and management views. Designing for customization using modular product design and managing product development with complete customer preference data, points the way to successful Mass Customization, satisfied customers and profitable operations. / by Michael W. Paskus. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 48-49). / Thesis statement: The purpose of this thesis is threefold: * Define the role and need of systems engineers/integrators within a large organization. * Analyze the system engineering procedures and availability of systems engineers/integrators to fill the need within multiple business units of a large multinational corporation and recommend best practices for development of system engineers/integrators. This thesis will investigate a product oriented company which operates in various market segments. This company, a manufacturer with a history of producing reliable and scalable products, places heavy emphasis on systems engineering. This, in turn, creates the need for highly experienced and efficient system engineers/integrators. / Thesis statement: The purpose of this thesis is threefold: * Define the role and need of systems engineers/integrators within a large organization. * Analyze the system engineering procedures and availability of systems engineers/integrators to fill the need within multiple business units of a large multinational corporation and recommend best practices for development of system engineers/integrators. This thesis will investigate a product oriented company which operates in various market segments. This company, a manufacturer with a history of producing reliable and scalable products, places heavy emphasis on systems engineering. This, in turn, creates the need for highly experienced and efficient system engineers/integrators. / by Rajeev Dubey. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 140-144). / The RFID industry is going through a sea of change and at different levels within the industry. Forecasts have been done on different facets of the RFID/EPC industry like the market size or the possible financial returns. However, the forecasts to date are not based on a collective view on the evolving, dynamic and inter-relating nature of such technology covering Retailers, Suppliers and Industry experts on the same landscape. The EPC Peloton Forecasting and Strategic Planning Tool was developed out of a need to collaborate and form consensus around the events and milestones that are critical for the widespread adoption of EPC for the Fast Moving Consumer Goods ("FMCG") industry. Though developed around its need in the RFID space, this tool can be used for decision making around any emerging technology. We are at a critical juncture in the history of RFID where there is excitement among stakeholders and the technology's promise needs to be harnessed by providing the stakeholders with a clear idea of (a) where the technology's future lies and (b) how consensus on how to achieve such a future can be facilitated. / (cont.) The Peloton Approach deals with how to identify or develop a technology forecasting methodology that could capture inputs from all dimensions of the industry and lay down a range of possible future paths. To address the latter issue of collaboration, the Peloton aids in identifying the various stakeholders and their stages of adoption and provide a platform for people at a similar level of adoption to collaborate or enable those seeking information to be able to get into the bandwagon and adopt relevant strategies. / by Vineet Thuvara. / S.M.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-105). / by Sean M. Newell. / S.M.