A functional–commercial analysis strategy for product conceptualization

A functional-commercial analysis strategy is proposed to facilitate product conceptualization. General sorting is adopted to elicit initial product platform and generate initial design options. Designers’ importance ratings are gathered and used to deal with cost- and time-related concerns. The restricted coulomb energy neural network is used for classifying and selecting design options. A case study on wood golf club design is conducted to illustrate the proposed approach.

Research highlights
► We propose a functional-commercial analysis strategy for product Conceptualization.
► We use general sorting to elicit product platform and generate design options.
► Designers’ importance ratings are used to tackle cost- and time-related concerns.
► Restricted coulomb energy neural network is used for classifying design options.
► A case study on wood golf club design is used to illustrate the proposed approach.