Young Designers 2011

		Young Designers 2011
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Salil Bhargava | salilis@gmx.com

Design Management of Product Development in Enclosure Design

Strategic Design Management | PGDPD
Guide: Krishnesh Mehta
Sponsor: Lumium Innovations Pvt Ltd., Ahmedabad

Keywords
Project Management
Industrial Design
Biometric devices
Product development

The objective of my diploma project was to provide design management inputs for the development of a range of biometric devices.
The first product was a finger-vein sensor-based device which had to be designed and developed in just two months. In order to do so, I had to plan and execute the project in a highly optimized manner. The products’ usability and design had to be matched with the client’s business context, within the constrained timelines. Design management was also introduced at Lumium, and as a result of the successful execution of this project, it grew to become an established function in the company.
The second phase of the project involved developing a range of four fingerprint-based biometric devices. On the basis of its performance in an earlier project, the company had bagged the new order. Retrospective project planning was done, while taking into account the experiences and client feedback from the first phase of the project. Enclosure design subsequently grew to become a strong vertical in the company, with a 15% growth in revenue contribution for the financial year 2010-11. A team was groomed and developed to cater specifically to these quick turnaround time enclosure design projects. The experience was leveraged to secure several new clients in the domain. Repeatability of business which was previously elusive to design firms was also brought about.
As a student of strategic design, I was able to step back and see the project from various angles. I would then try to come up with a solution which served best the client, the company and the end-users’ interests. I have learnt to objectively assess design solutions instead of passing creative judgments.