Value balancing method for product development - A Case study at Volvo Car Corporation

Abstract

The study aims to develop a method that provides Concept Engineering Unit at Volvo Car Corporation (VCC) with reflection on how cost, technical characteristic, and customer requirements effects the end-product. The purpose of this thesis is to develop a method that supports value balancing of customer requirements and costs in the concept phase of the product development process at VCC. The study has been performed as a case study at VCC in Gothenburg. It was done at the Concept Engineering Unit, which is responsible for managing the different development units at VCC during the concept phase in order to achieve several requirements. The theoretical background covered: value based decision making, communication and collaboration within companies, the impact and efficiency of decision support tools, customer satisfaction theory, cost consideration and implications of product platforms on the product development process. The explorative study covered the product development process, cost calculation systems, platform usage, cost of change and attribute classification at VCC. The study resulted in a proposed Value Balancing Method that contains the following parts: Main QFD matrix, Value Index chart, Critical Attributes and Systems and a Modularity Matrix. The information from the Value Balance Method can be used to study which technical systems that need to be functionally improved and which systems that need cost reduction effort in order to achieve value balanced products. Moreover, the Value Balance Method provides valuable information of which systems that should be platform systems and which that ought to be product specific systems. Moreover, the Value Balance Method identifies attribute areas that need extra management attention in order to enable a successful product development. The Value Balance Method provides general data at an overview level to support the product development team in the holistic and complex situation of product development process at VCC. Further the method will enable collaboration and communication in cross-functional product development teams at VCC. Further work needed for the Value Balance Method is first of all incorporation of the data from the ongoing study of customer ranking of attribute at VCC. The method also needs to be tested in order to improve its’ accuracy and validity.