Activity 4: Three New Product Ideas Suggested

Activity 4three New Product Ideas Have Been Suggested These Ideas Hav

Activity 4 three new-product ideas have been suggested. These ideas have been rated as shown in the Table below:

| Product | Criteria | A | B | C | Weight (%) |

| -------- | -------- | --- | --- | --- | ----------- |

| | Development cost | P | F | VG | 10 |

| | Sales prospects | VG | E | G | 15 |

| | Producibility | P | F | G | 10 |

| | Competitive advantage | E | VG | F | 15 |

| | Technical risk | P | F | VG | 20 |

| | Patent protection | F | F | VG | 10 |

| | Compatibility with strategy | VG | F | F | NA |

*P = poor, F = fair, G = good, VG = very good, E = excellent

Paper For Above instruction

The process of evaluating and selecting new product ideas is a critical component of strategic decision-making in product development. Multiple criteria influence the success potential of new products, including development costs, sales prospects, producibility, competitive advantage, technical risk, patent protection, and alignment with corporate strategy. This paper applies a systematic approach using weighted scoring, ranking criteria, and alternative scoring methods, including equal point spread, rank-sum weights, and rank reciprocal weights, to evaluate three proposed product ideas (A, B, and C). The implications, advantages, and disadvantages of each method are discussed to provide comprehensive insights into product selection strategies.

Part A: Equal Point Spread Method

The first step involves assigning point scores to qualitative ratings with an equal interval method. Here, ratings are mapped as P=1, F=2, G=3, VG=4, and E=5. For each criterion, the rating assigned to each product is converted into these numerical scores, which are then weighted based on the criterion's importance (percentage weight). The weighted score for each product is calculated by multiplying the rating score by the criterion weight and summing across all criteria.

For example, Product A's development cost rating is P (poor), which translates to 1, and with a weight of 10%, the contribution to the total score is (1×10)=10. This process is repeated for all criteria and products, resulting in the total weighted scores which determine the ranking. Calculated totals indicate the relative desirability of each product, with higher scores signifying better prospects.

Part B: Ranking Criteria and Using Rank-Sum Weights and Reciprocal Weights

This approach involves ranking the criteria from most to least important based on their impact on project success. The criteria are ranked, and these rankings are then converted into weights using two different methods:

- Rank-sum weights: Assign a rank to each criterion, sum the ranks, and determine weights proportionally.

- Rank reciprocal weights: Assign weights based on the reciprocals of the ranks, emphasizing criteria deemed more critical.

Using these weight schemes, the products are scored similarly to Part A, but the weighting emphasizes different criteria, providing alternative perspectives on product viability.

Part C: Advantages and Disadvantages

This evaluation methodology offers multiple benefits:

- Structured decision-making process that reduces bias.

- Flexibility in weighting different criteria.

- Clarification of trade-offs among different product attributes.

However, there are notable disadvantages:

- Reliance on subjective assessments for ratings.

- Potential misranking if criterion importance is inaccurately judged.

- The method does not account for external or market variables directly.

These limitations highlight the importance of combining quantitative scoring with qualitative judgment.

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