CDT504 Product and Process Design and Implementation
The Complete Study & Assessment Guide · CDT504 Overview
- Lingnan University
- Term 1, 2026-27
- Postgraduate course
- Engineering
- Project and quiz assessment
What CDT504 asks you to connect
CDT504 follows a product or process from an early opportunity to implementation. The organising idea is that each design artefact is evidence for the next decision. Opportunity work establishes a value hypothesis.
- Assessment Discussion 15%, mid-term 35%, presentation 30% and report 20%.
- Quiz scope The teaching plan identifies Weeks 1 to 7.
- Project evidence Connect anonymised user evidence to measurable specifications and concept selection.
- Implementation Name the owner, trigger, resource, metric and feedback loop.
How CDT504 is assessed
| Component | Weight | Format |
|---|---|---|
| In-class Discussion | 15% | Discussions and case analysis |
| Mid-term Assignment | 35% | In-class multiple-choice and short questions; teaching plan calls it an individual quiz covering Weeks 1 to 7 |
| Group Project Presentation | 30% | Group presentation with no more than 12 slides |
| Group Report | 20% | Maximum 3,000 words in APA format |
The later lesson deck separates the group project into a 30% presentation and 20% report. Earlier decks combine them as 50%. The later split is used because it is more detailed and preserves the same total. No component-specific hurdle is published in the available materials.
Current CDT504 dates
| Date | Item | Control |
|---|---|---|
| In-class individual quiz | 2026-10-21 | |
| Group report deadline | 2026-11-25 23:59 |
Dates are as published in The dates come from the Term 1, 2026-27 teaching plan.. Confirm exact deadlines and submission settings in the live LMS.
What CDT504 covers
Nine chapters follow the published lesson sequence from product development and opportunity identification through planning, needs, specifications, concepts, architecture, industrial design and service implementation.
Product Development from Opportunity to Launch
six development phases, integrated front-end work and cross-functional decisionsWhy the process is integrated
Product development begins with an opportunity and ends with production, sale and delivery.
- Six generic development phases
- Cross-functional integration
- Front-end activities
- Process variants
- Iteration and reflection
- Phase outputs
Opportunity Identification and Screening
charters, varied opportunity sources, screening, development and reflectionOpportunities are hypotheses
An opportunity is an early idea about how value might be created, not a validated product.
- Opportunity hypotheses
- Opportunity charters
- Search volume and variety
- Screening criteria
- Targeted development
- Selection and reflection
Product Planning and Portfolio Choices
portfolio categories, strategic priorities, resource timing and technology roadmapsPlan before committing the full team
Product planning selects projects from a broader portfolio and aligns them with strategy, market segments, platforms, technology timing and finite capacity.
- Portfolio categories
- Competitive strategy
- Market segmentation
- Technology roadmaps
- Resource allocation
- Mission statements
Discovering and Organising Customer Needs
interviews, observation, latent needs, translation and needs hierarchiesEvidence before interpretation
Interviews, observations and product-use evidence reveal explicit and latent needs.
- Interview evidence
- Observation evidence
- Explicit and latent needs
- Solution-neutral statements
- Needs hierarchy
- Importance and traceability
Metrics, Targets and Final Specifications
needs-metrics links, benchmarking, target values, cost models and trade-offsMetrics make needs testable
A specification pairs a metric with a value. Build a needs-metrics matrix to check that each important need is represented and that every metric has a reason to exist. Specify units and direction.
- Needs-metrics matrix
- Units and direction
- Marginal and ideal values
- Competitive benchmarking
- Technical and cost models
- Final specification flow-down
Generating Concepts Systematically
problem decomposition, external and internal search, classification and combinationStructure expands creativity
Concept generation clarifies the problem, searches externally, searches internally, explores systematically and reflects. Decomposition can follow functions, user actions or critical needs.
- Problem clarification
- Functional decomposition
- External search
- Internal search
- Classification trees
- Combination tables and reflection
Screening and Scoring Product Concepts
reference screening, weighted scoring, sensitivity and documented selectionScreen before scoring
Concept screening compares alternatives against a reference using better, same or worse ratings. It is appropriate while concepts remain coarse and helps remove weak options without pretending to fine precision.
- Reference concept screening
- Better, same and worse ratings
- Weighted scoring equation
- Criterion thresholds
- Sensitivity analysis
- Selection reflection
Product Architecture, Testing and IP
modular and integral mappings, interfaces, concept tests, prototypes and patentsMap functions to chunks
Product architecture defines how functional elements map to physical chunks and how those chunks interact.
- Functional and physical elements
- Modular and integral architecture
- Slot, bus and sectional modularity
- Architecture method
- Concept testing
- Prototype limits and IP
Industrial and Service Design
user experience, aesthetics, product-service systems, handoffs and implementationIndustrial design is not late styling
Industrial design connects function, aesthetics, ergonomics, durability, manufacturability, cost and marketability. Early participation allows user experience and production constraints to shape the concept.
- Industrial design priorities
- User experience
- Aesthetics and identity
- Cross-functional design
- Product-service systems
- Blueprints, ownership and feedback
Customer research turns observed behaviour and stated concerns into solution-neutral needs. Specifications make those needs testable. Concept generation deliberately expands the solution space, while screening and scoring narrow it with visible criteria.
Architecture maps functions to physical or digital chunks, and industrial and service design carry the experience through delivery, maintenance and support.
Product development and opportunities
The opening lessons establish the generic development process and its variants, then treat opportunities as hypotheses rather than finished ideas.
A tournament generates many candidates, filters them, develops the most promising uncertainties and selects a small number for further investment.
Reflection is part of the method because a rejected opportunity can still teach the team that its charter, evidence source or screening criterion was weak.
Planning, needs and specifications
Product planning aligns projects with strategy, capacity and technology timing.
Once a project is authorised, customer-needs work separates outcomes from requested features and preserves a trace from observation to interpretation. Specifications then pair metrics with target values.
The course distinguishes target specifications from final specifications because technical models, cost models, concepts and tests change what can be promised.
Concepts, architecture and implementation
Concept generation combines external search, internal search, problem decomposition and systematic exploration.
Selection uses a coarse reference screen before weighted scoring, but the arithmetic never replaces judgement about criteria and evidence. Architecture decides how functions map to chunks and interfaces. The final lessons integrate industrial design with service processes so the proposal names not only what users see but also who maintains the system, what triggers action and how performance is reviewed.
Worked example · free
Rank concepts with a weighted decision matrix
- 1Confirm that the weights total 100%.
- 4Compute each weighted contribution and total.
- 3Interpret the narrow difference and name the next evidence check.
Key terms
- Product Development
- The coordinated activities that take an opportunity through design, testing, production, sale and delivery.
- Opportunity Charter
- A boundary statement that defines the search space and constraints without prescribing one solution.
- Product Portfolio
- The set of development projects an organisation chooses to pursue across product types and time.
- Customer Need
- A solution-neutral statement of an outcome a user seeks in a particular context.
- Latent Need
- A real user outcome that is not yet widely recognised or directly requested.
- Product Specification
- A metric paired with a value that makes an intended product outcome testable.
- Target Specification
- An early performance goal based on needs and competitive evidence before the final concept is known.
- Concept Screening
- A coarse comparison of concepts against a reference using better, same or worse ratings.
- Concept Scoring
- A detailed ranking method that combines criterion weights with performance ratings.
- Product Architecture
- The mapping of functional elements to physical chunks and the definition of their interfaces.
- Modular Architecture
- An architecture with clear function-to-chunk mappings and well-defined interfaces that support local change.
- Service Blueprint
- A layered map connecting user actions and visible touchpoints to backstage work and support processes.
CDT504 FAQ
How is the course assessed?
The later lesson deck publishes four components: In-class Discussion at 15%, Mid-term Assignment at 35%, Group Project Presentation at 30% and Group Report at 20%. Earlier decks combine the last two as one 50% component, so this guide uses the later detailed split and records the conflict rather than hiding it.
What does the mid-term cover?
The teaching plan calls it an in-class individual quiz and states that it covers Weeks 1 to 7. The later deck says the work contains multiple-choice and short questions. No official sample paper, detailed section split or permitted-material rule appears in the available materials, so confirm operational instructions on the course LMS.
What evidence does the group project need?
The brief requires real user or stakeholder evidence, measurable specifications, at least three clearly different concepts, a formal concept-selection method, and a physical prototype, digital mock-up, process map or simulation model. Evidence placed in the appendix must be anonymised, and the report should show how that evidence changed design decisions.
How should customer comments become design inputs?
Preserve the original observation or statement, then translate it into a solution-neutral outcome. Keep requested features as candidate concepts rather than embedding them in the need. The strongest chain shows the evidence, interpreted need, metric, target and later concept decision so another reviewer can challenge each move.
What makes weighted concept scoring defensible?
Weights must represent justified priorities, ratings must use a consistent scale and evidence standard, and the calculations must be shown. A close result should be stress-tested by changing uncertain weights or ratings. The source explicitly requires teams to justify both weights and scores, so a final spreadsheet without rationale is incomplete.
Is there a final examination?
The published assessment table lists discussion, a mid-term assignment, a group presentation and a group report. It does not list a final examination. The teaching plan ends with project presentations and final reflection, so preparation should focus on the in-class quiz and project deliverables while checking the current course LMS for operational updates.
Questions students ask in each CDT504 chapter
- Why is product development not only a design task?
- Commercial success depends on customer evidence, product form and function, and the ability to manufacture and deliver reliably at acceptable cost. Treating one function as the whole process hides decisions that another function must later repair. Chapter 01 · Product Development from Opportunity to Launch
- Why should a team generate many opportunities?
- Exceptional opportunities are rare, so a larger and more varied pool improves the chance of finding one. Quantity helps only when sources and search methods differ enough to avoid repeating the same assumption. Chapter 02 · Opportunity Identification and Screening
- Why are all project types not ranked together?
- Incremental support, platforms and breakthrough work serve different strategic purposes and carry different uncertainty. Allocate resources across categories first, then compare projects that genuinely compete for the same purpose and capacity. Chapter 03 · Product Planning and Portfolio Choices
- Why should requested features not become needs?
- A requested feature commits the team to a mechanism before alternatives have been generated. Preserve it as a concept while translating the underlying desired outcome into solution-neutral language. Chapter 04 · Discovering and Organising Customer Needs
- Why can one need require several metrics?
- Complex outcomes such as usability or safety may not be represented faithfully by one product property. Combining objective properties with observed task performance can preserve the link to user value. Chapter 05 · Metrics, Targets and Final Specifications
- Why decompose a design problem?
- Smaller subproblems make search more focused and reveal functions that one overall concept may hide. Function language also keeps alternative physical arrangements open for later comparison and combination. Chapter 06 · Generating Concepts Systematically
- When should screening be used instead of scoring?
- Use screening when concepts are still coarse and evidence cannot support fine distinctions. Apply scoring after the strongest candidates and criteria have been refined with clearer evidence. Chapter 07 · Screening and Scoring Product Concepts
- Is modular architecture always better?
- No. It supports local change and variety but introduces interfaces, space and coordination costs. Integral design can deliver higher performance when tight coupling is valuable. Chapter 08 · Product Architecture, Testing and IP
- Why should industrial designers join early?
- Early involvement lets ergonomics, interaction, form and manufacturing constraints influence the concept. Late involvement often limits the work to cosmetic repair after architecture is difficult to change. Chapter 09 · Industrial and Service Design
How to prepare for the assessments
Start with one sheet showing the complete evidence chain: opportunity, charter, customer evidence, need, metric, target, concepts, selection, prototype and implementation. For each chapter, add the method steps and the output that feeds the next box. Rework the weighted scoring example until every contribution can be calculated without skipping a line, then change one weight and identify the switching point.
For the project, audit whether every specification and selection criterion traces to user evidence. Finish each revision session by explaining one failure backward: where it appeared, which earlier assumption admitted it, what evidence would have challenged that assumption, and which owner should act.
This approach prepares both short quiz responses and the logic required in the group report without inventing an official paper format.
