Concurrent design and market testing of virtual prototypes using group support and multi-media technology

In order to be successful, new product development requires a balance between market pull and technology, push. On a project level this involves forging a link between the technical capabilities of the company and the needs of the market place. This paper describes an approach to forge this link early in the development process. Conceptually, the approach has experts and decision makers from different disciplines simultaneously and repeatedly simulate the complete development process on a small scale. Central to this approach is the use of advanced support tools. Multi-media technology is used to transform designs into virtual prototypes and group support technology is used to test and improve these designs. Furthermore, this approach is illustrated by a case study of the development of a new value added telecommunication service.