Validation of the Design for Mass Adaptation Method – A Case for Higher Medical Treatment Quality

Abstract

This contribution demonstrates the application of the new Design Method Validation System (DMVS) for the validation of engineering design methods in product development. The application example is a case from the medical branch. The product design method Design for Mass Adaptation (DfMAd) with individualization and modification steps as triggers is compared to an adapted design method with product individualization but without modification triggers. This experimental study was conducted in accordance with the DMVS procedure. Measured outcomes refer to the usefulness, applicability and acceptance of the design method DfMAd. Two groups of student participants were compared to each other through research tools based on quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis. Findings show that the considered DfMAd phase successfully leads to the desired benefit for the consideration of variant-oriented alternatives, thus confirming the test hypothesis. In the example of a product, a crutch, a high treatment quality can be achieved by specific adaptability of the product. In addition, it is shown that DMVS is suitable for the development of experiments and that the data collection means are differently suited for the validation of the three criteria.