Handbook of Research on Trends in Product Design and Development: Technological and Organizational Perspectives

Researchers and practitioners from around the world provide a snapshot of current issues, trends, and challenges on designing and developing products, considering the business and social dimensions as well as the technology. They cover design methodologies, supporting technologies, organization and process management, enhancing creativity and innovation, social sciences and environment, systems integration, and case studies. Among the topics are interdisciplinary interaction for the early stages of product and service development, tool and information-centered design process modeling, implementing rapid manufacturing systems in the jewelry industry in Brazil, virtual reality systems for industrial design applications, rediscovering design education as a social constructivist foundation for innovative design thinking, research driven by laws of product evolution, the innovation of new products with end users and customers, the influence of aging on user experience, the contribution of ergonomic analysis in product design for recycling, the transformative role of product design in Singapore's transition to a service economy, and deploying and adapting an indoor positioning system in the clinical setting. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)