Stuart Pugh
Encyclopedia
Stuart Pugh, the inventor of the Total Design methodology, created a structured process for product design and development.
Stuart Pugh graduated from London University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering
and became a graduate apprentice for the British Aircraft Corporation
. In 1956 he worked in the Warton Aerodrome
as a project engineer for the Mach 6 Wind Tunnel. In 1963 he became the Chief Designer of the Mechanical Product Division at the Marconi Company
. In the later stages of his Industrial career, Pugh worked within the English Electric Company as Chief Designer in the Hydraulic Equipment Division, ultimately progressing to become Divisional Manager.
Pugh left industry in 1970 and began his academic career as a ‘Smallpeice’ Reader in Design for Production at Loughborough University
of Technology. Later becoming the Director of the ‘Engineering Design Centre’.
Pugh moved to Scotland
and in 1985 became the ‘Babcock Professor of Engineering Design’ and the head of the ‘Design Division’ at the University of Strathclyde
in Glasgow
. It was here that Pugh completed his visionary work, and produced his seminal book ‘Total Design: Integrated Methods for Successful Product Engineering’, published in 1990. Pugh Introduced and taught Total Design across the faculty of engineering at Strathclyde University. He ran truly multidisciplinary design classes which included students of architecture and law. He also contributed to the MBA program and taught short courses on Total Design to Industrial managers. Pugh also carried out consultation work, field research and seminars in design method implementation for product success for firms across Europe and North America, including the Digital Equipment Corporation
(DEC) and General Motors
. Other companies such as Land-Rover and Xerox
have benefited from adopting Pugh’s structured design process.
Soon after Pugh published his book ‘Total Design’, Professor Don Clausing (MIT) and Professor Ken Ragsdell (University of Missouri
) encouraged Pugh to publish his collection of papers in order to make his work readily available to design engineers and managers. However, in the autumn of 1991 Pugh fell ill and it was not until the summer of 1992, when his condition improved, that Pugh could push on with compiling this work. Unfortunately in October 1993 Pugh’s Illness suddenly claimed his life. Pugh’s untimely death came as a great shock to all who knew him and ultimately led Don Clausing and Ronaldo Andrade (Universidade Federal de Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) to complete Pugh’s book ‘Creating Innovative Products Using Total Design: The Living Legacy of Stuart Pugh’.
The design process previous to the total design methodology was very much ad-hoc which Pugh described as ‘partial design’. Engineers and designers focused on their part within the total design of a product, rarely becoming part of the full product development process. This often led to commercial failure, due to the lack of consideration of the market, the user needs and the resources of the organisation (non-technological factors). Total design offers a visible operational structure which allows for the integration of technological and non-technological parts enabling efficient and effective product development.
The design core separates the design process into six iterative stages. This structure enables the seamless flow of information between stages while enabling the formation of multi-disciplined project teams.
(PDS) must be formulated – the specification of the product to be designed. Once this is established, it acts as the mantle or cloak that envelopes all the subsequent stages in the design core. The PDS thus acts as the control for the total design activity, because it places the boundaries on the subsequent designs.” - Stuart Pugh
A PDS is a dynamic document that evolves during the design process. At the end of the design activity the design must be in balance with the final version of the PDS. Pugh devised a structure for a PDS that has 34 elements, however some elements may not be applicable to certain projects.
's Saturn project.
“A major advantage of controlled convergence over other matrix selection methods is that it allows alternative convergent (analytic) and divergent (synthetic) thinking to occur, since as the reasoning proceeds and a reduction in the number of concepts comes about for rational reasons, new concepts are generated.” – Stuart Pugh
The evaluation matrix (Pugh method) is associated with the QFD
method and is a form of prioritization matrix. It is implemented by establishing an evaluation team and constructing the matrix which contains evaluation criteria versus alternative concepts. A baseline concept is selected and the other concepts are scored against the criteria relative to the baseline. The scoring is done in symbol form, of either a positive, negative or neutral scoring. The scores are then combined to give a numerical output for each concept, the highest score being the most compatible. The method is effective for comparing alternative concepts and is an iterative method.
Pugh Concept Selection
S. Pugh (1981) Concept selection: a method that works. In: Hubka, V. (ed.), Review of design methodology. Proceedings interna¬tional conference on engineering design, March 1981, Rome. Zürich: Heurista, 1981, blz. 497 – 506.
Biography
Stuart Pugh was a highly successful and exceptional design engineer and manager. His experience within industry led him to pursue a secondary career in academia, where he published his seminal work on ‘Total Design’.Stuart Pugh graduated from London University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
and became a graduate apprentice for the British Aircraft Corporation
British Aircraft Corporation
The British Aircraft Corporation was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs , the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Hunting Aircraft in 1960. Bristol, English Electric and Vickers became "parents" of BAC with...
. In 1956 he worked in the Warton Aerodrome
Warton Aerodrome
Warton Aerodrome is located near to Warton village on the Fylde in Lancashire, England. The aerodrome is west of Preston, Lancashire, UK.Today the airfield is a major assembly and testing facility of BAE Systems Military Air Solutions....
as a project engineer for the Mach 6 Wind Tunnel. In 1963 he became the Chief Designer of the Mechanical Product Division at the Marconi Company
Marconi Company
The Marconi Company Ltd. was founded by Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 as The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company...
. In the later stages of his Industrial career, Pugh worked within the English Electric Company as Chief Designer in the Hydraulic Equipment Division, ultimately progressing to become Divisional Manager.
Pugh left industry in 1970 and began his academic career as a ‘Smallpeice’ Reader in Design for Production at Loughborough University
Loughborough University
Loughborough University is a research based campus university located in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, in the East Midlands of England...
of Technology. Later becoming the Director of the ‘Engineering Design Centre’.
Pugh moved to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and in 1985 became the ‘Babcock Professor of Engineering Design’ and the head of the ‘Design Division’ at the University of Strathclyde
University of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde , Glasgow, Scotland, is Glasgow's second university by age, founded in 1796, and receiving its Royal Charter in 1964 as the UK's first technological university...
in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. It was here that Pugh completed his visionary work, and produced his seminal book ‘Total Design: Integrated Methods for Successful Product Engineering’, published in 1990. Pugh Introduced and taught Total Design across the faculty of engineering at Strathclyde University. He ran truly multidisciplinary design classes which included students of architecture and law. He also contributed to the MBA program and taught short courses on Total Design to Industrial managers. Pugh also carried out consultation work, field research and seminars in design method implementation for product success for firms across Europe and North America, including the Digital Equipment Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation was a major American company in the computer industry and a leading vendor of computer systems, software and peripherals from the 1960s to the 1990s...
(DEC) and General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
. Other companies such as Land-Rover and Xerox
Xerox
Xerox Corporation is an American multinational document management corporation that produced and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...
have benefited from adopting Pugh’s structured design process.
Soon after Pugh published his book ‘Total Design’, Professor Don Clausing (MIT) and Professor Ken Ragsdell (University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
) encouraged Pugh to publish his collection of papers in order to make his work readily available to design engineers and managers. However, in the autumn of 1991 Pugh fell ill and it was not until the summer of 1992, when his condition improved, that Pugh could push on with compiling this work. Unfortunately in October 1993 Pugh’s Illness suddenly claimed his life. Pugh’s untimely death came as a great shock to all who knew him and ultimately led Don Clausing and Ronaldo Andrade (Universidade Federal de Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) to complete Pugh’s book ‘Creating Innovative Products Using Total Design: The Living Legacy of Stuart Pugh’.
Definition of Total Design
“Total Design is the systematic activity necessary, from the identification of the market/user need, to the selling of the successful product to satisfy that need – an activity that encompasses product, process, people and organisation.” – Stuart PughThe design process previous to the total design methodology was very much ad-hoc which Pugh described as ‘partial design’. Engineers and designers focused on their part within the total design of a product, rarely becoming part of the full product development process. This often led to commercial failure, due to the lack of consideration of the market, the user needs and the resources of the organisation (non-technological factors). Total design offers a visible operational structure which allows for the integration of technological and non-technological parts enabling efficient and effective product development.
Design Activity Model
“Total design may be construed as having a central core of activities, all of which are imperative for any design, irrespective of domain. Briefly, this core, the design core, consists of market (user need), product design specification, conceptual design, detail design, manufacture and sales. All design starts, or should start, with a need that, when satisfied, will fit into an existing market or create a market of its own.” – Stuart PughThe design core separates the design process into six iterative stages. This structure enables the seamless flow of information between stages while enabling the formation of multi-disciplined project teams.
Product Design Specification (PDS)
“From the statement of the need – often called the brief – a product design specificationProduct design specification
A product design specification is a statement of what a not-yet-designed product is intended to do. Its aim is to ensure that the subsequent design and development of a product meets the needs of the user. Product design specification is one of the elements of product lifecycle management.The PDS...
(PDS) must be formulated – the specification of the product to be designed. Once this is established, it acts as the mantle or cloak that envelopes all the subsequent stages in the design core. The PDS thus acts as the control for the total design activity, because it places the boundaries on the subsequent designs.” - Stuart Pugh
A PDS is a dynamic document that evolves during the design process. At the end of the design activity the design must be in balance with the final version of the PDS. Pugh devised a structure for a PDS that has 34 elements, however some elements may not be applicable to certain projects.
Concept Selection – Method of Controlled Convergence
Pugh's most famous work, "Concept Selection - A Method that Works", describes Pugh’s innovative ‘controlled convergence’ technique that was put to the test so successfully for General MotorsGeneral Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
's Saturn project.
“A major advantage of controlled convergence over other matrix selection methods is that it allows alternative convergent (analytic) and divergent (synthetic) thinking to occur, since as the reasoning proceeds and a reduction in the number of concepts comes about for rational reasons, new concepts are generated.” – Stuart Pugh
The evaluation matrix (Pugh method) is associated with the QFD
Quality function deployment
Quality function deployment is a “method to transform user demands into design quality, to deploy the functions forming quality, and to deploy methods for achieving the design quality into subsystems and component parts, and ultimately to specific elements of the manufacturing process.”, as...
method and is a form of prioritization matrix. It is implemented by establishing an evaluation team and constructing the matrix which contains evaluation criteria versus alternative concepts. A baseline concept is selected and the other concepts are scored against the criteria relative to the baseline. The scoring is done in symbol form, of either a positive, negative or neutral scoring. The scores are then combined to give a numerical output for each concept, the highest score being the most compatible. The method is effective for comparing alternative concepts and is an iterative method.
Pugh Concept Selection
S. Pugh (1981) Concept selection: a method that works. In: Hubka, V. (ed.), Review of design methodology. Proceedings interna¬tional conference on engineering design, March 1981, Rome. Zürich: Heurista, 1981, blz. 497 – 506.
Books
- Stuart Pugh, Don Clausing, Ron Andrade, (April 24, 1996). Creating Innovative Products Using Total Design. Addison Wesley Longman. ISBN 0201634856
- Pugh, S. (February 1991). Total Design: Integrated Methods for Successful Product Engineering. Addison-Wesley. ISBN 0201416395
- S.Pugh, B.Hollins, (March 1990). Successful Product Design: What to Do and When. Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 0408038616