A Comparative Study of Design Evaluation with Virtual Prototypes Versus a Physical Product

Design evaluation is an important stage in the product development process. Virtual prototypes enable economic design evaluation with higher flexibility, but the evaluation effectiveness may be limited compared to that of the real product. Few studies have analyzed whether or not virtual prototypes are comparable with the real product on the evaluation of product attributes. In this study, we conducted two-stage experiments to compare the effectiveness of design evaluation by using virtual prototypes versus the product they aim to represent. Numerous design features were evaluated from a physical appearance and usability point of view with assessment measurements including performance accuracy and the emotional responses of the users. The experimental results revealed that the visual virtual prototypes were typically not as effective in estimating the physical and appearance features, while no significant difference was observed in the usability between the evaluation media. The visual virtual prototypes tended to invoke more negative and passive emotional states in comparison to the actual product. However, with the addition of instant sensory feedback, the emotional responses were raised to a more positive and active level, which was similar to the one observed with the physical product. The findings of this study indicate the shortcomings of using virtual prototypes in the design evaluation process. Our conclusions may assist future studies in improving the practicality of virtual prototyping by the addition of useful features.

Variety perception and attitude toward digital assortments

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate consumers’ variety perception for online grocery assortments and, more generally, to better understand consumers’ attitude toward digital assortments. In particular, this research examines the influence of the organization of products that results from assortment structure and display. Design/methodology/approach Starting from the observation that previous work on traditional assortments is not sufficient to understand consumers’ perceptions and attitudes, the paper adopts a hypothetico-deductive approach and develops four hypotheses. These hypotheses are tested using an experimental approach. Findings This research enables us to see that both attitude and variety perception are affected by the way products are organized on a website. Furthermore, contrary to what the literature on traditional assortments allows one to assume, the assortment corresponding to a more positive attitude is not perceived as being the more varied. As a result, our findings reconsider the link between variety perception and consumer assortment evaluation for digital assortments. Research limitations/implications The work is based on data collected for only one product category. It would be interesting to explore other categories also, to determine if the structure of the assortment and variety perception have stable effects. Practical implications The results inform retailers that they must carefully design the display of their digital assortments. If a retailer wants to enhance variety perception, the authors recommend using an assortment organized by brand, or presenting all the products together. If, instead, the goal is to encourage a positive attitude, the retailer should opt for assortments sorted by attribute or that present all products together. Originality/value This research adopts a new orientation on assortment perception and evaluation, considering the specificities involved in digitizing assortments. In addition, this research studies a real product category and puts respondents in experimental conditions close to reality.

Penerapan Model Treffinger Berbasis Lingkungan dalam Pembelajaran Seni Tari untuk Meningkatkan Karakter Kreatif Siswa

The purpose of this research was to develop the students' creative characters in fluency, flexibility, originality, elaboration and redefinition through dance learning using Treffinger-surrounding based- method. The subject of the research was students of XI social 4 of SMAN 8 CRB. In the process, the surrounding was used as the stimulus of the dance creation as the real product that shown the character development of students' creativity. The learning method that was being implemented in four meetings was based on the steps of Treffinger method that is basic tool, practice woth process, and working with real problem.the method that was used in this research was exprimental research with the paradigm of quantitative. The result of this research proved that there was the increase of students' score by comparing the pre-test and post-test results. The average of pretest was 64 and after the treatment the posttest result was 82. Beside that, the value of t-account for every indicators on creative characters was bigger than t-table. Thus the hypothesis of this research that the treffinger-surrounding based method could increase the students' creative characters, can be accepted.

Creating Effective Online Customer Experiences

Creating effective online customer experiences through well-designed product web pages is critical to success in online retailing. How such web pages should look specifically, however, remains unclear. Previous work has only addressed a few online design elements in isolation, without accounting for the potential need to adjust experiences to reflect the characteristics of the products or brands being sold. Across 16 experiments, this research investigates how 13 unique design elements shape four dimensions of the online customer experience (informativeness, entertainment, social presence, and sensory appeal) and thus influence purchase. Product (search vs. experience) and brand (trustworthiness) characteristics exacerbate or mitigate the uncertainty inherent in online shopping, such that they moderate the influence of each experience dimension on purchases. A field experiment that manipulates real product pages on Amazon.com affirms these findings. The results thus provide managers with clear strategic guidance on how to build effective web pages.

High Current Testing and Simulation for Land Grid Array Sockets

Land grid array (LGA) sockets are commonly used for industry standard and custom microprocessors to meet the increased performance challenges for a variety of server applications. Along with the need for increased high speed signaling capabilities comes the challenge to support lower voltages and higher currents. Typical testing that is conducted by the LGA socket suppliers does not provide an accurate assessment of the maximum current capabilities in a real product application due to the test card design and construction limitations. Typical test card designs use daisy chain connections to wire multiple LGA socket contacts in series. The daisy chain wiring in the test card adds to the resistive heating and results in an inaccurate maximum current rating. Also, the test cards typically do not have a cross section construction that is representative of a real product application with multiple ground planes that provide improved thermal dissipation of the heat generated by the LGA socket interface. Hardware testing was conducted to better understand the performance limitations for a new product application. The test card was designed to use multiple voltage and ground planes in the circuit card cross section to provide a low impedance path for current flow and a low voltage drop through the LGA socket interface. In addition to the test card construction, the test hardware included a special test module with a shorted chip to provide a more accurate power distribution path through the socket and processor package. The test variables included different plating metallurgy options for the LGA socket and the processor module along with different configurations for the voltage supply and ground return contacts. Electrical and thermal modeling techniques were used to simulate the test hardware configuration with good correlation between the hardware and modeling results. Based on the positive correlation results, additional modeling was conducted to simulate the worst case power mapping conditions for the processor chip along with a more accurate power distribution. The additional modeling results provided further insights into the maximum current capabilities for the LGA socket based on the temperature increase from the resistive heating in the socket contacts.