DESIGN EVALUATION SPREADSHEET FOR THE

DESIGN OF A BABY TEETHER

by
Deborah J. Bein

SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING IN PARTIAL
FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE DEGREE OF
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE

at the

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

June 1990

Copyright @ Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1990. All rights reserved.

Signature of Author
Department of Mechanical Engineering
June 4, 1990
-,~ /~

Certified by
ProfessoP Steven D. Eppinger
Thesis Supervisor

Accepted by
Profes eter Griffith
Chairman, Undergraduate hfris Committee
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE
OF TECHNOLOGY

JUL 09 1990
LIBRARS
 DESIGN EVALUATION SPREADSHEET FOR THE
DESIGN OF A BABY TEETHER
by
Deborah J. Bein

Submitted to the Department of Mechanical Engineering on June 4,

1990 in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Bachelor of Science.

Abstract
A computer spreadsheet is used as a method of evaluating designs for baby
teethers. Four goals for the design are chosen: functionality, marketability,
safety, and cost economy. These goals are further defined and analyzed.
Goal scores are determined by weighting the design specifications in order
of importance and then summing their individual scores. The four goals
are also weighted and summed to obtain a final score for a design. The
preparation of the design spreadsheet is presented. Four teethers are
evaluated and compared: Cooling Teether with handle, Cooling Teether,
and Cool Ring Teether, all made by Kiddie Products, Inc., and Nuk
Teether, made by Gerber.

Thesis Supervisor: Professor Steven D. Eppinger

Title: Assistant Professor of Management Science
 Acknowledgements and Dedication

I would like to thank Steve Eppinger and the rest of the thesis group, Mark
Lester, George Nunn, Stephanie Patterson, and Carolyn Theodore, for all
their help. I would also like to thank everyone at Kiddie Products for their
time with us.

I dedicate my thesis to my mother and to Andrew, for all their love and
support, and to Kent McCord, for always being there when I needed him.
 Table of Contents

Abstract 2
Acknowledgements and Dedication 3
Table of Contents 4
List of Figures 5
List of Tables 6
1. Introduction 7
2. Methods of Choosing a Quality Design 10
2.1 The Desig n Process 10
2.2 Existin Methods 11
2.2.1 uality Function Deployment 11
2.2.2 e Concept Selection Matrix 11
2.2.3 The Design Spreadsheet 12
3. The Design Spreadsheet for Baby Teethers 15
3.1 Spreadsheet Structure 16
3.2 Teether Design Goals, Characteristics, and Formulas 22
3.2.1 Functionality 24
3.2.2 Marketability 31
3.2.3 Safety 34
3.2.4 Cost Economy 37
3.3 Results of Tested Teethers 38
4. Conclusions 42
Appendix A. The Teether Spreadsheet 44
A. 1 Design Goals 44
A.2 Design Parameters 45
A.3 UserParameters 47
A.4 User Values 52
Appendix B. Spreadsheet Formulas 57
B. 1 Design Goals 57
B.2 Design Parameters 58
B.3 User Parameters 60
 List of Figures

Figure 1-1: Cooling Teether With Handle 1

Figure 3-1: Structure of a Goal and its Parameters 3.1
Figure 3-2: Sample Columns in a Spreadsheet 3.1
Figure 3-3: Teether Dimension Defiitions 3.2.1
Figure 3-4: Gerber's Nuk Teether 3.3
 List of Tables

Table 3-1: Desired Characteristics of Teethers 3.2

Table 3-1I: Scores of Tested Teethers 3.3
 Chapter 1
Introduction

Design for Manufacturing consists of many issues, ranging from how

products are made to how they are sold. Professor Steven Eppinger has
brought all of these issues together in a class entitled "Design for
Manufacturing." Groups of five students were put together to work with a
manufacturing firm. The group members acted as consultants for the
company to improve a specific product design.

Kiddie Products, Inc. is a leading manufacturer and distributor of

products for infants and toddlers. Items meeting needs in the areas of
feeding, bathing, play, toilet training and general child care are marketed
under "The First Years" brand name. The First Years line is sold
nationwide to mass merchandisers, department stores, variety and drug
chains, supermarkets, and catalog showrooms. The company also
distributes internationally.

For a variety of reasons, Kiddie has recently considered redesigning

their the triangle shaped cooling teether. This redesign became our group
project. Each member of the group chose to concentrate on a different area
of the redesign effort.

Kiddie Products' 1438 cooling teether with handle and 1437 cooling
teether without handle have been available for approximately ten years.
The 1438 is shown in Figure 1-1. Kiddie produces over 20,000
pieces/month each of the two teethers.
 Figure 1-1: Cooling Teether With Handle

The teether has a triangle shape and blue color. It is filled with water,
allowing it to become cold in a refrigerator. The teething ring is made of
ethylene vinyl acetate through a blow molding process and the handle is
made of polypropylene through an injection molding process. Each of
these processes is performed by an outside contractor. The two
components are then shipped to Kiddie's facility in Avon, Massachusetts,
where filling and sealing of the teether, attachment of the handle (for the
1438), packaging, and shipping operations are performed.

Kiddie receives three common complaints about the current cooling

teether design:

1) Water leaks from the seal.

2) Food particles may collect in the crevices of the handle, making the
teether harder to clean and less sanitary. Water may also get trapped inside
the handle, giving bacteria a place to grow.
 3) For the 1437 (teether without the handle), if the teether is sealed
too high, the extra material may leave a very rough edge. On the 1438, the
handle covers this area.

A new product design must account for these complaints, as well as

all the other important characteristics and performance measures of a
teether. Kiddie focuses on several goals in designing their products. The
most important of these include quality, shopping ease, and value superior
to the competition. Ideally, they would like 100% trade, parent, and
employee satisfaction, and the lowest cost possible.

To help determine the best possible design, I will present the a design
spreadsheet for teethers. The spreadsheet lists all the important
characteristics and performance measures for a cooling teether and
quantitatively measures one design against another. This tool then may be
used to compare proposed teether designs to find the best one.
 Chapter 2

Methods of Choosing a Quality Design

2.1 The Design Process

A design progresses through many stages before it is ready to be

actually manufactured and sold to the public. The design starts with just a
concept. The cost and market must then be assessed to determine if the
design is a worthwhile endeavor. The process is expensive; it takes much
thought and can be very confusing. The process, though, would be even
more costly if designs were invented and manufactured, only then to find
out that the design did not work, or that it could be better. It is vital to use
a method to determine approximately how successful a design will be,
while it is still in the concept stage. One should never rush into production
with a design that has not been tested beforehand. 1 Once a design has been
tested, it should be redesigned and retested continually until it is as flawless
as possible.

Whether a design is simple or complex, there are many factors which

must be considered to successfully design a product. Not considering
every single issue could be a fatal error. It is very important that both the
strengths and weaknesses of the new design are understood. A few already
existing methods to measure designs will be discussed next. The final one
is implemented in the next chapter.

1 Sydney F. Love, Planning and Creating Successful Engineered Designs, 1980, p. 1

2.2 Existing Methods

There are a number of existing ways to test a preliminary design.

These methods all give lists of the customer needs and compare each
feature of the design with those needs. They use charts, diagrams, and
matrices to analyze the data about the product.

2.2.1 Quality Function Deployment

Quality Function Deployment (QFD) 2 consists of many viewpoints

on how to design a product with the highest quality. Perhaps the most
famous of these is a method called "The House of Quality." The House of
Quality contains several components, placed in a house shaped figure.
They are the following: customer needs, product features, a planning
matrix, correlations between the customer needs and product features, and
feature-to-feature correlations. The planning matrix ranks relationships
between the features and the needs. The correlations determine the value
of importance of the customer need to the customer, how well the need is
being met, and the competitor's ability to meet those needs.

2.2.2 The Concept Selection Matrix

Stuart Pugh developed the Concept Selection Matrix. The purpose of

this technique is to minimize "conceptual vulnerability," meaning to put
aside a weak concept before it has gone too far. 3 The matrix consists of

2 Louis Cohen, "Quality Function Deployment: An Application Perspective From

Digital Equipment Corporation," National Productivity Review, 1988
3 StuartPugh, "Design Decision - How to Succeed and Know Why," Session 5a,
Paper 8, Design Engineering Conference, 1981
criteria chosen to evaluate the current design (left column) and a number of
different concepts (top row). The matrix is filled in with either a "+"
(better than), "-" (worse than), or "s" (same). These symbols are summed
for each concept and show which concepts of the design currently being
evaluated are strong and which are weak.

2.2.3 The Design Spreadsheet

The above methods are all fine ways to qualitatively evaluate

concepts. They are not meant to replace the design process, only to help it
along and make it better. However, as design concepts get more complex,
the qualitative design criteria used in those methods may be difficult to
understand, or may be understood differently by different people.

The design spreadsheet presents the designer with the challenge of

proving that her/his design really works and that it is the best possible
design. It forces the designer to analyze the product she/he is designing
and consider every characteristic that may be of any importance to the
producer and consumer. The major difference between the spreadsheet and
the above methods, however, is that the spreadsheet evaluates designs in a
quantitative way. Design goals for the product are chosen and broken
down into specific parameters, to be placed into the spreadsheet. A final
numerical score is obtained for each goal, and then those are combined to
get a final score for the entire design. Seeing a score for each goal is very
helpful because it points out the strengths and weaknesses of the design.
The goal scores are unitless numbers. Each design is compared to the same
set of standards so scores are relative to each other. The design analysis is
very specific. As a result, the designer often realizes design issues she/he
had not thought of before. The spreadsheet basically is a structure to
continue the creative thinking of the design process. It still keeps the
process iterative. Once a design is put into the spreadsheet, it should be
revised and put in again to show its improvement.

A design spreadsheet has six main advantages. 4 First, each goal is

broken down so specifically that there can be no confusion as to the
definition of each goal. Second, the spreadsheet provides a way to see
where tradeoffs in the design must be made by looking at the individual
goal scores. For example, making a product more durable may cost more
money. Third, it incorporates every issue of design: engineering, human
factors, marketing, and manufacturing. Furthermore, all of these issues are
considered early enough in the design process that they are simple to
change. A fourth advantage of the spreadsheet is its structure, which
stimulates creative thinking about the design. Fifth, the spreadsheet can
evaluate competing designs and initiate discussions about the advantages or
disadvantages of certain features. These discussions are always helpful.
Debates elicit thought and reasoning behind a decision and may prove
some of those thoughts right or wrong. The final advantage of the
spreadsheet is its organization of ideas. Once a final design is chosen, a
look at the complete spreadsheet will neatly show each concept and both
qualitative and quantitative reasons why it was deemed successful or not.

On the other hand, the design spreadsheet has some drawbacks, also.
It is only an effective tool if it is used correctly. Specific design parameters

4 MichaelRosen, "How to Use a Spreadsheet as a Tool for Design," M.I.T.

Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2.73 Design Projects class handout, October,
1989
are entered into the spreadsheet and compared to a base set of values.
Formulas determine if the design parameters are better, equal to, or worse
than the base case values. Thus, the final scores are completely dependent
on the base values. A designer may consider one product design the best.
If the designer then prepares a spreadsheet using that favorite design as the
base case, it is unlikely that any other design will receive a higher score
because she/he has already told the spreadsheet which she/he thinks is best.
The spreadsheet scores depend on the designer to either enter an accurate,
neutral base case, or to inform a spreadsheet user what the base case is. In
this way, a user will at least know what her/his designs are being compared
against. No matter what the base values are, however, designs can still be
compared with one another.

Scores are obtained by weighting parameters according to importance.

The importance percentages are quite subjective. Discussing the goals and
parameters with a design team is usually the most accurate method of
determining importance percentages.

The teether spreadsheet presented in the following chapter is prepared

such that no design can exceed the base case. The chapter concentrates on
describing how a design spreadsheet is prepared and used, not on making
each number perfectly accurate. The nature of a spreadsheet, though,
makes it simple to change the formulas or percentage weights to obtain
more accurate scores.
 Chapter 3

The Design Spreadsheet for Baby Teethers

A spreadsheet is a mathematical model consisting of cells whose

values are input by the user. The cells may also contain formulas, to create
values based on other cells, and text, to describe the values.

A design spreadsheet is a tool for the designer. It presents a way to be

more creative and to compare ideas. It is a structure for improvement.
However, the teether spreadsheet is not just for the designer's use. Anyone
can input a new design or the design of an existing teether and produce a
score that relates that teether design to other designs. Despite this broader
utility, the spreadsheet is most useful for the designer to help build ideas
and to highlight areas that need improvement.

The teether design spreadsheet is based on a number of assumptions.

Each goal is defined from a consumer's point of view, that is, an attribute is
determined to be good or bad based on the opinions of teether purchasers.
Consumer opinions also determine the values and importance weights
placed on goals. As such, the entire spreadsheet greatly emphasizes
appearance in evaluating designs. The assumption that appearance will
have a major impact on a project's eventual success in the marketplace
greatly affects the outcome of every score. Furthermore, the assumption
that the consumer data determining the importance weights is true for all
consumers affects every part of the spreadsheet. When considering the
final results, it is very important to keep these assumptions in mind.

The assumptions one makes when designing a design spreadsheet

should be clearly stated. As discussed in Chapter 2, the influence of the
designer of the spreadsheet has a great effect on the results.

3.1 Spreadsheet Structure

The spreadsheet may be constructed on any spreadsheet software

package, such as Excel or Lotus 1-2-3. The teether spreadsheet was
developed using Lotus 1-2-3.

Preparing a spreadsheet involves five major steps. First, the goals for
the design must be defined. The goals should be in broad terms which
cover every area of any importance in the design. For example, one goal
for a teether design is that the teether appear attractive and safe for a child,
enticing a shopper to buy it. The color of the teether affects this
attractiveness. Brown is certainly less pleasing to view as a baby teether
than bright blue. Therefore, one broad goal of the design is marketability,
defined here as all the characteristics that would make someone looking at
a teether want to buy it. Brand loyalty and advertising also make a product
more marketable, but they are not directly affected by the product design,
and are therefore not included in the goal of marketability. Some
characteristics of marketability are attractive appearance, or aesthetic
appeal, and appearance of safety. These are listed under marketability.
The color of the teether, then, since it affects attractiveness, would be a
parameter under aesthetic appeal, which is a characteristic of marketability.

Section 3.2 describes the goals chosen for the teether and all of their
components. Designers can always easily revise the spreadsheet, so any
forgotten or new goals or components may easily be added later. In fact,
the spreadsheet is meant for revision. It should be able to help determine
where a goal or parameter may be missing. The designer can then add the
missing section and repeat the process.

Step two is to decide what determines the goals. Each goal should
have a set of design parameters that define it. An equation is formulated
for each goal using those design parameters. The design parameters are
weighted according to importance and summed for the total goal score.
The design parameters can also be broken down into more specific user
parameters. Again, an equation for each design parameter is formulated
using the user parameters. There are a total of three levels under the design
goals: design parameters, user parameters, and user values. The user
values contain the data entered by the user about the teether design. The
user parameter scores are formed from equations comparing the user values
to chosen design values. Each design thus gets compared to the same set of
standard values. This step is described in more detail later. An example
from the teether spreadsheet of a goal, its design parameters, and its user
parameters is displayed in Figure3-1.

Every parameter and goal is scaled so that each one receives a value
that can be relatively compared to the others. The values for the user
parameters are all scaled between zero (worst) and one (best). The goals
and design parameters are rated from zero (worst) to ten (best). Every
formula follows the theory, "more is better," meaning the higher the final
value, the better the score.

The best way to start devising the formulas is by starting at the lowest
level of the spreadsheet that uses formulas, the user parameters. For
example, before the formula for the goal Functionality (see Figure3-1) can
 Goal: Functionality
Soothing to Baby
calms baby
ability to get cold
handle
Usable as a Toy
shape
fun
moving objects
sound
Handling Size
thickness
length
width
weight
Ease of Cleaning
dishwasher safe
grooves
cleaning thoroughness
Durability
lifetime
material
destructibility
[The parameters in this example are explained
in the following section.]
Figure 3-1: Structure of a Goal and its Parameters
be computed, each of the design parameter scores (Soothing to Baby,
Usable as a Toy, etc.) must be formulated. The design parameters, though,
are formed from the user parameters. For instance, Handling Size is based
on length, width, thickness, and weight. So, it is best to begin with the user
parameter formulas. A user parameter formula must transform the user
value into a number which ranks the quality of the pertaining parameter
issue. In order to determine whether a user value is good or bad, it is
compared to a set of known values, called the base case. These values may
be an existing design, or a suggested design. For the teether spreadsheet,
"optimal" values were determined based on teether market research. These
values are not necessarily the best possible values for a teether design, but
they represent the teether market's opinion of what the most desirable
teether qualities should be. (Again, it must be stressed here that the design
scores are very dependent on the people who choose the spreadsheet goals,
pick a base case and influence the spreadsheet in any way.) Every design
in the spreadsheet is compared to the base case. Therefore, all the designs
are compared to the same set of standard values. Within the spreadsheet,
the base case values are incorporated into the user parameter formulas.
Every number can be easily replaced, thus continuing the iterative design
process. Since the spreadsheet is set up using optimal values as a base
case, no design can be better than the base case and the final score is a
value between zero and ten. However, a spreadsheet can also be prepared
such that a design that matches the quality of the base case receives a score
of five, a design worse than the base case receives less than five, and a
design surpassing the base case receives a score between five and ten.

To continue making the formulas, base case values must be chosen.

Many values in the base case may be given from the constraints of the
design. For example, all of the safety regulations have certain
requirements set by the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC). If
the teether can not withstand a compression force of 80 pounds, the teether
fails the test. In this case, the formula would give a score of zero to any
design that could not withstand a force of at least 80 pounds.

Each user parameter within the group that defines one design
parameter is not necessarily of equal importance. For example, the design
parameter Aesthetic Appeal includes the user parameters size and color. It
is more important that the teether is small enough to fit in a baby's mouth
than exactly what color it is. The user parameters are therefore weighted
according to how important they are relative to each other. The design
parameter formulas sum the weighted scores of each user parameter. The
user parameters are then multiplied by their importance percentage. In a
similar manner, the scores for each goal are formulated by weighting the
design parameter values.

A low final goal score shows that an area of the design needs
improvement or a parameter may even have been forgotten. The scores
also demonstrate how an issue in one design compares to the same issue in
another design. Every score is based on the user parameters, which are
obtained directly from information about the design currently being
evaluated.

The design goals and their components are listed in columns on the
left side of the spreadsheet and numerical values for the goals and
parameters continue across the sheet. A sample spreadsheet would be
similar to Figure 3-2.

The Comments, or Notes, column contains questions about the teether

and information about the specific parameter issue. The Comments, in
addition, ask for quantitative information about the teether design. The
answers to these questions should be placed in the User Values column.
The user parameter values are then formulated into the equations which
incorporate the design information.

The spreadsheet is now prepared for a "trial run." The third step is
testing it and checking that the formulas are correct. Data from an existing
 Design Goal Design Parameter User Parameter Comments User
Goals Score Parameters Values Parameters Values Values
Formulas Formulas Formulas These Actual
based on based on based on comments data about
desi9n user user contain teether
parameters. parameters. values. informationdesign.
and
questions
to be
answered
inthe User
Value
Column.

Figure 3-2: Sample Columns in a Spreadsheet

design with known results can be put into the user value column of the
spreadsheet. By using an existing design and already knowing how the
design works, how it sells, and what it costs, the parameter results should
be somewhat intuitive. Check the new parameter values. If they do not
make sense, the formula must be revised. Formula revisions may often
occur because of mathematical and general errors. Non-intuitive results
may also uncover a design effect that has not been covered in the
spreadsheet and needs to be incorporated. Again, revision is a simple task
and very much encouraged.

The fourth step is to determine the relative importance of each goal

with respect to the entire design. These percentages will determine the
final score of the design.

The last step is for the designer. Once the weaknesses and strengths
of a design are exposed, the product should be redesigned and retested.
Hopefully, the more the design is tested, the number of areas that need
improvement will decrease.

A copy of the teether spreadsheet is in Appendix A. It may be useful

in the next section to use it to help follow the explanations of the goals and
parameters.

3.2 Teether Design Goals, Characteristics, and Formulas

The design spreadsheet process starts with the first step, picking
design goals for a teether. It is important not to pick too many goals. Too
many goals can make the spreadsheet very hard to read and the results very
confusing. It is also important, however, not too pick too few goals. No
substantial conclusions can be made without enough information.

The percentages of importance of each parameter are based on market

research performed by Carolyn Theodore on teethers in general and
Kiddie's Cooling Teether. Table3-15 shows the attributes in teethers
desired by parents and the percentage of parents who desire those
attributes.

Four main goals were chosen to represent the desired characteristics

and issues involved in designing a baby teether: Functionality,
Marketability, Safety, and Cost Economy. Functionality covers all the
purposes of the teether. Its parameters are the desirable functions of a
teether. Marketability describes the appearance of the teether - what a

5 Carolyn
Theodore, Marketing Analysis of a Children's Product, M.I.T. Sloan School
of Management S.M. Thesis, June, 1990
 Table 3-I: Desired Characteristics of Teethers

Characteristic Focus Group

Participants
Desiring
Characteristic

Interesting to child/
toy-like 56%
Easy to hold 56%
Refrigeratable/cooling 50%
Bright color/attractive
to child 50%
Safety 50%
Material 50%
Brand Name 44%
Texture 25%
Comfortable in Mouth 25%
Shape 19%
Durable 19%
Easy to Clean 12%
Attachable 12%

The data is obtained from focus groups

held by Carolyn Theodore.
consumer sees in the package when she/he is shopping. Safety is
composed of the safety regulations determined by the Consumer Products
Safety Commission (CPSC). This category questions whether the product
is safe enough to be produced. Cost Economy takes into account some
manufacturing issues which contribute to a lower product cost for the
company.

There are three types of questions that the spreadsheet user may be
asked. The first type asks for a certain dimension or characteristic of the
teether. The second type asks the user to rate a specific quality of the
teether. The ratings are from one (worst) to ten (best). The third question
just requires a yes or no answer. In the third case, a one is the input for a
"yes" answer and a zero is the input for a "no" answer. (All the inputs are
numerical.) Every user parameter formula considers the kind of data it
receives and incorporates it into a value between zero and one.

All of the parameter formulas are listed in Appendix B. The base case
values are within the user parameter formulas in B.2.

3.2.1 Functionality

Functionality describes functions of the product - does the teether do

what it is supposed to do? In order to know that, another question must be
asked first: what is the purpose of a teether? The obvious answer is to
soothe the baby while she/he is teething. However, market research has
shown that parents also look for many other qualities in teethers when
buying them for their children (see Table3-I). Many like the teether to be a
toy for their child, not just a therapeutic device. Many also want their baby
to be able to easily grasp the teether comfortably. Some parents are
concerned whether or not the teether is easy to clean. A final issue is that
the teether last as long as necessary (durability). It is important to note that
the functions just described are functions desired by the adults purchasing
the teethers. The real function of a teether is to soothe a child; a teether
that duplicates as a toy does not necessarily make the gums hurt less.
However, a toy may hold the child's attention. The design parameters will
be more specifically discussed next. Each user parameter is denoted in
italics.
Soothing to Baby

This design parameter has three user parameters. The spreadsheet

first asks the user to rate how much the teether will actually calni down the
baby and soothe her/his gum soreness. Although this is the main purpose
of a teether, it is difficult to determine when exactly a baby feels better and
when she/he does not. Therefore, other ways must be found to know when
a baby feels better.

One method that has been found to ease pain is applying a cold
surface to the pain. The coldness numbs the pain. So, the user is next
asked if the teether has the ability to get cold, and to stay cold (heat
capacity). If the answer is yes, the user parameter becomes "1," the highest
value. The next question is whether the teether has a handle and, if so, if
the handle is useful or if it is just a cumbersome addition to the teething
ring. Particularly in cooling teethers, the handle may be a different
material and therefore not get cold, giving the teether a warmer temperature
with which to be held. This handle question rates the use of the handle,
where an input of "10" means the handle makes the teether much easier to
grasp, provides a non-cold surface to hold, and does not make the teether
too bulky.

For these three cases, the user parameter formulas are relatively
simple. Any user value that is a rating from one to ten is divided by ten to
scale all the values between zero and one. The yes/no questions use the
format "if, then, else." For example, the parameter ability to get cold asks a
question which prompts prompts for a yes or no answer. If the teether is a
cooling teether, the answer is "yes." The user value input is then "1." The
formula for ability to get cold states, if(UV= 1,1,0). This translates as, if the
user value (UV) equals one, then display one, otherwise display zero. Thus,
the cooling teether receives a value of one, the highest possible score for a
user parameter. This score adds points towards the soothing to baby score,
the functionality score, and eventually the total design score.

Now that the user parameters of soothing to baby have been decided
upon, the three parameters must be weighted in order of importance.
Calming the baby is the most important function of a teether, so that
parameter gets the highest percentage. It has been given an importance
weight of 50% of the soothing to baby design parameter. A cold teether
has been proven to help soreness and it is a desirable quality among
parents, so ability to get cold is rated next. It has been given 40%. Last is
whether the handle is helpful, with 10%. The formula for the design
parameter soothing to baby, therefore, is 0.5*(calmness rating) +
0.4*(ability to get cold (1 or 0)) + 0.1*(handle rating). ("*"t is the symbol
for multiplication.) The design parameter formulas are listed in Appendix
B.2.

Usable as a Toy

As Table 3-I proves, many parents look for more than one function in
products that they buy for their children. Teethers do not have to just
soothe aching gums, they can be entertaining also. Not only does a fun
teether keep the baby's attention longer, but parents may also think that
they are getting more use from their money. The factors that determine
whether a teether can also be a toy are its shape, that is, whether it is in the
shape of a particular animal or object; its fun factor, meaning a rating of
how fun the teether is to play with; its contents, whether there are any
fascinating moving objects; and the teether's sound, that is, whether the
teether makes any noise, similar to a rattle, for example.

Handling Size

Teethers are used by babies from age three months and older.
Because teething starts so young, the size of a teether is especially
important. Since a teether belongs in the mouth, the teether must fit well in
a baby's small mouth and be able to reach the aching gums. The baby
should also be able to hold the teether comfortably in her/his small hands.
A big, bulky teether is not desirable.

The parameters used to evaluate the handling size are the teether
dimensions thickness, length, and width, and the weight of the teether.
Parents generally agree that a thin teether is easier to hold and to chew.
Heavy teethers may be difficult for a baby to hold for a length of time.
Bulkiness adds more weight and makes the teether difficult to hold.
Overall, small teethers receive more positive response than large ones.

The user parameter formulas for size and weight are quite
complicated. The required dimensions are thickness, length, and width.
To define these dimensions, the teether is treated as if it were surrounded
by a square or rectangle. The length and width are defined by the two
longer sides. Figure 3-3(a) describes the dimensions more clearly, using
Kiddie's Cooling Teether as an example. The thickness is generally the
part of the teether that the child will wrap her/his fingers around, or put in
her/his mouth. This dimension therefore is desired quite small.

The dimensions are still not that simple, unfortunately. The formulas
need to distinguish between a circular teether and a polygon teether. The
spreadsheet asks the user to distinguish the teether type. If a circular
teether were treated the same way as above, a teether such as the Cool Ring
teether, by Kiddie Products, would be quite difficult to measure, and, more
than that, its measurements would not have the same definitions as those of
the Cooling Teether. The dimensions would be inaccurate. For a circular
teether, the diameter is used in place of the length. The width and
thickness are measured around the area on which the baby will chew. The
dimensions are shown in Figure3-3(b), using Kiddie's Cool Ring Teether
as an example.

The thickness user parameter formula is described here as an example

of a formula. The optimal thickness chosen is a distance of one half inch.
The formula is structured so that when one half is entered as the user value,
the user parameter receives a score of one, the highest possible score. As
the user value drifts further away from one half, either up or down, the user
parameter value decreases.

The length and width optimal values chosen are two inches each.
This value was determined based on the teether market research which
revealed much interest in small teethers. The optimal diameter chosen for
circular teethers is four inches, but a diameter even two inches above or
below four will still receive a high score. Circular teethers may be larger
than others since many of them consist of just an outside ring with nothing
in the middle.

Ease of Cleaning

The easiest way to wash anything is probably to just be able to put it

in the dishwasher. A dishwasher safe teether therefore makes cleaning a
Figure 3-3: Teether Dimension Definitions

(tx)
ToP VIEW ,
teether a very simple process. Whether it is dishwasher safe or not, a
teether should be easy to clean. Since babies play with dirt and practically
anything they touch, baby products get dirty very easily. It is very
important that the teether contain no areas where dirt could get stuck.
Since the teether is also meant for the mouth, cleanliness is even more
important. There cannot be any grooves or crevices where dirt and germs
can collect. If the teether has a handle or more than one part, it would be
advantageous to have the parts removable, thus allowing the teether to be
cleansed more thoroughly.

Durability

A durable teether must have a strong material and a long lifetime.

Although consumers generally prefer most products to last forever, the
necessary lifetime of a teether is only the amount of time a baby teethes.
Usually, teethers are not used for much longer than one year. So, as long
as a design is expected to remain fully functional for at least one year, its
lifetime parameter will receive the top value of one. Material is described
in two parameters. The first is materialstrength. A rating is requested. A
material may receive a lower rating if it is possibly expected to allow water
to leak, causing one of the three customer complaints outlined in the
introduction. The second parameter is material permeability. This
parameter is only relevant for teethers filled with water. Some materials
are permeable and slowly lose water to air over time. This takes away
from the lifetime of the teether because without the water, the teether will
no longer have the ability to become cold. Any permeability in the
material lowers the parameter value. A teether without this problem
receives a one.
3.2.2 Marketability

Usually, the way a teether looks determines whether a shopper will

purchase it or not. No matter how well a product works and how cheap it
is to make, if it does not sell it is still a design failure. The appearance of a
product can "make or break" it. The first marketability parameter, is
aesthetic appeal. This parameter judges the aesthetics of just the teething
ring. If there is a handle, it is judged next under the handle aesthetic
appeal parameter. Some teether characteristics may appear different to the
eye than they are in reality. For example, some teethers may pass every
safety regulation test and have no chance of harming a child. However, if
the teether looks like it could be broken apart, or appears at all dangerous,
then it appears unsafe and a concerned adult would not purchase the
teether. Another important factor is that the teether appear to be able to
perform any of the desired functions discussed in the above section. So,
appearanceof comfort is also a part of marketability. A teether that looks
hard and uncomfortable in a mouth will be looked at less positively. Along
the same lines, the teether should appear easy to clean. The last parameter
included is price, that is, the price the consumer pays in the store. Many
consumers, especially when comparing very similar products, will base
their purchase decision on price.

Aesthetic Appeal

Every product makes an immediate first impression. That impression

is created by a few characteristics of the product, including size, shape,
color, texture, and features (distinguishing parts of the teether). Many of
these are quite subjective and difficult to quantify. The formula for size
uses the most specific parameters of these characteristics. An optimal size
is determined the same way as the handling size. Research by Stephanie
Patterson 6 has shown that primary colors and bright colors are the best
colors to attract babies. The color parameter thus receives a high score for
bright colors and a low score for dull colors. The shape and texture
parameters both ask the user to rate how interesting and chewable the
teether looks. The features parameter asks whether the teether has an
added attraction to make the teether more fun.

Handle Aesthetic Appeal

The aesthetic appeal parameter above considers only the teething ring,
not any attachments. The handle aesthetic appeal is also important because
an unattractive handle could destroy the presence of what could be an
attractive teething ring. Like above, size, shape, and color of the handle
are considered.

Appearance of Safety/Durability

There is a distinctive difference between whether a product looks safe

and whether it really is safe. Particularly in children's products, shoppers
are especially concerned with product safety. Three parameters determine
the appearance of a safe, durable product. The first is the presence or lack
of sharp edges. If the teether edges look sharp enough to possibly cut a
baby's skin, it will be deemed unsafe. The second is pointy objects. A
pointy object could be a protruding part of the teether, dangerous because it

6Stephanie Patterson, "Design Alternatives For A Cooling Teether For Babies",

M.I.T. Department of Mechanical Engineering S.B. Thesis, June, 1990
could be poked into an eye, or it could be an object within the material
which could puncture through the chewing surface and thus become
harmful. The third user parameter is destructibility. Many families with
babies also have other young children. Not only is it important that the
baby can not break the teether, it is just as important that a sibling can not
tear it apart. All of these safety issues have been mentioned as areas of
concern in marketing focus groups by parents of young children. 7

Appearance of Comfort

As with the safety concerns, a teether must appear comfortable for a

baby to use before someone will choose to purchase it. Teether comfort
implies comfort to the baby both in the mouth and in the hands. The two
parameters describing comfort are material softness, for chewing comfort,
and graspability,for holding comfort.

Appearance of Cleaning

Once dirt attaches to grooves and crevices, it is difficult to remove.

Shoppers are inclined to buy products that are easy to clean and contain no
troublesome, dirt-catching parts. Many parents in focus groups mentioned
concerns with products containing areas where dirt and germs could
collect. This design parameter questions the number of crevices in the
teether.

Price

Almost any consumer, for almost all products, is concerned with the

Theodore, Marketing Analysis of a Children's Product, M.I.T. Sloan School

7 Carolyn
of Management S.M. Thesis, June, 1990)
price of an item. Everyone prefers to pay as little as possible, but everyone
also wants a quality product. The price parameter assumes that people will
not be willing to pay more than three dollars for a single teether. People
are willing to pay a few cents or a dollar more for a quality product.
However, the demand for a much higher priced teether will drop very
quickly. There are too many competitive lower priced teethers available.

The formula for Marketability is determined by combining the

design parameters by giving each one an importance weight. Aesthetic
Appeal was weighted most with 25% of the total. Appearance of
Safety/Durability was next with 20%. In descending order of importance,
the others are Appearance of Comfort, Handle Aesthetic Appeal, Price, and
Appearance of Cleaning.

Brand loyalty, advertising, and packaging are also three important

parts that make a product marketable. They are not included because they
have no direct effect on the actual product design.

3.2.3 Safety

Safety is perhaps the most important design goal. A product that is

not safe should not and can not be offered to the public. This section
provides a way of checking that a design passes all the regulation tests
before the design is chosen and produced. The parameters consist of the
tests required by the CPSC. The American Society of Testing Materials
(ASTM) further describes the procedures for the required tests. The tests
are described below.
Circular Holes

This test measures any holes within the teether, for example, Kiddie's
cooling teether in Figure 1.1 has an inside hole. The holes may not be less
than .5 inch. This is to prevent the entrapment of small fingers in the hole.

Strings/Cords

This test measures the full uncoiled length of any strings or cords
attached to the teether. A cord may not be more than twelve inches long.
The purpose of the test is to prevent the possibility of the cord strangling
the child.

Sanitary Liquids

This test applies only to teethers containing water. A sample of water

must be analyzed for bacteria at least once a week and the filler and sealer
must be monitored and checked for bacteria at least once every three
months.

Size Requirements

The size of a teether or any baby product is very important. Because

babies tend to put things in their mouths, it is vital that no baby product be
so small that a baby could swallow it and possibly choke. This concern is
even more relevant with a teether, which is meant to be placed in a baby's
mouth. This test uses a cylinder for measurements required by the CPSC.
If the teether can pass through the cylinder, it is too small and it fails the
test. The parameters ask for teether dimensions to determine if the teether
in question would pass through the cylinder.
 ----
-----
- ....
..

Accessible Edges and Points

The ASTM Standards define 'accessible' as "any portion of a toy that

can be contacted...." It further says, "Toys shall not have accessible
potentially hazardous sharp edges." The requirement is the same for
protruding points. 8

Abuse Tests

These tests all measure the strength and durability of the teether and
ensure that the teether can not fall apart. After each of these tests, the
teether should be checked again for accessible edges. The tests are the
following:
* Impact Test (or Drop Test)
The impact test requires the teether to be dropped from a
height of at least 36.5 inches and be intact without any
damage. Sharp edges and points should be checked for after
the impact test.

" Torque Test

Teether regulations require a torque of at least four lb.f.
before the teether can be cleared.

" Tension Test

The tension test has a limit of 15.5 lb.f. before failure.

" Compression Test

The compression test consists of applying 80 pounds of
force to the teether and checking for leakage. Any part of the
teether which does not touch a flat surface must withstand 30
pounds of force.

* Bite Test
The teether must be able to resist successfully a load that
incrementally builds up to 100 pounds.

8 AmericanSociety of Testing and Materials, Section F 963, 4.7 and 4.8, Annual
Book of ASTM Standards, Philadelphia, 1986
 " Puncture Resistance Test
A needle is applied to a smooth surface of the teether with
a force of one pound.

" Seam Seal Test

25 pounds are applied to the seal of the teether to check for
strength.

Each formula for the safety requirements is quite straightforward. If

the user value is the required minimum (or maximum) or better, the design
parameter receives a ten. Some of the parameters may not get only a zero
or ten; if the design passes the test, but it could still improve, it will receive
a score between zero and ten. However, if the design's user value does not
pass the required test, the design parameter receives a score of zero.
Furthermore, if any of the design parameters receives a zero, (therefore at
least one test was not passed), the entire Safety goal will get a score of
zero. So, if Safety has a score of zero for a design, it is obvious that this
design should be revised to pass the required safety regulations.

3.2.4 Cost Economy

One of Kiddie's goals is to keep costs as low as possible. While a

design is in its first stages it is sometimes difficult to approximate the
expense of manufacturing and assembly. The Cost Economy parameters
estimate some of these costs. Three design parameters were chosen to
represent some issues of cost, namely, manufacturing,labor, and materials.
Manufacturing

The goal of manufacturing teethers is always to make as many quality

products as possible in as little time as possible. The spreadsheet uses two
user parameters to compare costs of designs: processes and production
time. The number of processes is important because the more processes
needed to make one teether, the longer it will take to produce one teether.
Given the same factory resources, less teethers will be made in an allotted
time. Production time inspects the amount of time needed to completely
produce one teether. Less time receives a higher score.
Labor

Labor costs money. The fewer workers a design needs for

production, the lower the total cost. The spreadsheet asks the user to input
how many laborers will be needed for each process of a design. The model
assumes that ideally there should be no more than one person working with
each process. The formula sums the total number of workers for each
process to get a total number of workers. If the total number of workers is
greater than the total number of processes, then there is an average of more
than one person working with each process, lowering the parameter score.
Materials

Like labor, more materials generally indicate a more complicated and

expensive design. The spreadsheet assumes that the teether with the lowest
cost should ideally have only one material. The parameter value slowly
decreases as the number of materials grows.

3.3 Results of Tested Teethers

Four existing teethers were tested in the spreadsheet, three made by

Kiddie Products and one made by Gerber. The Kiddie teethers tested are
the Cooling Teether with handle, the Cooling Teether, and the Cool Ring
Teether. Gerber's Nuk Teether was also tested. The Cooling Teether is
shown in Chapter 1. The Cool Ring is shown in Figure3-3(b) and the Nuk
is shown in Figure3-4. The final results for the four main goals and the
totals are shown in Table3-II.

Figure 3-4: Gerber's Nuk Teether

The scores have no units. The numbers are relative to each other.

The Cooling Teether with handle receives a lower relative score for a
few reasons. Although the handle adds another surface on which to hold or
chew, it contains grooves that are difficult to clean. The handle is designed
to snap on to the teething ring with just enough loose area inbetween them
to become a place for dirt to collect. The teether is also slightly bulky,
particularly with the handle.

The Cool Ring does best in Functionality mostly because of its play
value. None of the others tested have any fun features. The Cool Ring is a
colorful and fun toy. This advantage is fully exposed under the
Functionality goal. However, there are a number of safety appearance
 Tabie 3-II: Scores of Tested Teethers

Cooling Teether Cooling Cool Ring Nuk

With Handle Teether Teether
(Kiddie) (Kiddie) (Kiddie) (Gerber)

Functionality: 6.53 6.78 7.73 6.66

Marketability: 7.01 7.70 7.13 7.77

Safety: 9.83 9.67 9.67 9.83

Cost Economy: 8.49 8.99 8.72 8.99

Totals: 7.89 8.17 8.20 8.23

The highest score possible is 10, the lowest is 0.

problems. (See Appendix A.2 for the breakdown scores of the design
parameters.) Parents worry that the small animals within the teether may
puncture the material, or if the teether breaks, their children may swallow
the animals. These appearance problems are uncovered under the
Marketability goal, explaining why the Cool Ring's Marketability score is
lower than some of the others.

The Cooling Teether (without handle) and the Nuk are very similar.
They both look alike and neither has any special features. The Nuk is
slightly smaller and can be held very easily in a baby's hand.
 The Nuk does comes out slightly ahead, though, because of its
simplicity. Parents have no cause to worry about a dangerous seal, because
the Nuk uses a sealing process in which the edges are all smooth. It is not
difficult to clean, and it looks like it will work.

The teether spreadsheet is applicable to all teether designs, whether

already produced or not. The parameters and values chosen are meant to
be assessed continually to maintain their accuracy. The spreadsheet
structure makes it simple to add or remove parameters.
 Chapter 4
Conclusions

Design is a never ending process. The design process can be very

difficult without a structure to organize one's work and a method of
evaluating that work. The design spreadsheet is a technique to stimulate
creative thought and to organize those thoughts.

Every design has a purpose and some goals. The goals, however, may
have different meanings to different people. The design spreadsheet
analyzes each design goal and considers every design specification and
constraint. It produces a score for each goal, exposing the areas of the
design that need more improvement. The spreadsheet is easy to revise and
is a simple method of comparing designs in any stage of the design process.

The evaluations of the four tested teethers were quite accurate. All
the known advantages and disadvantages of each product were exposed in
the design parameter and goal scores. Gerber's Nuk Teether ranked
highest because of its small size and safe appearance. The Cool Ring was
in sceond place with a very small margin between the two teethers. The
Cool Ring's advantage is its play value. However, it may appear
dangerous to some parents because of the small, hard parts that it contains.
The Cooling Teether's (1437) score was just behind the Cool Ring, but it
does not have the play value of the Cool Ring and is slightly larger than the
Nuk. If the sealing process is changed or fixed to remove the sharp edge
that sometimes occurs, it will receive a higher score. The Cooling Teether
with handle (1438) ranked fourth due to the cleaning difficulties caused by
MEOW"

the handle. An improved handle that is easy to clean would increase the
1438 cooling teether's score.

The evaluated teethers all received scores that were not surprising to
the user. However, when a proposed design is entered into the spreadsheet,
there will be no predicted outcome. The results will demonstrate to the
user the strengths and weaknesses of the design.
 Appendix A
The Teether Spreadsheet

A.1 Design Goals

[Link] Gcals oal Go aI Goal GoaEl

Scores: Scores: Encores: ScCreS:
Design 1 Dessicgn 2 Design 3 Design 4
Coolinq Teether Ccooling Cool Ring Nuk
wi th handle Teether Teether CGerber J
(out of 10) (OUt of 10) (out of 10) (out Cif 10)
*** * * **** ** *** ** ** * * *** ** * ** ** ** ** ** ** * *** *** * *** * ** ** * * **** ** *

Func t i cna Ii ty 6.70 7.73

Marketabi l ity 7.01 7.70 7.13

9.3 9.67 9. 67

-Cst Econm 8-49 -. 99 6-72

A.2 Design Parameters

5.3***?fl~E~' *t: C- P5 r ~ms t:~r ~ ~CTIE Ver

U l: of 1)
il LAR!

E2
c .t [13.
of 1) E4
(o'ut (ot
oft 10)

oo thinci t
9 -35
9c IC) 9? . I ()

Scyiosh cly! i
1.50 1.50
U Sable s a To C 1.50

HandlI 1inrci S i ze E8.3 4 9.28

Ease f Clenni 1.75 3.75 3.38 3.75

D)Urab0-1 iit y B.67 717 ---.- O

4.45 4 . 45 7.69 4.16

Hinnd A Hestheti. C
Appea .1 6.77 6) 00

A Ex
rppearace Sat
and Durability 10- 00 9-67 1 C-C)C

Appear ance cf Comnfcrt 9.- 50

Appearance c-f
Ease of C1EEning 10.- 00 9 .0 1 - 0C

Pr i c.e 9 ,, 06 1. 88
 DesiQn Parameter Pa.r ameter Parameter Parameter
Parameiters Va l . u e- Val I ues . V,,,a Iue
[1] [33 [43

(c'ut (Lut e0 (u C Ut (cut

of 10) of 10) of 10) Cf 1.0)
*** *************** ** ****************** * * ************** ***

Circular HIEc 1000 1000 1 0 00 10.00

St r i no as /Cor ds 10 .00 1.0 10.0 00

San i t ar Y Liquid 10.00 1 0.00 1..0 1. I00

Size 1.00 00 10 00 10 00 1 000

Accesible Edges. . 8.00 9.

A b u se Test. 1. 0. 0 100 10.00

ManLAf ac tur ing 6.65 7 .75 7.15 7.75

Labor 10.00 10.00 1 000 1 0.00

Ma t er i a( 1 E. 1 0 . 00 10 00 10 . 00 1.
A.3 User Parameters

Uae r. Far ameter Far am e ter Par [Link] Par ame ter
Far amet er VaI LeS 1 f? s
V le Ve 1 AE Val ues
[1] [2] [3] [4]

(Cout Cf 1 (ut Cf 1) Cut Cf 1 ( ut Cf 1)

[Link] Baby 0 90 0-90 C-) q-9)

bi i 3. * t to get [Col 1.00 1- 0 1-00 1-0
Handle 0,85 -6 060 0.60

Specific Shapes., e.g. C-0 ).00 1.00 -0

key, pretzel, beEr

Furn to Plav With 0.50 0-50 1. 00 0.50

Mov rin Ob jec ts 0.00 0 -00 1.00 .

U -I.
5ound -o 0,00 .0 00

Teether Thicknes 1.00 1.00 0. 59 1.00

Teether Length 90 C.9V 1.00 0. 95

Teether Width C.90 0.9

Teether Weicht
 User Par ameter Par ame ter Far amet er Parame t er
'.Aa I U ! Va IL V alu es
Par ameter Va 1ues
131
[13
Value ()

0 .0 C)(
0
Gr C oves E F. C - ,(-- -- 10 -) - 1 0(

~~)i)
ClI ean i ng Thoro:iughness

1. (i0 1- 1 -00 1 -00

L ifet ime

I *OC) 1- 0 --
Materi al Strencgth

C) 20 0 -20 0- 2 L
0 2
Mater ial Permeabi i ty

-?
a3. 6.- -63

"L.
'E hap e 0 -4 45

C) . 50
C.o lor /L..Iuster

1-70
Mater ial /Te. ture -9)? 0 .5

U-0

C)
iFaniLe Sie 0-59
 User Parameter Parameter Parameter F'a ra meter
Pa rrameters Values VC, 1 UE'2 Val 1 ues YE41 U ES
[1] [33 J4I

Handle Shape 1. c) (l
0.0 U (-.)
0-0 ):.
Handle Color 0. ?0 i0 .0 i.00

Sharp Edqes 1. 0.90

1.00Ut

PointyObjects 1.- U 't'Y

Destructibi ity 1 * t)U 1.0 C) 1 .00

I 1.0 i*) ~Yf)

G ra=.paLe I 0.5 I C)C) 1.00

1.* U' I.
P rie J.C -S

F'-f ac e- t'.56 I) *.19S C, 9C:

Circular c.

Hc I es 1.00 1.0 :1 Ut)

.,

Strinot/Cr ds 1* 1.00 it I

SaniaryLiquids. .1 t)t; 1.00t 1

ie~ .

~ 1.0- I Ci')
 U ser Par ameter Par ameter Parameter par ameter
Parameter s Va l uies Vae S Va l ues V a I ue S
[1] [.2] [33 [4]

Edges 0). 0 C?) 0.8 *_ f.80 '- C.90

Impact Test 1 .c)0 1 Q) 1 . 00k

TorqUE-: Tet 1.0) 1 1 (~f

Te nsBi cr, Te s t 1 .00 I ('0 I UU

[Link] Test 1 .00 1 0'C) I 1 *

Bi. te TeSt i.00 1 I (()

PurctIre Resistance 1.*00 j ~) I *0O

Te ! t

iea.m Ceal Stre-nqth 1.0 1.0 1 1

T est

P-r c c E e O.,60 0.70 0-.7() 0.70

 User Parameter Parameter Parameter Parameter
Parameters Va 1Lies Va 1 ues VaLues Values
[1] [2] [3) [4]

Produc t i on 0.73 0.85 0.85

1. ) 1 -0C) 1 . 00
 A.4 User Values
Notes User User
Va Fu: V a 1 LAfe-Si:
V Lr ue :
[1] Ur
k 3]3 [4]

E~es I , No =0)3
ER ating s:1=worst 10-=b e st]

Rate on a sc:le of 1 to 10. 1 C)

9.0,

1.0 I ~)i) 1.00

Does the teether get cold? 9.00
5~*j (~ 5~)
Is there a handle? 0-00 '

Does the handle make the teether

easier to use and to hold?
(esp. after refrigeration?)
Rate on a scale of I to 10.

Is the teether in the shape

of an object or contain an
object(s)? . - C) I .00 C).fC)
Rate on a scale of 1 to 10. 1~.: C)'C) 5.00
Does any part of the teether
move and especially catch
one's interest? 0.00 .00 C I t)t)
. 0 Oni

Does the teether make any t*.00

noise (like a rattle)? 0 C 0.0 0 'C) .

These parameters are based on

the dimensions thickness, width
and length. If the teether is
circular, enter '1' here. S.00
Then enter the values for
thickness and width of the area
to be chewed on, and enter
the diameter in place of length.
This parameter value assumes
that (1/2)inch is the
optimal minimum width.
Enter actual thickness (inches). 0. 50 0.0 C) 0.81 0. 50
[Thickness is the shortest
dimension.]
This parameter value assumes
that 2 inches is the
optimal minimum length.
Enter actual length (inches). 2.50 2.)50 4. 00 2.25
This parameter value assumes
that 2 inches is the optimal
minimum width.
Enter actual width (inches). o.50 2.50 1.13 2.25
This parameter value assumes
that 0.07 lb. is the optimal
weight. 52
 No t es User User USer [Link]
a l u es:
V 6U
[1] [ 3 [4]
Einter actual weight(pounds).. 0O-1 0 0.13 0.05

Can the teether be washed

in the dishwasher? 0 (. U.00

Does the te ther have grves

that may po .sILbly catch d irt?
Rate on a scale of 0( none) to
10( mayr) 30). . C)0 I:..) .

Does the teether come apart,

making it easier to clean? .0 0 .)

The parameter value assumes

that the teether should last
a minimum of 6 months, but
not necessarily more than
12 months.
Enter approx. lifetime(months). 12.00 12.00 12.00 12.00
Does the teether have thin,
brittle areas breakable by
bendinc? (Rate from 1 to 10.) 0.00 0 .00 0 .00f
The parameter value assumes
that the max. acceptable
permeation rate is 0.8%/month.
Enter % rate/month at which
the material loses water. 0 . 8) 0.80 0 .8 0.80

The optimal size is chosen

based on the optimal teether
dimensions chosen in the
*Functionability' section.
For a circular teether , enter
diameter. (inches) 4.00
Is the teether an attractive,
interesting shape? Rate on a
scale of I to 10. 4.00 4 . 00
Is the teether color bright and
eye-catching? Rate on a scale
of 1 to 10. 5. 00 5. 00 7.00 3.50
Does the material look soft to
chew on-? Rate from 1 to 10. 8.50
Does the teether have a feature
making it look like more fun
to play with? (Rate) 0.Q00 00 1 0.00

This parameter assumes the

optimal handle size is 1/2 the
size of the teether.
 User User Us!.er UMer
Values: Values Values: V al uS
[1] [2] [3] 4
Enter the thickness - lencgth x
width of the handle. (inches) 1.7
Is the shape easy to grasp? 1900
Does the handle look attractive
iith the teetrner? (Rate) 9.00)~

Do any edges on the teether or

handle appear sharp or
unfinished? Rate from ) (ncrie)
to 10 (many sharp edges). 0 .00 1.00
Are there any parts of the
teether that could possibly
puncture the material? (Rate) 4.00 () . C)0)

Does the teether look like a C) C) C) 0 C)

baby or older child may be
able to break it? (Rate) 1.0 0 00 0
3.0
Does the teether look soft
and chewable? (Rate)
Can the child comfortably hold
the teether with both han-ids
and mouth? (Rate) 9.0 8.50 10. )0 10 .00

Does the teether or handle have

crevices where dirt and germs
may appear to build up? (Rate) 5.00 0. 1.00 0 .00

This parameter assumes that

consumers wi ll not pay more
than $3.00/teether.
Enter price of teether. ($) 2.25 1.25 2.75 1.40

The diameter of any holes must

be a minimum Of (1/2)inch (to
avoid finqer entrapment).
Enter hole diameter (inches). 1.13 1.13 3 . tC) 0.88
Flexible strings or cords must
be a maximum length of 12 in.
Enter free state length of cord. 0 .0 0 0 0 ) . 00 0 . 00
If the teether contains no
water, enter '1'. Water must
be sanitiZed and checked for
bacteria once/week. The filler
and sealer must also be
monitored. Enter '1' to show
completion of these procedures. 1.00 1. 00
) 1.00 1 .00
To prevent choking, the teether
can not be too small. The
shortest side (I or w) of the
 NC tes . User User Uer Ue
V 1ues: VauJ Vles: Valiue s:
r-3L-- rEi [4
£13) . _-)

teether must be at
least 1.25
i.n. The longest side must be
at least 1.96S in.. Enter
l engtrvh of shor test sd i.: 2.50 2.5 2.2
ID 5
lent h of lon ge s:.t Sid e(i.: 2-50 2.0

If the teether is c ircular,

the
enter utside diameter of
the ring. (in.) 4 .0 0
The diameter must be greater
than 1.68 inches.
Are there potentially sharp,
hazardOcus edges? Rate on a
scale of C)(none) to 10(many). 1.00~ 2-0. 2 .00 1.00

The teether must be dropped

36.5" and checked for any
hazardous poinits or edges.
Enter maximum # inches teether
may be dropped without failing.
If there is no limit, enter 100. 10.0 100C).00f- 1.00-).0 iC'C 0
10)i)
The teether must be able to
withstand a torque of at least
4 lbf. (.25 Nm)
Enter max. torque successfully
sustained by teether. (lbf) 4. UQ 4 .00 4.0 . 4 .00
The teether must be able to
withstand a minimum tension
of 15.5 lbf. Enter
max. sustained tension.(lbf.) 20.00 20.00 15.50 15.50
Enter max. compression (lbs.)
teether can withstand. 1 00 . OCu 1 [Link]
00 80. 00 80. 00
For any parts that do not touch
the surface, enter max.
compression. (0 if no parts.)
Enter max. # of lbs. success-
fully endured in bite test. 100 . 1 1 . 1
The teether must be able to
withstand 1 lb. of force from
a needle without leaking.
[Enter 1 if not applicable.3
Enter max. needle force (lbs.) 1 .00 1 . 0) 1.00 1.C
Enter max. force teether can
withstand at its seam (lbs.). 25.00 25.00 25 . 0 0 25.00

This parameter assumes that

2 is the optimal # of processes.
Enter # processes necessary to
 No--tes User L-1 e r, U e I-. UEer
Values: kvI Ue '
[1] [ 3 ) [4I
manuf ac ti..tre cne teether . 4.00) 32.00 i'*
3.00 3-CIO
Enter ampproo imate amount of time
it will ta:e to completely
manua.c tur e one teether. (sec.)
This parameter assumes that
idleally only 1 person per
proces is needed.
Enter # of people needed to
perform each process.
Process 1: 1.00 I 1 .00 1 .0
Process 2: 1. 00 1 . 00 1 .00 1.00
Process 3: 2.00 OC) 0 .0 0.00
Process 4: 0.00

Process 5:
Enter # of materials required
for each teether. 2. 00 1 .00 1 . 00
 Appendix B
Spreadsheet Formulas

B.1 Design Goals

Design Goals Goal Scores:

DEsign 1
Coolinc Teether
with handle
(FORMULAS)
* ** ** * *** ** ** ** *** * ** *** ** ** ** * *** ***** * ** * ** * * *** *** ** * *** ** * *** ** *

Functional i ty O .35*SOTH ING+0..25*TOY+0 .2*HANDL ING_SIZE+0 .1

*CLEANINGEASE+0.1*DURABILITY

Marke t ab i1 ity 0.. 2*APPEAL+0. 15*HANDLE .APPEACL+0. 2*SAFETY_FAPPEAR

+04.. 1 *COMFORT APPEAR+0. 1*CLE ANAPPEAR+0. 12*PR I CE

S afet y @IF @MIN (HOLES, STRINGS, L IQUIDS, MIN SIZE ,EDGES,( ABUSE
(Requlat icns) TESTS)=0,0, (1/6)*HOLES+( 1/6.)*STRIN3S+( 1/6))*LIQUIDS+
(1/ 6)*MINSIZE+(1/6)*EDGES+(1/6)*ABUSE TESTS)

Ccaost Economy 0.45*MANUFACTURICNG+0.3*LAEOR+0 .25*MATER IAL S

T2t Sconre: 0, .25* (Functiona1 i ty) +0., 35*(M1arketab 1i ty)

+0.30* (Safety) +0.. 10* Cc'st Economrty)
B.2 Design Parameters
Design Parameter
Parameters Values
(FORMULAS)
********** ,*******************************************

Soocthing to
Baby 5*CALM+4*COLD+1*HANDLE

Usable as a Toy 2.5*SHAPE+3*FLN+2.5'*O bJECTS+2*SOUIND

Handl inci Size (50,/16) *THICKNESS+ (50 /16) *LENGTH+ ( 30 /16)

*WIDTH+(30/16) *WEIGHT

Ease of Cleanin g (20/4)*DISHWASHER SAFE+( 10/4)*GROOVES

+ (10/4) *CLEANABLE

Durab iIi ty (20/6)*L IFETI ME+(3./,)*MTLSTRENGTH

+( 10/6)*MTLPERM

Aesthetic Appeal 1.5*MKT_SHAPE+1.5*MKT TEXTURE+.'75

*MKT_FEATURES+2*MKTSIZ2E+2.25*MiKTCOLOR

Handle Aesthetic
Appeal @IF(T105>O, 10* ( 2/10)*HANDLESHAF'E+ ("5/10)
[Ignore if there is *HsANDLE SIZE+(3/10)*HANDLE COLOR) !Z)
nc hiandle. ] where TI05 is the user value in which
a value of 0 means. there is no handle.

Appearance of Safety
and Durability 10*( (1/3)*SHARFNES:,+(1/3)*FOINTY
+(1/3)*DESTRUCTIB(ILITY)

Appearancef of Comfcr t 10* ((1/2)*SOFFTNESS+ (1 /2) *GRASF'(ELE)

Appearance of
Eas.e of Cleaning 1 0*CREV I CES

Pr,, I c e I0*PR ICE

 Desin Parameter
Parameters Va 1u e s
(The numbers beginning with T are the
user values for that parameter.
See comments column in spreadsheet.)
Circular Holes @IF(CO<T141<0.5, 0, 1 )*10

Str inqs/Cords ;IF ( T144 12 )*I0

Sanitary Liquids IIF(T151=1,10)*10

Size 1 O-*N 152

'Accesible' Edge-s QO.1* ( 10-T 167) *10C-

Abuse Tests @IF(@MIN(N169,N175,N184, N189,N191, N196)=0),

ManLfac t ur i ng 5*PROCESSES+5*PRODUCT ION

[Link] @IF (T215+T216+T217+T218+T219)T2'.0, 1 1-0, 1*

(T215+T216+T217+T218+T219-T206) , 1)*10
where the sum of numbers is the total
number of laborers needed and T206 is the
total number of processes.

Mater i alI s @IF (#MATER IAL S>2 -- O.1ME I ALS!, 1 ) *10

B.3 User Parameters
User Parameter
Parameters Values
(FORMULAS)
* ** ** ** ** * ** ** *** * *** ** * *** ** ** * **** * *** * ** *** ** ** *

(Each number beginning with

S is the user value for
that parameter. The notes
explain each user value.)
Calms Baby 0.1*611
Ability to get Ccld @IF(S12=1,1,0)
Handle @IF(S13=1 ,0. 1*S17, 0-6)

Specific Shapes, e.g. iIF(S21=1,1 ,0)

keys, pretzel, bear...

Fun to Play With 0. 1*22

Moving Objects @IF(S25=1.,1,01)

Sound @IF(S27=1I,1,0)

Teether Thickness @IF (S38*.-) . 5, 1.5-S38 ,0()

Teether Length @I F(S32=1 ,I@FS46<4,.45+

/Diameter (1/7)*S46, 2-0.25*S46) ,:@IF
(S46(2, (3/8)*S46, 1.4-
0.2*S46) )
where first (if S32=1) the
diameter is cornsidered, and
then the length.
Teether Width @1IF(S32=1 ,DIFS50:):=1 1 .5-
0 .5*S5,) S50) , @I F
(346<2, (3/8)*346,1.4-
0 . 2*S46) )
where first (if 532=1) the
width for a circuIlar teether
i csidered, and then the
width f or a reular o'ne.
60
 User Parameter
Parameters Values
Teether Weight jIF(0.1 7>S53#AND#53>=0.,
WABS(1.35-.5*10*S53),.@IF
(S53<0. 07,15*853,
0. 1-0. 15*S53))

Dishwasher Safe @I F(S56=1,1,I

Grooves @I F(S60=0,1,1-0 1 *S60--)

Cleaning Thor oughness @IF(S62=1, I 0)

Lifetime 1IF(S69)12,)IFC 9
13-S69,0))

Material Strength 1-0.1*S72

Material Permeability iIF(877:>0.8,0,1-S77)

S ize @I F(S44=0,1-0.075*.@ABihS(3.5-S
S87, ) IF(S38*S4*4*848) >:1 .5 ,
ABS (1-0. 1* ( S38*S44*S48)
@IF(S38*S44*sL').92,
(S38*S44*S48) -. 5 , 0))

Shape 0.1*890

CC Ic-r /Luster 0.1*893

Material/Texture 0. 1*S95

Features/Attractic'ns 0.1*898

Handle Size @ FIF(S105>S3 *S44*NS48, 1-(S105

 User Parameter
Parameters Va l ues
-S38*S44*S48),@if(.S15>
(1/2)*S38*S44*S48, 1+( 1/2)*
S38*S44*S48-S105,1))

Handle Shape @IF(S106=1, 1 ,0)

Handle Color 0. 1*108

Sharp Edges 1-0- 1*.1 14

Pointy Objects 1 I-01 * 117

(Material Strength)

Destructibility 1-0. 1*8120

So fft nes5s - 1*S123

Graspable 01.I*S126

Cr ev i Ces 1-0, 1*3130

P r-i C e I ( 34 =3% I ( 14)1 .9

(3/4)*(3-S13,:)4 -,) IF(S1A.34>.-1,
1-0. 075*S 134,* 7 1 ) ) ,0

Ci ILA .r Hol*1eis

@IF(OCS41<20.5 1)

t r i nc,/Ccr d s I F (014412, 0 1)

tAry L. i

DI F S 144'11 2 5 1 ~(8 5

I1.9 58.1. 1 IF S 5 =O A D
 User Parameter
Parameters
5159=0,D IF(S162>1.68,1,),
0) )

'Accesible' Edges 0. 1*( 10-S167)

Impact Test @11F (S 174<e%36. -5,0,)

Torque Test @I F (S179 4, 0 1)

Tension Test @IF(S183<*%4,0,1)

Compression Test @IFCS185>.=80),@IF(O<-,S188#AND#

18<%30 ,0 , 1),I

Bite Test 1IF( 3190(100 ,)

Puncture Resistance SIF (S19g51,, 1)

Tes t

Seam Seal Strenoi th ;- IF (S197(,,1

Te t

F'rocesses @IF ( S E?612 1 1-'S206),1

 User Parameter
Parameters Va 1ues

Production @IF( S20)9<'=7,1 ,1I-C.0C3*( S209

-7))
7 +S21B+S219
Labor @IF(S215+S21 6 +2l1
>%S20,C6,
1 -c). 1* (O I15+S216'+ 0217
+S218+S219-S20)6).1)
where the sum of numbers is
the total number of workers
needed and S206 is the
total number of processes.
required.

Materials @IF(S2011>-L2, - .1' 2 , )

 References
[1] American Society of Testing and Materials.
Section F 963-86: Standard Consumer Specification on Toy Safety.
April, 1986.
Annual Book of ASTM Standards.
[2] Cohen, Louis.
Quality Function Deployment: An Application Perspective From
Digital Equipment Corporation.
NationalProductivityReview, Summer, 1988.
[3] Consumer Products Safety Commission.
Sections 129, 1500.51, 1500.53, 1501.
1985.
[4] Ware, Paul.
Test Method For Water FilledTeethers.
Technical Report CATM39, Kiddie Products, Inc., Sept, 1989.
[5] Love, Sydney F.
Planningand CreatingSuccessful EngineeredDesigns.
Van-Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1980.
[6] Patterson, Stephanie.
Design Alternatives For A Cooling Teether For Babies.
June, 1990.
Bachelor's thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Techonology.
[7] Pugh, Stuart.
Design Decision - How to Succeed and Know Why.
Session Sa, Paper8, Design EngineeringConference , 1981.
[8] Rosen, Michael J.
How to Use a Spreadsheet as a Tool For Design.
October, 1989.
M.I.T. Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2.73 Design
Projects class handout.
[9] Theodore, Carolyn.
Marketing Analysis of a Children's Product.
Master's thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Techonology, June,
1990.
[10] Wimberly, David T.
Goal Definition Spreadsheet for the Design of a Damped Wrist
Orthosis.
June,1989.
Bachelor's thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Techonology.