By the end of this topic, you should be able to...
discuss the purpose of a product analysis exercise and why it is important for product design development.
Guiding Question
How does product analysis and evaluation inform various stakeholders and aid in a product’s future development?
💡Did You Know? Tesla engineers bought a Mercedes-Benz E-Class, stripped it to bare components, weighed every part, analyzed every system—then built a superior electric powertrain using insights from dissecting their competitor's "best-in-class" engineering.
What Conduct a Market Analysis?
Product analysis and evaluation isn't industrial espionage—it's systematic learning from existing solutions before you design your own. When you analyze products methodically, you uncover what works (load-bearing structures that haven't failed after 50,000 cycles), what fails (paint that chips, buttons users press incorrectly, materials that degrade), and most critically—what's missing (unmet user needs, accessibility barriers, sustainability gaps).
This process prevents designers from arrogantly assuming their first idea will be revolutionary while ignoring decades of hard-won engineering knowledge embedded in existing products. By evaluating performance against criteria—ergonomics, durability, cost, environmental impact, user satisfaction—you build a defensible baseline: "Current solutions achieve X, but fail at Y, therefore my design must improve Z."
Without this analytical foundation, you're guessing. With it, you're standing on the shoulders of every designer who came before, learning from their expensive mistakes and incremental victories without repeating the trial-and-error cycle yourself.
Case in Point
When OXO designed their iconic Good Grips kitchen tools in 1990, founder Sam Farber didn't start sketching. He spent months analyzing existing peelers, can openers, and whisks—documenting how arthritis sufferers struggled with thin metal handles, how wet hands slipped on smooth surfaces, and how excessive grip force caused fatigue. This systematic product evaluation revealed a massive market gap (15% of adults have hand limitations) that competitors ignored. The resulting soft rubber handles weren't innovation—they were evidence-based responses to documented failures in existing products.
Learning Goals
In this topic, you'll learn structured methodologies for product analysis—how to disassemble, test, measure, and critically evaluate existing designs—developing the research skills that will inform your IA design decisions with evidence rather than assumptions.
Linking Questions
Which aspects of ergonomics are vital to establish when analysing the usability of products? (A1.1)
To what extent does the evaluation of products rely on user-centred research methods? (A2.1)
How does the product analysis and evaluation of products that include mechanical and/or electronic systems differ from products without those systems? (A3.3, A3.4, B3.3, B3.4)
Why is it important to know which manufacturing techniques were used to make a product when conducting product analysis and evaluation? (A4.1)
To what extent is product analysis a fundamental aspect of the design process? (B2.1)
To what extent does material selection have an impact on the success of a product? (B3.1)
What types of information can designers gain from product analysis and evaluation in relation to production systems? (B4.1)
Why is it the responsibility of the designer to learn from product analysis and evaluation tasks when redesigning products? (C1.1)
What is the relationship between life-cycle analysis and product analysis? (C3.2)