Chapter 10: Systematics and Researcher Proclivities in Product Design: History, Success, and Pivot to the Future

We present a short history of product design, tracing its origins to statistics, market (consumer) research, and sensory analysis. Product design has been influenced by the proclivities and beliefs of its developers, as well as by corporate needs in the world of business. We show how these beliefs first expanded research into product design, but then contracted it as corporate demands changed. We finish with a new paradigm, appropriate for a business world where speed, cost, accuracy, and agility are the new foundations of success.