This paper includes the initial stages of the product development process - more specifically the stage known as Informational Design - considered to be fundamental to the success of a new product on the market. The complicating factor is that during this development stage the different specifications and attributes of the product are defined due to a multitude of choice criteria based on customer needs. Thus, this research aims to propose a new structure of the Informational Design stage by adapting it to the methods and tools offered by the methodologies of the decision that deal with multiple criteria problems in order to contribute to improve the initial stages of project practice. Hence, a multicriteria model based on the Unified Model by Rozenfeld et al. (2006) was developed to propose methods, tools, and supporting documentation appropriate to the achievement of each activity. The improvements and the values that the practical application of the multicriteria model adds to the Product Development Process were discussed through a case study carried of a commercial product development project - a new ticket dispenser.
Product and process engineering; Product Development Process; Informational Design; Multicriteria approach
