M3 Design, Inc.

Part of the product development process is to apply knowledge gained from prior experience during the concept development and design phases. Some experience comes from having directly designed something in the past and other experience is more indirect. It is this indirect product development experience that is gained from product teardowns.

Teardowns are different from Reverse Engineering

Reverse engineering a product is nothing more than figuring out the design and manufacturing methods, typically for copying. M3 Design views product teardowns as ways to gain insight into the design to become better product developers. We focus on "Why" questions.

• Why did the designer make the choices they did?
• Why were certain construction techniques chosen?
• Why were some features included and others left out?
• Why was the design approach chosen?

This serves to gain more in depth understanding into the product's design rather than a superficial once-over.

How Does M3 Design Approach Product Teardowns?

The product teardown process is a rigorous approach to carefully catalog the deconstruction in both pictures and written descriptions. This serves two purposes.

1. It forces the deconstruction team to carefully investigate the product pieces and learn as much as possible about the design details.
2. It provides a detailed record of the process for future reference by other product designers.

The end result is adding to one's knowledge of product designs that can be used during brainstorming, design, prototype development, and troubleshooting. This method of obtaining indirect product development experience is another important tool that sets M3 Design apart from other product development firms.