Dynamic Modeling for Product Family Evolution Combined with Artificial Neural Network Based Forecasting Model: A Study of iPhone Evolution

Products continuously evolve over time. Realizing the pattern of product family evolution along with proper estimation of features for future products has been regarded as a critical issue for business success. Focusing on this issue, a dynamic model for product family evolution combined with forecasting is proposed in this research work. The proposed model considers the influence of market demand, customer needs and technological requirements that are time-dependent. The methodology is a four-phase model. For each phase, the effectiveness of the developed approach is demonstrated with numerical simulation results and validated with a case study of Apple’s iPhone product family.