Good Products, Bad Products: Essential Elements to Achieving Superior Quality

by James L. Adams

“This book is the most comprehensive discussion of all the elements that go into producing superior products that I have read. I have thought a lot about quality over many years, yet the thinking reflected throughout [this] discussion is a real eye-opener for me. For anyone seriously interested in quality, this is a must read.”
―Donald E. Petersen, retired President and Chairman, Ford Motor Company “This is a book only a legend like Jim Adams could write. Based on a very popular course Jim taught at Stanford for many years, it should be required reading for every engineering student interested in designing great products. Great products lead to great companies that change the world. Every aspiring engineer wants to have an impact and this book will absolutely help. Read it!”
―James D. Plummer, Dean, School of Engineering, Stanford University “Drawing on fifty years of engineering experience, ranging from car design to rocket science, Stanford professor Jim Adams takes us on an engaging and eclectic journey through the evolution of what makes good products tick. With the same irrepressible curiosity Adams displayed in Conceptual Blockbusting , he shares insights into the underlying characteristics that separate products into the good, the bad, and the ugly.”
―Tom Kelley, General Manager, IDEO, and author of The Art of Innovation and The Ten Faces of Innovation “Adams has a high-level and holistic view of the design of everyday things and the issues confronting those who develop them. If you design things, you will enjoy this book and benefit from Jim’s wisdom and experience.”
―Bill Moggridge, Director of the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, and author of Designing Interactions and Designing Media “Jim Adams is a gift. He understands the true essence of quality, blending ‘what works’ with ‘what’s beautiful.’ Here this master teacher shares his special how to create that magical experience of a product we love, one that evokes ‘Wow, this is really cool!’ His timeless, inspired message could not be more timely.”
―Jim Collins, author of Good to Great and coauthor of Built to Last and Great by Choice About the What is the secret behind every successful product? Why are people willing to pay more for a BMW than a Chevrolet? How could Apple iPhones represent only 4% of the world’s cell phone market in 2010 but take in 50% of the profits? The answer is QUALITY. In this provocative new book, bestselling author James L. Adams provides a brilliant, in-depth look at the powerful but elusive qualities that can make or break a product’s success. A must-read for managers, designers, manufacturers, engineers, and marketers, this groundbreaking approach will change the way you think about your product―and show you why it’s more important than ever to deliver the highest quality possible. In Good Products, Bad Products , you’ll learn how

Genres: Business

272 pages, Hardcover

First published December 16, 2011

Reviews

[Kurt · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a waste. Never went into any depth. Almost nothing but fluff. It is a 3 page pamphlet spread out over 200 pages.


Disclaimer: I received this book through First Reads.

[Mohammed Thoufiq · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book : Good products, Bad products
Author : James L Adams

I have picked this book based on a book event I attended in Pune. I am assuming most of u who are currently reading it or want to read this book are working on your product and want to make it better. So first condition for making a good product is knowing the difference between a good product and a bad one. Also adding good qualities to your product and removing the bad ones from it. To excel further u need to find the right balance between these things in due course of time and fit it in the world according to needs and demand of people not unlike a jigsaw puzzle.

There is a strong emphasis on quality throughout the book. In today's market of cut throat competition " quality will decide the survival of your product". We are living in the world where capitalism has won the battle and materialism is the dominant force that drives our choices.

In my life I have seen how professionals , entrepreneurs and industries have imbibed some of the concepts of this book to increase the quality of their product and excel in their professional lives.

Before writing this review I have visited a medium scale industry and startup for reference and would like to thank them for their help. I have realized most of the concepts in this book are universal in nature and are used by professionals for the growth of their product. Some concepts are also linked to culture , symbolism , human emotions , change in industries.

Important chapters
The author in chapter 6 has beautifully linked Product Quality and Human emotion and elaborated how emotions work with the product. It is my personal favorite chapter from the book. The author has also touched upon current topics and debates like Flaws in economic theory , global competition , how to balance performance and cost of your product , how globalism and culture affect product the quality.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book is spectacular. But in a bad way. It is wordy to mask the author's ignorance and lack of mastery in the field.

> The relative importance of performance and cost vary widely, depending upon product and purchaser.

Oh, good, it's not about the South Ossetia border relationships.

> A person buying a Ferrari or the military buying advanced weaponry may care far more about performance than price.

Or it's just about perceived status or petty bureaucratic corruption.

And good products slash bad products involve trivia about a nuclear power plant or a $600 toilet seat?

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Good Products, Bad Products...' was a book I won from a giveaway on Goodreads. This book was a very interesting read. I as a person who does not think about all the aspects that need to go into creating a good product, this book opened my eyes to that. The author does a nice job of explaining the many aspects of a quality product. James L. Adams makes me want to put on my engineering cap and come up with the newest quality product.

[Scotty Cassidy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great thoughts on quality

Enjoyable journey into what makes things (I.e. most stuff that surrounds you) either high or low quality. As someone who makes consumer goods this was especially helpful.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know that I am the reader that Adams had in mind when writing the book, and I am sure that I am not the reader that the publisher had in mind when thinking about who to market this book to, as this book is definitely geared towards folks in product design/manufacturing, etc. With that being said, I have to say, that I LOVED this book. Adams is an incredible thinker. He has vast experience in the world of design and products and has some awesome stuff to say about it all. I was interested in this book because as I become more and more of an "anti-consumerist", I was curious what somebody from "inside" the industry might have to say about what makes products "good" or "bad". I was pleasantly surprised to see such thoughtful analysis delivered that really helped me to understand why I love some products as much as I do, why others are just crap, and how I as a consumer can speak with my money to push industry into coming up with products that work better, work for ME better, and are less destructive to our planet and world. Bravo to Adams for making a topic that could be boring and inaccessible to folks "outside" of the industrial design sphere so dang interesting and fun to read. I would recommend this book to anybody involved in or interested in design work as well as folks who have been thinking about the products that surround them and wondering how and why they are the way they are and if they can be improved. A solidly good read!

[Helen Sun · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed after reading this book b/c I had hoped to gain some insight into good product design, maybe some detailed case studies of successful designs that changed consumer behavior. Instead, I felt like the book was poorly-organized and unfocused (too much rambling). For all of the chapters about aesthetics and craftsmanship, I was surprised that there were no pictures of well-made products with good form and functionality as well as pictures of bad products. Not a book worth reading.