Design Management

World-Class Design Management   

The design and development of new services, products and processes is a critical process for most organizations. The effort should be approached from a collaborative perspective with a focus on existing and future customers. Effective cross-functional and cross-firm involvement proactively improves designs, which subsequently results in improvements in the areas of quality, cost, and time to market. Documentation in firms has shown that 75 to 85 percent of avoidable total costs are controllable at the design stage. In a manufacturing firm, when specifications for the tangible product are fixed then the final design of the product is also fixed. The final design of the product often dictates fixing ancillary costs such as packaging and the required service for the product. Therefore, when the final design is fixed, the product's competitive stance, and its profit potential are also fixed. Consequently, early involvement of alliance members and cross-functional professionals is essential to reduce total life-cycle cost.

This is a 2008 version of the step chart.  Showing an old chart is intentional.  Contact RI for the latest, updated version.