For Product Development Leaders
How to Qualify Product Reliability
Join a discussion with reliability engineers about how to qualify product reliability: things to consider and where to look for information.
Read MoreThe DFE Part of DFX (Design For Environment and eXcellence)
Design for Environment and Design for Disassembly are concepts that product design engineers can adopt for benefits beyond reducing waste and can be a quality measure.
Read MoreThe Way We Test Matters
When our products don’t work in their intended use environments, or we’re starting to see field failures happen, we could look to bad product from producers or incorrect requirements or specifications. Or, maybe how testing was performed didn’t match up with the use environment. Our product requirements might be right, but our test requirements might…
Read MoreUnderstanding the Purposes behind Kaizen
You’ve heard of kaizen but are not sure what it is. Is it the right methodology for your project or organization? Should you host a kaizen event? Before we really talk about kaizen, we need to talk about Lean. Lean is a philosophy, a way a company operates. A company that is Lean is focused…
Read MoreConsidering Production Equivalence during Test
Testing Designs from Prototype vs. Production Processes – what’s the difference and why does it matter? What is production equivalence?
Read MoreQuality and Cross-Functional Teams
I’m a fan of cross-functional teams. My main reason is that the different perspectives that each person brings from their respective areas of the business helps create a more complete vision of product and performance risk. Part of quality (and design!) means assessing and managing risk, and I’ve seen time and again the power of bringing people together: better understanding,…
Read MoreProduct Development’s Important Influence on Monitoring After Launch
Our design is finally done going to be released to the market. It’s exciting. But before we hand off our design and move on to the next thing, there’s something you need to consider: do we have a good plan in place to capture data about the device, post-market? Because of your role as a designer in product…
Read MoreQuality and Reliability are Inputs, Well Before Prototype Designs
You’re at the end of your design process, proud of what you’ve accomplished. And, then come other people from other cross functional groups and they’re saying, “No.” Quality engineering and reliability engineering friends are pointing out some problems with your design. It’s important to know that Quality and Reliability are inputs into your design process. It is not quality control…
Read MoreRisk Management and Designers
Project managers, sourcing or supplier management, and business management: all of these functions look at risk management a little bit differently than product development functions. But designers have input into all of them. Also, some of the risk management methods from these other functions are inputs into the design process. Risk Management Associated with Design Business management…
Read MoreA Systematic Approach to Innovation
When we’re trying to innovate, we can get trapped into the old thinking that the solution has to be out there somewhere. We need to think outside the box to find the solution to a problem. So, we gather up a team and start brainstorming. I mean, just think of the word, the image that word conjures up: a wild free for…
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