Process Models in Design and Development

Macro-level models

This section completes the review by discussing the third and outermost of the three levels of the organising framework shown in Fig. 1. Many of these macro-level models concentrate on the large-scale organisation and management of design and development. Some consider interactions between the design and development process and the context into which the design will be delivered. Considering the first of these two situations, the primary difficulty companies face is arguably the integration of systems, disciplines, tools, processes, and personnel. Research addressing this is often known as Concurrent Engineering (CE) or Integrated Product Development (IPD). According to Prasad, CE emphasises approaches "to elicit the product developers, from the outset, to consider the 'total job' (including company's support functions)". Some of the key facets of this philosophy are to use advanced collaboration tools including approaches such as Quality Function Deployment, appropriate team structures, and Design for X methods to increase concurrency and information exchange between coupled tasks, teams, and design considerations. Overall, CE/IPD is thought to compress lead time and support integration by reducing the mistakes and oversights that can cause late design changes.