Design maturity assessment for concurrent engineering co-ordination

This paper explains design maturity, why it is necessary to evaluate the maturity of designs, at what points in the development process accurate assessment would be most advantageous, and what these advantages might be. The paper explains that design maturity assessment is becoming increasingly necessary as companies move towards a Concurrent Engineering (CE) environment. This is in some part caused by the increasing levels of computer integration between functions which can reduce the visibility of the design process. Also, the increasingly competitive environment companies operate in requires a continuous reduction in development times through earlier information release to downstream activities both in and outside design, and outside the company when subcontractors are involved in product development. Examination of the structures involved in the design of products indicates where maturity assessment is required. Assessment of the characteristics of designers iterative processes may lead to methods of maturity assessment allowing managers to measure the levels of risk involved in releasing designs. The advantage of accurate maturity assessment would be less design. The bottom line result for companies who can measure their designs' maturity in-process may be a 100% increase in profits per design.