
28 Decision Based Design
Since signicant savings can be made in time and money by catching errors
early, a design process, or even a simple step within it, requires iterations and
revisiting. Steps earlier in the design process, such as concept generation, are
therefore more critical to the process than later ones, such as manufactur-
ing and assembly methods used. Researchers almost universally agree that
most of the cost of a product is xed in the design stage itself (~80%). The
most important reason is that it precedes other steps. Good project managers
always revisit steps in product development before moving further.
2.2.4 Mathematics and ...