Robustness Development and Reliability Growth: Value-Adding Strategies for New Products and Processes

Chapter 24. An Illustration of Process Methods and Tools

This story is written to illustrate many of the cross-functional engineering methods that we’ve described. We’ll not extend it into the domains of marketing, project management, portfolio management, or business management since those topics are out of scope for the book. The product concept may be familiar to those of you who have used similar gear for your leisure or professional activities.

Several years ago we worked with a product development project in a midsize company specializing in protective clothing and equipment for emergency responders and outdoor adventurers. Their products included boots, coats, gloves, helmets, goggles, and other safety apparel. The target market was defined ...