Design strategy - A starting point for integrated product development

Integrated Product Development (IPD) includes technology, tools, procedures and management for increased efficiency and learning in industrial product development processes. IPD has the goal to reduce development cycle time and improve product quality and value. The approach is based on the idea to consider competitive factors such as feasibility, testability, supportability and quality from the very start of the product development and design them into the product. All organizations apply IPD to some degree, however, the question is how to develop and improve these processes further. In the curricula arena, development requires a formal, structured approach for future designers to implement IPD, which must be based on a comprehensive understanding of the essential principles and methods that IPD includes. In the industrial design study by NTNU, we have experienced that the starting point of an IPD process is very important for the outcome of the process, and during the last years, the starting point has become more detailed, containing more information. This makes the process more specific with a shorter launch time and less risk for failure during the process. The management of identifying and starting up an IPD-process according to the company's vision and strategies, can be defined as the company's design strategy. This paper will discuss this theme further.