Re-engineering the design process

The paper describes how the Design Structure Method (DSM) can be used to analyze the information flow inherent in requirements to re-engineer the design process. DSM is used to develop a design plan showing how to organize design teams, the communication within and between teams, the order in which tasks can be done and which can be done simultaneously, where to use estimates, how design iteration is to occur, and where design reviews are needed and what to review. It is useful in coordinating collaborative design effort by showing who gets what information and when. It is valuable in planning for concurrent engineering by allowing one to go back to the requirements rather than being constrained by the task structure of the old process. While the focus is on the product development process, the author is also looking at using these techniques to re-engineer business systems