Design reviews offer the opportunity to spot omissions and errors in a product design quickly during the development process. This reduces the delays and costs of redesigns later on in the development. However, there are many pitfalls to avoid, to get the most out of them.
To start with it’s essential to get the review conducted by an engineer who isn’t too close to the project. This avoids tunnel vision and assumptions from the designers themselves. This can be a member from an adjacent team or an external design consultancy partner. It’s important to recognise that a design review is not a blame exercise. They are conducted to reduce risks and ensure prototyped units are functional. Hitting delivery milestones with functional hardware and software is key to confidently planning a product launch.
Richard Fletcher Ignys Ltd MD comments “We’ve found that reviews work best when they are time-bound activities that are short and to the point. They should always be proportional to the level of risk and complexity involved in the projects. Focus on the core purpose of the reviews. To save time and costs. If the review is too lengthy this will outweigh the rewards of doing the review.”
Richard shares his insight further in this extended article in the link below. As MD of the Electronics Design and Software Development consultancy, Ignys Ltd, he shares the gold standard for design reviews, more areas to avoid and what to look for in an effective design review.