What are the most effective cost-saving strategies for product engineering?

Yes I agree with most of tools & models proposed. Also we can make use of AI, ML, ChatGPT. VR etc. this reduces the iteration of product development costs, product screening becomes faster & quicker.

Cost saving itself is a old fashioned approach. Now a days we should act upon profit maximization. 1. Cost saving sometimes results in sacrifice in Quality 2. Sometimes it leads us to unwanted stoppages 3.some time leads to warranty returns or early life failures. So we should work for required which is increas in profitability or profit maximization

In current Era, Cost Saving is one of the major agenda for all the OEM organisations provided the same quality deliverables. In an attempt to the cost saving target most of the companies reduce the weight of the product which is a no brainer to product designers but it impacts the durability and longevity. Designers approach should listen to Voice of Customer (VOC), all the features incorporating in the design should resolve customers pain. Prioritise the product features by using pareto principle and list all product features, it’s impact and value addition to customers. As pareto principle suggests your 80% of the causes comes from 20% of effect. Focus on those 20% features and remaining can be ignored to reduce some cost.

I like to make a table with columns: - Feature name - Impact on time (Low / Medium / Large) - Complexity (Low / Medium / Large) - Impact on revenue (Low / Medium / Large) - Impact on customer happiness (Low / Medium / Large) This way, it's easier to identify winners and losers so that you can focus on cost-effective and revenue-growing initiatives.

Strategy should be of value engineering and not cost saving alone when it comes to a product. SCAMPER can help and a great understanding of value proposition of product should support.

Perfect is the enemy of good enough. With the exception of exclusive, luxury items, customers won't pay enough to cover what "perfect" costs. They will happily pay for good to great products, however. I've worked on so many projects where we keep stuffing that next cool feature into a product. Be really clear on what customers value and make sure the team wholeheartedly agrees with the concept of customer value. Failing to do so risks selling a product that's too late, too expensive, with too little margin.

Besides all valuable contributions already made, I would add that every team member must keep in mind the value proposition to end customer, and same as @Paul Linden mentioned, VA/VE Workshops prior to Product Conception is one of the most effective in my experience. All Engineering Team must be convinced that these are the best way to achieve the goals on cost effectiveness, time spend, value added, resources allocated, and properly use the organizational tools have in place for these purposes.

In product engineering, prioritizing features is crucial. This strategy helps maximize value while minimizing costs. By focusing on features with high value to customers and alignment with business goals, you avoid wasting resources on non-essential functionalities. Various tools like the MoSCoW method, the Kano model, and the RICE score can aid in ranking features based on importance, urgency, and impact, ultimately leading to a more effective and impactful product.

Agile and lean methodologies offer significant advantages in product engineering, fostering a faster, cheaper, and ultimately better product. These approaches embrace iterative development, meaning they break down the product into smaller, manageable pieces. This allows for continuous testing and validation with real users, ensuring your product truly meets their needs. By eliminating waste and inefficiencies, agile and lean methods promote resource optimization. Additionally, they empower teams to collaborate effectively and adapt to changing requirements, ensuring your product stays relevant and competitive in a dynamic market.

Elevate your product engineering with agile and lean methodologies. Embrace iterative, incremental, and customer-centric development for faster, cost-effective, and superior product delivery. Break down your product into manageable parts, validate assumptions with real users, eliminate inefficiencies, and empower collaborative teams. Adapt gracefully to changing requirements, ensuring your product evolves in tune with customer needs.

You MUST have a customer on the team contributing to the Agile process. One voice that can say “that feature is important”, and more likely “that feature is NOT important”. Many times I have seen developers go down a rabbit hole creating what they think is a valuable feature only to find out the customer either couldn’t care less or the feature is too costly. Better to find this out before expending the cost of implementation and having to spend more to remove it, often your own money.

Implementing agile and lean methodologies is crucial for effective cost-saving in product engineering. Break down projects into smaller, manageable tasks to enhance efficiency and reduce waste. Foster a culture of continuous improvement, enabling teams to adapt swiftly to changes. Emphasize cross-functional collaboration to maximize resource utilization. Regularly review and prioritize tasks based on customer value, ensuring a streamlined development process. Leverage feedback loops to identify and address issues promptly, ultimately optimizing costs while maintaining product quality.

Depends on whether you are growing or maintaining. If growing then using lean sixsigma to streamline process and improve output without increasing labour is something there is always room for. If maintaining focus on pass first time initiatives, reducing rework and aligning processes where appropriate to reduce excess material and maintenance waste

Product engineering benefits from these methods through: 1. Efficient Resource Use: "Just-in-time" minimizes waste and optimizes inventory. 2. Continuous Improvement: Kaizen fosters ongoing enhancements in product quality. 3. Faster Development: Agile methods speed up iterations and reduce time to market. 4. Customer-Centric: Focusing on customer needs ensures product-market fit. 5. Quality Assurance: Six Sigma offers a structured approach to eliminating defects. 6. Proactive Risk Management: FMEA identifies and mitigates risks early in development. 7. Process Standardization: TQM standardizes processes for consistent quality. These practices lead to cost-effective, high-quality products that meet customer demands efficiently.

When thinking about continuous learning and improvement it’s also worth to periodically reevaluate already existing features and ruthlessly remove those that are no longer relevant and don’t bring value. This reduces maintenance effort and complexity which in turn reduces overall costs.

Solid, repeatable design decreases production time and increases profitability and ability to deliver results to customers. Tried and true is a saying for good reason! But also be willing to explore new products and ideas.

depending on your project: I do encourage using lean methodologies with a focus on customer needs and their priority. Also, this will keep the meetings to a low number, providing developers and QA more time to focus on their needs. Nevertheless, everything is a balance - one way of doing it is to be sure that most of the people are aware of what is happening int the project and become feature jumpers.

All functions that will be involved need to be included in early discussions so that they can begin preparing early for their anticipated activities. Nothing costs more than program personnel charging labor to wait for other functions to complete their tasks.

I always found having the original design engineers full committed and participating in an off site Value Analysis/Value Engineering VA/VE workshop the most effective. Design engineers know where the cost was added due to time and resource constraints and given time can provide the most effective and substantial savings.

Starting simple and iterating is critical. So many features are seldom used, people care about the core functionality first. Start small and meet them where they are. Today do they do the work in Excel but they want a webpage. Publish the Excel as HTML and make available. See if people really engage with the data before investing time in making something only a few will use. Talk to the target audience about their experience with the low effort pre-MVP and iterate on that feedback. Deliver results quickly. Core functionality over pretty interfaces.

I have to agree with this concept of utilizing existing technologies in new configurations as opposed to designing, engineering and producing specialty components for the product. As an example, I have a product that is currently with the USPTO in the form of a Provisional Patent Application. The product is designed entirely existing common use components. What is this product? It is a configuration of components to generate electrical energy utilizing old school hydroelectric philosophies in a closed loop, low pressure flow of water. The system is designed to be scalable to utilize with the lone user going off the grid or the replacement of a fossil fueled generators.

build common frameworks that aligns to "all your" (company's) products would reduce lot of effort and it would be consistent across the products, ex authentication, license management, reporting, metadata across the products

Harnessing existing tools and platforms offers distinct advantages, particularly when aligning with installation bases and client familiarity. The challenge lies in avoiding the styfalling of innovation while guarding against bloat. We've navigated this by striking a balance between innovation and adherence to structure. Historically, major redevelopments coincided with platform transitions. Moving from 8-Bit to 16-Bit to 32-Bit...., each relatively straightforward and each providing operttunitiy to prune redancy, clean out scars and evaluate priorities. Our current challenge involves redevelopment utilizing Blockchain, AI, ML, and quantum applications. Exciting times ahead!

Let’s address this from another point of view. One of the most cost-effective approaches is to demonstrate/test product functionality as fast as possible by using what you have already. It means you recycle/adapt existing code, hardware, testing setups, protocoles, infrastructure (procurement, production, quality control, etc) and personal skills to jump start the process as much as you can! Once you have something working or “decent” and some final user’s feedback, you can identify areas to improve, rebuild or redesign as needed.

No-Code & Low-Code tools can be a big leverage in the product development and beyond of this. Companies have the possibility to develop their own customized application which they are needed for the developing of products or for the optimization of processes during the development. They do not depend on third parties and softwares which are not adapted on their special requirements. They can create their own application in a short time which are fully aligned for their needs. Together with Cloud-Technologies their is a big opportunity for them to reduce time, because of the shorter implementation times. They are empowered to use and develop customized software in a short time in combination with cloud services.

Typically 60%-70% of product cost is driven by material cost. Leveraging existing platforms, volumes, rough material availability, minimizing value add(material treatment, machining) and size/shape optimization to product life expectations are key elements when it comes to product cost structure

Identify the real problem. Before investing in technology, create a Prototype. Whether its on paper or Excel these mockups save countless hours. Often people are adamant they want a system that collects xyz data, but they are unwilling to do the basic work to collect it. Technology won't solve that problem. Before you jump to a technological solution, first prove to yourself the value of the data, and understand the impact of a low tech solution. I've often found the low-tech solution to drive more ownership of the process and have better outcomes faster. If a customer wants a downtime system, but is unwilling to have operators log the downtime manually, then having an automated system that needs user input doesn't help them.

Predictive Engineering, Analytical optimization before prototyping, Instrumented testing to measure behaviors (not failures) to optimize the product, Realistic customer simulation testing.

All points are good, but I think design thinking and prototyping can be highly beneficial. Design thinking is all about generating innovative ideas and understanding user needs. Prototyping allows quick validation of the actual product. A combination of both assures that the product will meet customer requirements and reduce the cost of rework. One of the other approaches is simulating when possible to avoid spending any money on HW. If the simulation is done correctly, you can get an idea if your design will perform as expected. For mechanical design, 3D printing can be used for quick verification. For electrical signal integrity, one can simulate signals for major components. I have seen both done successfully and helped reduce costs.

One of the most challenging goals to meet in product cost reduction is material change especially when such has been widely accepted by the industry with solid quality and reliability data to support it. The use of Au wire in semiconductor products falls, if not tops, this conventional wisdom. Being a superconductor and have years of data to support its use both process and product per se, it is truly difficult to remove or replace it from your BOM and for valid reasons. Top customers treat other wire options with tepidity and trepidation. But Cu wire (and later Ag wire) was introduced, Wirebond process developed (with forming gas) and with data later accepted with significant cost impact defying conventional wisdom of Au wire exclusivity.

design thinking should be adopted to all the common features so that reasonable customization w.r.t product can be adopted if needed. example : consider logging, and visualization w.r.t to a transaction across products....using same logging model and framework across product will allow visualization of a transaction in any product would be easy using the log files. hence enabling the support to easily move across the product ie, operations made easy...

Implementing design thinking and prototyping has been truly revolutionary. Leveraging 3D modeling and the capability to instantly share models remotely is remarkable. Coupled with rapid additive manufacturing and material printing methods, we not only produce prototypes but also effectively utilize them. Leveraging prototypes for proof of value and scaled production accelerates customer acceptance, significantly reduces start-up curves, and minimizes training requirements.

The more the Product is, the more a Design Thinking and Prototyping should be implemented. The main reasons are : Prototyping often appears as money & time-wasting process. Yet, this is a mandatory step to complete before launching a Product on the Market. This is the best way to implement a risks-mitigation project on the Product and a way to fine-tune the Product Specification. Design Thinking is in our Globalized Market a must-have thinking. The Product is designed by Humans, for Humans. In the 21st Century, not taking into account all Standards, from Product Specific to Envrionmental and Human Respect one's, can easily ruin a product that might be very well designed in the traditional way of thinking.

El prototipo, el modelo, la simulación ojalá desde las fases más tempranas de creatividad es la forma más fácil de asegurar un producto libre de errores en fases de industria.

O processo de desenvolvimento de produtos pode ter seus custos reduzidos fortemente utilizando ferramentas de prototipagem 3D, incluindo softwares de modelagem, simulações estáticas e dinâmicas, além dos novos equipamentos para impressão em 3D. Além dos custos, o processo de prototipagem 3D poderá reduzir significativamente os prazos para desenvolvimento e testes, inclusive funcionais, de novos produtos.

When we say "Quality Assurance", we think about one word : People. QA is not a wasting-money tool. It is a way to include Safety for People, user-friendly for Customer, also people, Safety and Well-being for the Producers, that are also People. This is why the QA-labels should be part of the Engineering Specification, as a driver and since the early beginning.

What I have learned through experience is: Invest time and resources in thorough planning before starting the development. Identifying the risks and challenges will not only save you time but also the unexpected costs during the development phase. Besides this, Outsourcing non-core and repetitive tasks can reduce labor costs while maintaining quality.

In optimizing QA and testing, avoid the 'silver bullet' fallacy. Tools like BDD and TDD are effective but context-dependent. Sometimes, manual testing is the faster, more appropriate choice, especially when automation is too cumbersome for the task at hand. The key is strategic application and understanding risks. Crucially, document your tests. Whether manual or automated, clear documentation ensures transparency and efficiency. When involving specialists, it's essential to know exactly what you're paying for. This balanced, well-documented approach is the cornerstone of effective QA and testing.

Absolutely correct. If your product is going to Target B2C segment and that too on a competitive segment, one single UI glitch will cost you a consumer. A high grade quality assurance in an iterative should be done before putting that final push to production.

Hauptsache: «gesunden Menschenverstand» walten lassen: Man muss nicht immer alles und überall prüfen. Um Zeit und Geld sinnvoll einzusetzen, rate ich als Anwender von Elektronik-Bauteilen, ein paar Punkte auf Basis der FMEA-Methode (Failure mode and effects analysis) zu berücksichtigen: • Was sind die möglichen Ausfälle? • Wie häufig können diese auftreten und wie schlimm sind die Auswirkungen, falls es passiert. • Welche Ausfallrisiken sind in den Standard-Produktionsprozessen bereits abgedeckt? Damit lässt sich herausfiltern, was zu prüfen ist. Man muss nicht prüfen, was bereits geprüft ist und auch nicht, was unwahrscheinlich eintrifft und dann nur sehr geringe Auswirkungen hat.

I concur with the statement that states, "Quality Assurance and testing are paramount activities that guarantee your product meets the standards and specification of quality." However, I think that this process of quality assurance has to be a part of the agile and lean methodologies not as a separate function. By doing this you would save time and costs.

The use AOI (automated online inspection) in place of QA gates (2opt, 3opt, FV)/100% Prodn check, falls on this trend. Not only does it increase productivity but improves quality as well. Strip Test is another example whereby units still in assembly line already tested and thus predetermined to be electrically good/reject even before going to Final Test process.

the quality assurance and testing happens once for the common framework, this gives a added advantage to only test the product features and minimal testing of the framework w.r.t product.

One of the most difficult and yet important tasks for a design engineer in developing a new product is its production cost .Since cost is usually a driving factor , many companies use the term Design for Cost ( DFC ) to emphasize it's importance . Often seen as superior to DFC is Design for Value ( DFV). Value Engineering is a customer oriented approach in the sense that it changes the focus from the cost of the component to its value to the customer. Value = (Worth of the feature, component or assembly) / (Cost of the feature, component or assembly )

When desiging a product it is important that the developers are users. Consider having them perform the job function of the people the system is for. When we are personally invested we see things differently. When we use something everyday we see it differently than when we swoop in to implement a feature. For physical products the same is true. If necessity is the mother of invention and you don't need what you are working on, the magic of inspiration and innovation is diminished.

1. Create a localized ECO system 2. List the value addition on each feature from the customer's perspective - Honestly, many of them will go out from the list. 3. Plan to discuss with all 'A' class parts vendors about their plan for cost management. 4. How to improve and meet the "time to market" strategy. 5. Product design is the most important phase of the entire PLM, spending more time to design will reduce the cost and time in other phases of product development.

Front loading in product development process as cost avoidance - better than saving. Capture all potencial issues and failure modes during concept and development phase. After validation, the cost impact to product is exponential.

Be ready to learn, be alert to symptoms and signals, watch out for new methods, processes, modifications, optimisations done by others. Basically you can learn from others mistakes, and not make them yourself to learn. Communication with other compatriots can give a different insightful view.

🤔 Design To Compete©️! 🤔 As an engineer I have been intrigued with what makes a successful product when balanced against cost, scope, and time. Throughout my career, I’ve experienced industry concepts: Design For Manufacturing, Design By Quality, Lean, Agile, Kanban, DOE, and Six Sigma - all geared toward a specific facet of the product lifecycle and/or Operations. None were all-encompassing to include the complement of business and market needs (revenues, profitability, VOC, etc.). My recent epiphany resulted in this buzz-phrase: #DesignToCompete #DesignedForCompetition This seems to appease my tendency for product perfection, balance my risk tolerance/aversion, and give room for future product innovation.

Getting early drafts or prototypes of a product in customer hands as soon as possible will give your product development team key feedback on what is good and bad about the product. Using this assessment data to adjust and enhance your product design and quality specifications will shorten the overall development cycle.

Planning ahead is incredibly important, before designing an entire product with multiple components, custom parts etc, it is worth discussing what existing parts can we use, either off the shelf or from existing products within the same family. Then building out from there.

One thing that I think is I'm very important. Is that you take a look at 5S/6S when you're in manufacturing environment. You can see where there's area that you haven't utilized. You can see where there's waste in your system. You can get your people that work for you to participate in cleaning and making things better and through that. Finding the " muda" in your system. You're able to improve your procceses and be able to optimize all the other systems. DoING this will impact through your supply chain, through the team awareness, through plant optimization.

Build what the customer needs. Not what you want to provide them. I hate when I run across applications that have complexity that has zero reason to exist.