Resumen de Defining a Product Development Methodology with Concurrent Engineering for Small Manufacturing Companies

Susan Carlson-Skalak, Hans-Peter Kemser, Natasha Ter-Minassian

• Concurrent engineering is a design philosophy that has been accepted in large corporations, but generally is not used within small companies. This paper discusses the design approaches observed within four small to medium-sized companies. Based on these observations, a concurrent engineering methodology is proposed that is focused on the needs of small companies. This methodology is based on three design types: original, evolutionary and incremental. Using assessment criteria, the proposed design methodology can be tailored to fit a project. An example is used to show how this methodology is applied.