Quality during Design

Can visualizing your data be the game-changer you've been missing? Discover why plotting isn't just a step in data analysis, but a crucial practice that can reveal uniformity, natural variations, and even potential flaws in your test methods. Learn about the importance of recognizing multiple failure modes and how to avoid common pitfalls such as mishandling outliers and making incorrect...

Ready to transform your team meetings from chaotic to cohesive? Discover a method used by Six Sigma practitioners, continuous improvement teams, and design sprints to make your meetings more effective and efficient. We’ll guide you through the phases of discovery, examination, and prioritization to streamline idea generation and ensure that every team member’s input is valued. You’ll learn techniq...

Quality control, quality assurance, quality assistance, and Quality 4.0. We unravel these quality concepts and their impact on design. Listen in to be guided through the historical context and evolution of these terms, offering insights into how they shape design decisions and team communications. You'll learn the roles of quality assurance and quality control, discover the origins and meanin...

Ever find yourself stuck trying to gauge the likelihood of an event? What if you could transform your approach to probability assignments with just one simple trick? On this episode of Quality During Design, we talk about simplifying probabilities for better decision making. We uncover a method to assign probabilities and occurrence ratings during preliminary assessments. We share a technique that...

What could Shuji Nakamura, the Nobel Prize-winning engineer behind the blue LED, teach you about teamwork and career growth? Discover how transitioning from an independent researcher to a collaborative leader can elevate your professional journey. Join me, Dianna Deeney, as I share insights from a recent event co-hosted for the IEEE Philadelphia Professional Communication Society. We'll uncov...

Anne Meixner, Dr. Vaneeta Kaur Grover, and Dianna Deeney join in a panel discussion about engineering and STEM. They met for an engineering book review to discuss the ideas that came from the books themselves and to link literature about engineering to current-day challenges. Uncover the intricacies of engineering's past and present as we dissect To Engineer is Human and The Wright Brothers ....

We explore the history, philosophy, and methodology of Design for Six Sigma (DFSS). We dissect the acronyms DMAIC and DMADV, revealing how these methodologies are blueprints for achieving excellence.  From statistics to Motorola's legendary quality standards and other history of six sigma, you'll begin to see how DFSS may relate with your organization's current design development pr...

Unveil the hidden flaws of FMEA and risk matrices that could be skewing your analysis and decision-making.  In the realm of risk assessment and management, traditional tools like Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and risk matrices have been widely accepted as the norm. However, beneath the surface of these established methods lie hidden flaws that can significantly impact the effectiveness...

Dianna Deeney interviews Fred Schenkelberg about getting information for product design, focusing on reliability engineering in new products. This episode is part 2 of 2. This interview is part of our series, “A Chat with Cross Functional Experts". Our focus is speaking with people that are typically part of a cross-functional team within engineering projects. We discuss their viewpoints and...

Dianna Deeney interviews Fred Schenkelberg about getting information for product design, focusing on reliability engineering in new products. This episode is part 1 of 2. This interview is part of our series, “A Chat with Cross Functional Experts". Our focus is speaking with people that are typically part of a cross-functional team within engineering projects. We discuss their viewpoints and...

Navigating the common roadblocks of team consensus on severity ratings during FMEA or hazard analysis can be challenging. But with the right strategies, your team can capture uncertainty and avoid the pitfall of too many conservative estimates that skew prioritization. Learn how a probability mass function can revolutionize your risk assessment, ensuring a smoother, more accurate process for all s...

Ever find yourself at the tail end of a project, swamped with unfinished tasks, and wondering where things went awry? Are there important recommended actions that the team was excited about that just didn't get done? These are the conundrums we tackle in this episode of Quality During Design, with a special nod to Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Be Useful" for his proactive approach t...

Quality during Design isn't just an add-on; it's a fundamental aspect that drives innovation, efficiency, and customer satisfaction! Welcome back from our brief hiatus! One of the highlights of this episode is the introduction of an upcoming FMEA course on Udemy, with The Manufacturing Academy . FMEA, or Failure Modes and Effects Analysis, is a systematic method for evaluating our offeri...

Blink and you'll miss it, Quality During Design is taking a short, well-deserved break. We’ve journeyed together through a whopping 136 episodes over the last two years and eight months, and now it's time for us to recharge, refocus, and return with a bang in a few weeks. While we are not releasing new episodes during this period, we're excited to stay connected with you through our...

Dianna Deeney interviews Jeffrey Lewis about new product development: how timing the right activities can lead to product success. This interview is part of our series, “A Chat with Cross Functional Experts". Our focus is speaking with people that are typically part of a cross-functional team within engineering projects. We discuss their viewpoints and perspectives regarding new products, the...

What if you could shift your approach in product design to focus on what really matters, and thereby create products that truly resonate with your customers? We've been discovering the importance of considering a variety of inputs early in the design process. Now, we navigate the challenge of prioritizing these inputs to make the crucial trade-off decisions that can make or break your product...

Gain insights into working effectively with cross-functional teams, collecting invaluable design inputs without succumbing to the overwhelming flow of information. We'll discuss the magic behind the 'concept space', an efficient approach to dissect potential customer experiences, streamlining concept development at the start. What about after that high-level concept development, whe...

As a product designer, you need design inputs. Many of us have communication problems with our cross-functional teams about product ideas which then morph into product development problems later. In this episode, we unravel the importance of communication and self-advocacy in the realm of product design. In our chat, we share how to take the lead in working meetings with cross-functional teams to...

Dianna Deeney interviews Kevin Bailey , from Design 1st , about supply chain management during design: how product design engineers and product development leadership can be affected by and affect the supply chain for their products. This interview is part of our series, “A Chat with Cross Functional Experts". Our focus is speaking with people that are typically part of a cross-functional tea...

Ever wished you could ace the art of product design using quality frameworks? Your wish is just about to come true! We unravel the ADEPT framework, your magic wand for creating products that are not just satisfactory,  but loved by users. We'll also be discussing how to lead a team effectively, conduct hands-on meetings, and choose the right participants. These handy tips will enable you to d...

Ready to sharpen your toolset with the wisdom of ancient warriors? Today's episode includes knowledge to guide your journey into the world of quality tools and reliability frameworks. Drawing inspiration from the seven weapons of warrior monk Benkei, we introduce the first seven quality tools collected by industry quality professional, Ishikawa. Discover how these types of tools, more typical...

Are you prepared to untap the potential of cross-functional collaboration in product design? On this episode of Quality during Design, we pull back the curtains on the dynamics of cross-functional teams in product design. Dianna Deeney, your host and seasoned quality professional, shares her insights on navigating the complex world of cross-functional teams, addressing common misconceptions, and m...

Ever wonder why many product designs fail or why projects don't always come out as planned? The answer might lie in how we approach the 'problem space' versus the 'solution space'. We're celebrating two and a half years of Quality During Design podcast by revisiting the fundamental principles that guide our product design processes, and exploring how we can apply thes...

Ever wondered how the world of product development can be viewed through the lens of a physicist? How the future of AI will impact our existence? What a champion poker player has to say about quitting, and what we can learn about product development from an architect? This week, we dive headfirst into those questions with four fascinating reads: 'Loonshots' by Safi Bahcall,  'AI 204...

Ever felt overwhelmed with the mountain of data during the design process? Wondered how best to prioritize tasks to meet user needs? I'm Dianna Deeney, and this episode of the Quality During Design Podcast promises to guide you through the chaos. We delve deep into the concept of an urgent/important matrix, a simple two-way matrix that can help you align your design priorities based on the us...