Integrated product development

One of the earliest innovative approaches to product development with direct implication for design for the environment was product-aimed rationalisation based on the value analysis philosophy [5], This systematic method for achieving the necessary functions of a product at the lowest possible cost starts, in contrast to traditional cost-reduction methods, by asking such fundamental questions as  

What alternatives are available to achieve this function  

Value analysis does not try to break down already established costs instead, it seeks to build a new solution from a value established for the main function of a product, a reasoning similar to the determination of the functional unit in life cycle assessment. It follows that value analysis can elucidate hidden potential for environmental improvement that can directly translate into cost savings. As with LCA, it is likely that value analysis will be particularly effective in the development of new products rather than in the rationalisation of existing products. 

---

Andreasen, M. M. and Hein, L. 1987 Integrated Product Development. London IFS Publications and Springer-Verlag. 

Center of Excellence, Research Development Integrated Product Development... 

M. Myrup Andreasen and Lars Hein Integrated Product Development, Institute for Product Development, The Technical University of Denmark, 2000 (published earlier by Springer) tells why the different aspects of product development have to be done simultaneously. Very readable. 

M. M. Andreasen and L. Hein, Integrated Product Development, IPS Publications Ltd. Berlin (1987). 

Integrated Product Development of Andreasen Roller Muller... 

Keywords Concurrent engineering Integrated product development and design processes Time-to-Market Collaborative/engineering processes CE system ... 

Cha J, Chou SY, Stjepandic J, Curran R, Xu W (2014) Moving integrated product development to service clouds in the global economy. In Proceedings of the 21st ISPE Inc. international conference on concurrent engineering, lOS Press, Amsterdam, 8-11 Sep 2014... 

This definition stresses the parallel, concurrent, execution of product and process design activities by integrating multiple design disciplines and upstream and downstream functions involved in the lifecycle of a product. Many studies have been devoted since then on further defining this concept. CE is known under various different names, like Simultaneous Engineering, Concurrent Product Development, and Integrated Product Development with definitions slightly different from the one above (see e.g., [4, 5]). 

Andreasen MM, Hein L (1987) Integrated product development Springer, Berlin... 

The Application of an Integrated Product Development Process to the Design of Medical Equipment... 

---