IntroductionIn the early Seventies,

Introduction

In the early Seventies, studies in the United Kingdom and in the United States highlight the strategic role of the design activities. The conclusions lead both companies and authorities towards new approaches in order to improve the economic performances of companies. At the end of the Eighties, the paramount role of the quality in the design was reinforced in the United States by the Made-in-America report from the MIT “Commission on the Productivity”. The Improving Engineering Design confirmed these conclusions in 1991: Designing for Competitive Advantage report, from the United State Nation Research Council “Engineering Design Theory and Methodology”. As resumed by Perrin [1], the design phase is the key factor of the product development process. The ability to product new products with a high quality, a low cost and witch fit with the customer requests is fundamental to improve the nation competitiveness. Consequently, the costs (and cost management from the early design to the end delivery) become as important as the other technical requests.

Due to the global market and the worldwide competition, reactivity and agility are the only way to maintain the enterprise competitiveness. This can be characterized by the ability to change its products and/or processes in very short times and at minimal cost. The cost control, at the early step of design, becomes a key factor of success, since this phase fixes an average up to 70 to 80% of the end product costs (depending on the kind of production).