This paperpresena the results of an experimental case study conducted to evaluate the reuse of design information during the conceptual design phase. The goal of this study was to determine the usefulness of design histoy information and to establish the need for providing the conceptual level design information for future use. Five design engineers were given a task of product redesign to satisfy new customer requirements. The scope of the redesign was limited to generating new concept(s) using the old design information. W e found that about 50% of the queries made by the subjects were related to the conceptual stage information from the past design effort. W e also found that about 70% of the old design information was useful during redesign.

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We developed a methodology for organizing design requirements at the beginning of the design process which helps Marketing, Engineering Design, and all other stakeholders communicate from the outset. The methodology uses an expanded definition of a product’s customer which includes not only the end user, but anyone associated with the product at any point from concept through retirement. The methodology has a taxonomic structure to delineate customer requirements in four main areas: end user requirements, corporate requirements, regulatory requirements, and technical requirements. This methodology has the same objective as Quality Function Deployment yet is more robust.

We developed a new database tool to manage information during the product definition process. This tool is a result of an ongoing research program to coordinate marketing and design engineering efforts in new product developments, and consider the related life cycle issues early in the design process. The database tool facilitates a methodology that integrates customer and design information, and allows reuse of this information during redesign problems. This paper presents the development, implementation, and an example use of the database tool.