The steps necessary to bring an idea or prototype to a viable stage for economical manufacturing and marketing are many and varied. This article considers the manufacturing aspects of product development, i.e., what is necessary to bring a product into production.

This activity involves developing solutions to the following requirements:

• Performance
• Durability
• Appearance
• Production Considerations

Performance
The basic necessity for any product offered in the marketplace is that it properly perform the functions for which it has been designed. The product must work properly, operate safely and perform in a reliable manner. This requires laboratory testing, field testing, and life testing to confirm the product’s design objectives, check out product function under actual use, and confirm that the product is based on sound engineering principles. 

Durability
The next consideration is one of product durability. It ties in directly to the intended use for the product and its expected lifetime. Some products, such as a garden shovel for example, can be expected to last longer than a generation. Others have only a few years or even months in useful life before they are superseded by advancements in technology. Others may be one time only in application or may actually be consumed in use. 

These considerations of use and lifetime reflect on the selection of materials for the product – metal versus plastic, hard material versus soft, brittle versus stiff, etc., and ultimately determine product durability.

Appearance
Following engineering development and materials selection, the next requirement is appearance. In very special cases, appearance may be so critical to the product’s function that it must be considered in concert with engineering development. Generally, however, engineering is well done before appearance requirements firm up. Primary consideration in this regard are “the look” of the product and the ergonomic aspects. Not only must the product be appropriately enclosed to protect inner mechanisms from damage, it must also appeal to the purchaser, look well-suited to its application and be thoroughly acceptable from human engineering and safety standpoints. 

Production
Finally, overriding the three design elements outlined above, is the all embracing requirement for producibility – how the product will be fabricated and assembled. A correctly designed product should not only work well, last a proper lifetime and have good looks, it should also be inexpensive to produce. Minimal cost for manufacturing usually is stipulated as a project objective consistent with a predetermined level of product quality. Thorough understanding of manufacturing processes and their associated economics is the key to accomplishing this goal. They must be carefully reviewed and evaluated throughout the entire product development process.