Theres no getting away from it, design and development projects are a nightmare to manage successfully, particularly the development of software. Nonetheless, in these days of customers requiring ever increasing functionality and ever more sophisticated technology, they are sometimes necessary.
Your company almost certainly has procedures in place such as Make or Buy (do you design/build the item yourselves or do you sub-contract) and Design to Cost (youve estimated how much it will cost, now make sure that it doesnt run over budget. The Make/Buy procedure should have been used when compiling the bid and the advantages and disadvantages in terms of capability, price, programme and risk between procuring from internal or external sources analysed. The availability of required technology should have been ascertained.
The Design to Cost process should also have been part of the programme from its inception through the bidding stage but it too should be reviewed at this stage. If a significant cost/risk reduction can be achieved by changing your approach, it may well pay dividends in the end.
There are a number of things to consider in respect to design. ...