Entering the market with a new, innovative product can be a particularly daunting task. To encourage engineering that begins with the end in mind, Test Early Test Often and Concurrent Engineering are two strategies which can meet market demands. These product development strategies create quicker learning and shorter design cycles. By implementing these two strategies, product development teams can lower overall development time and cost.

The Test Early Test Often approach uncovers weaknesses in designs by testing fundamental design and process assumptions before too much value is added to the part. In this strategy, requirements for new science are highlighted, potential issues are addressed before they become integrated into the process, and the overall cycle of iterative changes is shortened. The Test Early Test Often strategy relies on low-cost modular samples to perform testing instead of relying on assembled prototypes.

Concurrent Engineering promotes manufacturable design and reduces overall product development cost by creating synergies between design and process engineering groups. By beginning with the end in mind, this strategy encourages the design engineer to consider the process and the process engineer to consider the design.When the design and process development is conducted concurrently, and early testing is performed, learning is quicker and the design cycles become much shorter. Implementation of Concurrent Engineering hand-in-hand with the Test Early Test Often strategy adds real, measurable value. These combined engineering strategies significantly lower overall development time and cost.