The exchange of information is the lifeblood of product development. When an electronics company’s circuit designers know what the casing designers are doing, they design a better-fitting circuit for the casing. And when the casing designers know what the circuit designers need, they design a casing where it’s easier to put in a better circuit. Such flows of information allow for experimentation and innovation, and for that reason, many companies encourage feedback and iteration in their product development processes. This practice is known as concurrent engineering.
A version of this article appeared in the January 2001 issue of Harvard Business Review.
