| Name | Design To Cost |
| Abbreviation | DTC |
| Learning Cost | 120 |
| Playing Cost | 200 |
| Suggested Phases | 2,3 |
Engineers
| Mechanical Engineer | Industrial Design | System Engineer | Electrical Engineer | Production Engineer | Software Engineer |
| ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✗ | ✗ |
Technique and Issue Views
| BusinessNeeds | Stakeholder | Stakeholder Needs | System Requirements | System Structure Architecture |
| ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✔ | ✔ |
| System Functional Architecture | Detail Hardware Design | Detail Service Design | Detail Software Design | Manufacturing Operations |
| ✗ | ✔ | ✔ | ✗ | ✗ |
Technique Traits
| Identify Stakeholders | Elicit Needs | Remove Ambiguity | Layman's Terms | Technical Terms | Teamworkings |
| 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Traceability | Prioritizing | Exploring Breadth | Inside the Box | Outside the box | V&V |
| 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Verification and Validation
| Analysis | Calculus | Inspection | Demonstration | Test |
| ✗ | ✔ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
In the year 1971, design to cost (DTC) was defined by the Department of Defense (DOD) of the United States. This technique became mandatory for army contracts over 10 million dollars, so that high costs in the army could be eliminated. The main objective of this design method is to converge on costs rather than design, even in the early stages of the project [1].
Its fundamental idea is that the cost is “designed” into the product in the early stages of development, and one those are over it becomes embedded in the design, making it hard or impossible to lower the cost later on. By taking the right design decisions as early as during the initiation and concept phase of the product life-cycle, unnecessary costs at later stages can be avoided. [2] By taking into account concerns such as material specification, packaging, shipping, logistics, manufacturability and labor, the designer can impact the final cost by up to 70%. [3]
