Methods of total design

The author describes how total design may be defined as the systematic activity necessary from market/user need to the selling of a successful product to satisfy that need. It was first coined by Professor Stuart Pugh over twenty years ago and has, subsequently, been developed into an integrating framework or methodology that encapsulates all aspects ofthe new product development process. Total design was developed by a team who came from a wide variety of backgrounds including practising designers, information scientists and psychologists, and has been adopted in whole or in part by a wide number of companies. It emphasises the need to place greater effort on the initial stages of the design process where greatest return can be achieved for the least cost and risk