Skin deep? [quality product engineering]

This paper examines whether glitzy designs and strong marketing campaigns can compensate for poor engineering in consumer products. To a certain extent, these factors can compensate, in that a trendy design can be pushed by clever marketing and sales can be produced. However, the chances of repeat business are reduced by poor reliability. Costs involved in product fixes late in the design cycle rise exponentially as the product nears production deadlines. In addition, manufactured costs of the product are usually significantly lower from a well engineered solution. All these reasons add up to a missed opportunity to maximize the potential profits of the device if high quality engineering solutions are used.