Achieving excellence in product development by resolving quality and warranty issues upstream, while reducing lead-time

This research is based on observations made over a two year period of the Closures Systems Integrators (CSIs) at a North American automobile manufacturer. CSIs coordinate attribute balance and system decisions for conflicting car door attributes. The attribute delivery process is very tightly coupled with many interactions and conflicts between the attributes, and careful system integration and interface management are essential to satisfy customer needs. Programs with dedicated CSIs have fewer design-related problems during launch. Our study also reveals the need for more support and clearer roles and responsibilities for CSIs.