Concurrent Engineering needs a series of measures
(or measurement criteria) that are distinct to each process,
and a set of metrics to check (and validate) the outcome
when two or more of the life-cycle processes are overlapped
or required to be executed in parallel. Because product
realization involves concurrent processes that occur across
multiple disciplines and organizations, appropriate measures
and the methods of qualifying metrics are essential. Inevitably,
such concurrent processes generate design conflicts among
multiple life-cycle concerns. Individual assurances of
satisfying life-cycle design criterion (one at a time)
do not capture the most important aspect of Concurrent
Engineering—the system perspective—meaning
achieving a well-balanced trade-off among the different
life-cycle design measures. While satisfying life-cycle
design measures in a serial manner only those, which are
not in conflict, are occasionally met. The paper first
describes a set of life-cycle measures and metrics and
explains how those could be used for gaining operational
excellence. Second, this paper provides an insight into
the mechanisms (such as knowledge-based systems, rule-based
simulation, and rule-based optimization) to ensure an effective
trade-off across different life-cycle measures, customer
requirements, and their inclusion into a product design,
development, and delivery (PD3) process.