HOW COMPANIES LEARN FROM DESIGN FLAWS: RESULTS FROM AN EMPRICAL STUDY OF THE GERMAN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY

Design flaws often become apparent at a time when the product is already in use and its development process, which in many cases includes extensive testing of parts, components and prototypes, is considered complete. Such flaws may reach from poor ergonomics to the total failure of the product. Often, especially when user safety is at risk, design flaws are so severe that companies are forced to announce a product callback. However, the occurrence of a design flaw is always an indication that any methods intended to prevent design flaws - e.g. Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) - have failed to some extent. Petroski suggests that many (if not most) products, which we are familiar with today, have a long history of previously flawed designs. This implies that designers did indeed learn from design flaws in both senses of the word 'learn': discovering the flaw and utilizing the knowledge gained about it to find a solution.