The Value of Engineering & Design Audits in Product Development
When developing a new product, the race to meet performance targets, perfect the look and feel, and hit deadlines can be overwhelming. In the rush, small but critical details often slip through the cracks—details that could make the difference between a good product and a great one.
An engineering and design audit is a structured evaluation of a product’s design. Its purpose is to identify risks, improve functionality, and ensure readiness for manufacturing before committing to costly production steps. An audit isn’t about questioning a team’s abilities; it’s about reducing blind spots and improving the odds of success.
Why Audits Matter
In-house teams know their product better than anyone—the history behind each decision, the trade-offs made, and the constraints they’ve worked within. That deep familiarity is a strength, but it can also make it harder to step back and view the design as a first-time user would. Immersion in the project often leads to overlooked details, simply because the team has grown accustomed to them.
This is where an external audit provides value. By bringing in fresh eyes and cross-industry experience, an audit offers both objectivity and technical depth. It fills gaps when certain disciplines—such as engineering, industrial design, or DFM/DFA—aren’t available in-house, and it provides the extra support needed to stress-test ideas and refine critical details. The result is a more robust product.
External audits can:
Detect performance bottlenecks
Spot manufacturability or assembly issues
Identify ergonomic concerns that affect comfort and safety
Recommend usability improvements to streamline the user experience
Assess compliance with industry standards and regulations
Reveal opportunities for cost savings without sacrificing quality
Meeting the Design Where It's At
A common misconception is that an audit means starting over or slowing down your path to production. In practice, audits aim to preserve the progress and avoid roadblocks that could cost more time to fix later on.
For example, when Acorn Product Development was brought in to review the Kara Pure atmospheric water generator, rather than starting over, our focus was on the details that would deliver the most impact. Refining fluid system efficiency, improving manufacturability, and addressing small usability concerns that could have an outsized effect on customer satisfaction. This targeted approach allowed the Kara Water team to keep their schedule while confidently moving toward production.
The goal is to meet the design where it is and focus attention on the details that will have the greatest impact.
DFM, DFA, DFT, & Usability: Designing for the Real World
Audits often uncover opportunities in four important areas:
Design for Manufacturing (DFM): Ensuring the design can be produced consistently, at scale, using the intended manufacturing processes. This might involve reducing unnecessary part complexity, choosing more appropriate materials, or modifying features to be more robust.
Design for Assembly (DFA): Making the product faster, easier, and less error-prone to assemble. That can include reducing the number of fasteners, improving access to internal components, or integrating parts to simplify construction.
Design for Testing (DFT): Being easy to manufacture and assemble does not necessarily mean easy to test. If diagnostic ports, test points, or access panels are missing or poorly located, the release cycle can slow dramatically. An audit helps ensure features are implemented that allow production teams to validate performance at scale and for service technicians to easily debug issues in the field.
Ergonomics & Usability: Looking beyond mechanical performance to evaluate how intuitive, comfortable, and safe the product is for the intended user. This could include improving handle shapes, control placement, visibility of displays, or the tactile feel of buttons and switches.
More Than a Review, A Strategic Advantage
A well-timed audit accelerates development by removing roadblocks early, improving usability, and providing confidence that the product is not only manufacturable but also enjoyable and intuitive for the end user.
From consumer electronics to medical devices, audits are becoming a standard checkpoint before moving into tooling or mass production. They help teams address problems while changes are still affordable and easy to implement, rather than after a product reaches the market.
The 4 Steps of an Engineering & Design Audit
01 - Discovery & Context
The process starts by understanding the why behind the product—its purpose, intended environment, and the constraints the team is working within. This stage sets the foundation for a focused, effective review.
Review design files, prototypes, and specifications
Identify performance targets, safety requirements, and regulatory considerations
Map out the intended user workflow and pinpoint any potential pain points
Begin assessing ergonomic factors such as reach, grip, weight distribution, and control placement
Understand the “look and feel” goals to ensure usability aligns with
02 - System Review
Here, the product is broken down into its core systems—mechanical, electrical, thermal, fluid, and structural—and analyzed both individually and in how they interact.
Look for performance bottlenecks or inefficiencies
Evaluate risk points where systems interface
Confirm design decisions align with functional and user experience goals
Consider how ergonomics and usability intersect with system layout—such as whether component placement makes the product intuitive to operate or maintain
03 - Manufacturability & Assembly Check (DFM/DFA)
This stage ensures the product can be built consistently, at scale, without unnecessary cost or complexity.
Assess part geometry, tolerances, and material choices for manufacturing feasibility
Identify opportunities to reduce assembly steps and improve serviceability
Spot production challenges that could impact quality or lead to rework
Validate that ergonomic features—like handle shapes, button resistance, or display visibility—are achievable and repeatable in mass production
04 - Targeted Recommendations
Rather than starting over, the goal is to make meaningful, high-impact improvements that protect the design intent while removing risk.
Prioritize changes with the largest benefit to performance, reliability, and user satisfaction
Recommend ergonomic and usability enhancements—such as repositioning controls, adjusting surface textures, or refining interface feedback—to make the product more comfortable and intuitive
Identify cost-saving measures without compromising quality or the end-user experience
Conclusion
A design and engineering audit is more than a technical review—it’s a strategic tool that strengthens both the product and the user experience. Whether the goal is improving manufacturability, refining ergonomics, or enhancing usability, a fresh perspective from an experienced product development firm can be the key to turning a good design into a great product.