Design Transfer is a critical step of Design Controls during which product and process designs are transferred to production from R&D. I learned at work recently that there are specific Project Managers and teams dedicated to overseeing this transition. Can anyone think of any similarities or differences between a Project Manager focusing on Design Transfer and a traditional Project Manager in R&D? I would also be interested in hearing from anyone that has experiences working in Design Transfer projects!
Thanks,
Matt
This is a great point! I don't have any experience working in design transfer projects but in my opinion, the specification of project managers for research and development and design transfer is essential. Research and development is the trial and error of product formulation. This is the point in the project where the team works to introduce a new product, figure out the "ingredients", understand the sequence of steps in manufacturing, and more. On the other hand, design transfer is the handoff of the product and documents to the manufacturing team. The project manager for each of these processes would need to specialize and have a focus on R&D or Design Transfer to ensure all details of the project are included. The R&D project manager will be responsible for everything leading up to the design transfer while the Design Transfer project manager will be responsible for all thereafter. By doing so, there's the opportunity for flaws to be better identified by another person. If the R&D project manager missed any essential information, the Design Transfer project manager will be able to identify. If there's only one project manager for the entirety of the project, there may be details and mistakes that may get overlooked.
