Department performance metrics-a manager's viewpoint

If we view the engineering design activity as a process, and we want to improve that process, then we need a way to measure its results and the trend of those results over time. At the Aeronutronic Division of Lockheed Martin Corporation, we developed and used a set of engineering performance metrics which helped guide our productivity and quality improvement efforts in the Mechanical and Electronic Design Departments. This article describes what we did, how we did it, and offers some advice based on our experience.