Design and development for a global market

In the past decade, AT&T has increased efforts to ensure that its products and services meet or exceed the expectations of customers around the world. The expectations of these customers, the final judges of quality and value, have shaped an evolution in the design and development processes at AT&T Bell Laboratories. AT&T has achieved significant economies of scale by designing high-quality global product platforms that can be tailored for different geographical regions and market segments. One key to attaining high quality is close partnering within AT&T and between AT&T and its customers, suppliers, and joint venture partners. This issue of the AT&T Technical Journal presents specific examples of the evolving design and development process, as well as product globalization concerns.