A critical component of effective product design.

• How do we define balance? 
• How does a design effort get out of balance? 
• How can we correct or prevent imbalance in our development process? 

Sometimes we get too focused on a specific challenging problem to solve, and lose sight of the other elements of the product that need to be addressed to be successful. For example, we could be so intensely focused on bringing a new innovative mechanism to market, that we forget to make sure that this new innovation is cost-effective as well as functionally excellent.  A clever solution that people can’t afford is not a balanced design.  It is only a partial solution.  Conversely, we could be so intent on keeping the development and cost of goods (COGS) down, that we ignore key product features that will make it competitive.