Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Design reviews can be important parts of projects. At design reviews, we attempt to communicate clearly and minimize misunderstandings. There are several design reviews that are important to the success of a project. This essay describes one design review that people want to have but should never be allowed.

We have design reviews In the project management and systems engineering world where I live. A design review is a big meeting. People gather to tell what they have done, what they understand, their current view of the technology of the project, and what t

hey plan to do next. Other people think about these things. Work does not progress until those in authority approve of the situation.

The main goal of a design review is to reduce misunderstandings. We hope to avoid a conversation late in the project where one person says, “I thought you were going to…” and another replies, “No, I never intended to do that,” and the first concludes with, “But then this whole thing is worthless without that.”

Two of the key design reviews are the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) and the Critical Design Review (CDR). Both of these are misnamed as the Preliminary Design Review is about requirements and answers the question, “Does everyone agree on what we want?” The Critical Design Review is about the design that is to be built. The Critical Design Review answers the question, “Does everyone agree that this is the right thing to build?”

Another frequently occurring design review is the Dinner Design Review or DDR. I hate DDRs; I have seen millions of dollars wasted because of DDRs, and I urge you to avoid them and never listen to anything that comes from a DDR.

Allow me to list the events that precede a DDR:

• We board a west-bound flight on the East Coast at 7 AM Monday
• We land in California at 11 AM Pacific Time
• We eat a big lunch
• We meet with a West Coast organization from 1 to 6 PM Pacific Time

At this point, we have worked 14 hours. It may be hard to consider this work as we have been sitting all day, but believe me this is tiring. Our bodies are completely off schedule. The events continue:

• We go to a restaurant and eat a big meal
• We go to our motel to sleep

At this point, our bodies believe it is 1 AM and we are stuffed with a big meal. We don’t sleep well. The events continue.

• We wake at 4 AM Pacific Time (7 AM East Coast Time) after three hours of restless sleep
• We eat a big breakfast at a restaurant
• We meet with a West Coast Organization from 8 AM to 6 PM
• We eat snacks all day and a big lunch
• We go to a restaurant for dinner and drinks

Now the Dinner Design Review begins. Let’s summarize our mental and physical state: we have worked 24 hours in two days on three hours of sleep and consumed large quantities of food and drink.

At this point, someone starts the DDR by saying, “I’ve been considering an aspect of this project and I think we should…”

I urge you to terminate the DDR immediately. Nothing good will come of this. What seem like good ideas are actually catastrophic. Interrupt the well-meaning but misguided chap by saying, “Oh I don’t feel so good. I need to go to the motel right now or I’m gonna be sick here.” Loosen your tie, unbutton a few buttons of your shirt, and pull on your belt for dramatic affect.

Whatever you have to do, leave the DDR. When you return to your East Coast office ignore any suggestions that begin with, “We thought of this at that Italian restaurant, you know the one with the red-and-white checkered table clothes…”