Engineering and Implementing RMS Engineering's DTC Metric

Abstract Architecting a product requires a defined set of requirements for the finished product, e.g., size, weight, volume, range, power, color, cost, payload, etc. One very necessary requirement is the anticipated product production cost. Failure to set the production cost requirements at design kick-off allows for unexpected and unacceptable production costs. Previously, all too often, programs were allowing establishment of the production cost goal to slip, or they would wait for their customer to establish it for them. Raytheon Missile Systems’ (RMS) Engineering Directorate has since specified that all development programs will now establish a production cost goal using the Design-to-Cost (DTC) metric described within this article and will monitor their design progress toward meeting this goal. Each program's DTC metric is now collected monthly and reviewed by senior management. This article will focus on the creation of the Design-to-Cost Metric (DTC), its purpose and its use at RMS. The DTC metric is designed to allow business-unit management to quickly review the status of their programs, as to how well the various program designs are progressing with respect to their ability to be produced at the specified value.