Introduction

This book guides the reader through a design process that was tested and optimized in companies and design bureaus. It not only smoothly integrates modern product development techniques, but also addresses, for each phase, issues related to the management of intangible assets. There are several books on the product design process, as well as on the development of innovative products in general. However, none of them addresses how to integrate the engineering techniques with the necessary aspects of Intellectual Property Management. With a focus on software intensive products in general, the book presents a meta-process that adapts to product design in any area where the software element is an important factor in product functionality and innovation.