Quality during Design

Dianna Deeney
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Quality during Design is the podcast for engineers and product developers navigating the messy front end of product development. Each episode gives you practical quality and reliability tools you can use during the design phase — so your team catches problems early, avoids costly rework, and ships products people can depend on. You'll hear solo episodes on early-stage clarity, risk-based decision-making, and quality thinking, along with conversations with cross-functional experts in the series A Chat with Cross-Functional Experts. If you want to design products people love for less time, less cost, and a whole lot fewer headaches — this is your place. Hosted by Dianna Deeney, consultant, coach, and author of Pierce the Design Fog. Subscribe on Substack for monthly guides, templates, and Q&A.

  1. Shannon Cummings on Why Marketing Should Be in the Room Before the First Prototype (A Chat with Cross-Functional Experts)

    MAR 26

    Shannon Cummings on Why Marketing Should Be in the Room Before the First Prototype (A Chat with Cross-Functional Experts)

    Your team keeps building the wrong thing, despite great effort. What if the problem isn’t execution. It’s the fog you’re navigating in? We speak with Shannon Cummings, a seasoned product and marketing strategist who’s spent his career bridging the gap between Marketing, Product, and Engineering. He’s launched life-changing medical devices, cut development time in half, and done it all by bringing marketing into the room before the first prototype.  In this episode: • Why product development fails when marketing is an afterthought • How early customer insight—not prototypes—should drive design • The real power of cross-functional alignment (and how to make it happen) • A proven process to keep teams united, focused, and customer-obsessed from day one Show notes and links: https://deeneyenterprises.com/qdd/podcast/s3e18/ Send us a message Support the show If your team is still catching problems too late — let's talk. → Schedule a free discovery call: Dianna's calendar Want insights like this? → Subscribe to my newsletter: qualityduringdesign.substack.com Get the full framework. → Pierce the Design Fog  ABOUT DIANNA Dianna Deeney is a quality advocate for product development with over 25 years of experience in manufacturing. She is president of Deeney Enterprises, LLC, which helps organizations and people improve engineering design.

    36 min
  2. Stop Being a Witness to Decisions That You Should be Helping to Shape

    MAR 12

    Stop Being a Witness to Decisions That You Should be Helping to Shape

    Have you ever walked into a meeting (design review, planning session, phase gate) only to realize the decision was already made? That the discussion was just theater, not dialogue? You weren’t there to shape the outcome. You were there to witness it.  If that’s happened to you, you’re not alone. In this episode, Dianna explores why this happens, why it feels so frustrating, and most importantly how to fix it.  In this episode: • Design reviews are often theater because of the system: decisions are made before the meeting, not during • Real influence happens upstream, not in the formal meeting • Three practical steps to shape decisions before they’re locked in  Stop waiting for your moment to shine. Start shaping the moment before it happens. Share this with someone who’s been a witness too many times. Visit the blog post for additional notes and transcript: https://deeneyenterprises.com/qdd/podcast/stop-being-a-witness Send us a message Support the show If your team is still catching problems too late — let's talk. → Schedule a free discovery call: Dianna's calendar Want insights like this? → Subscribe to my newsletter: qualityduringdesign.substack.com Get the full framework. → Pierce the Design Fog  ABOUT DIANNA Dianna Deeney is a quality advocate for product development with over 25 years of experience in manufacturing. She is president of Deeney Enterprises, LLC, which helps organizations and people improve engineering design.

    12 min
  3. Karli Auble THRIVEs: Positive Psychology Meets Engineering Rigor (A Chat with Cross-Functional Experts)

    FEB 26

    Karli Auble THRIVEs: Positive Psychology Meets Engineering Rigor (A Chat with Cross-Functional Experts)

    In this episode of 'Quality during Design', we delve into how engineers can avoid mistakes and oversights by managing stress and enhancing performance.  Host Dianna Deeney interviews Karli Auble, an engineering leader at a global firm in the defense industry. She has unique expertise in systems engineering and positive psychology, with a master's degree in both disciplines. Karli shares insights on her THRIVE framework, focusing on thoughts, habits, relationships, instincts, values, and environments. She emphasizes the importance of recognizing 'error codes' in our bodies, applying practical tools, and fostering better communication within teams. All with an eye of better engineering outcomes. Listeners will learn actionable strategies to improve their work. Visit the podcast blog for more info, including how to contact Karli. Send us a message Support the show If your team is still catching problems too late — let's talk. → Schedule a free discovery call: Dianna's calendar Want insights like this? → Subscribe to my newsletter: qualityduringdesign.substack.com Get the full framework. → Pierce the Design Fog  ABOUT DIANNA Dianna Deeney is a quality advocate for product development with over 25 years of experience in manufacturing. She is president of Deeney Enterprises, LLC, which helps organizations and people improve engineering design.

    36 min
  4. Constraints Unlock Creativity: Why Frameworks Beat Blank Slates in Product Concept Design

    FEB 12

    Constraints Unlock Creativity: Why Frameworks Beat Blank Slates in Product Concept Design

    Your team keeps brainstorming into a void, producing “meh” ideas that never stick. What if the problem isn’t a lack of creativity but the absence of the right constraints? In this episode: • The Goldilocks principle of team creativity – why no guardrails and too‑many guardrails both kill innovation. • Frameworks unlock, don’t limit, creativity – using the drummers‑without‑drums analogy to show how structured constraints spark breakthrough ideas. • Timing and the Concept Space Model – the sweet spot after business approval but before detailed design, and how to map inputs, process, and outputs to generate high‑quality concepts. Visit the blog post. Send us a message Support the show If your team is still catching problems too late — let's talk. → Schedule a free discovery call: Dianna's calendar Want insights like this? → Subscribe to my newsletter: qualityduringdesign.substack.com Get the full framework. → Pierce the Design Fog  ABOUT DIANNA Dianna Deeney is a quality advocate for product development with over 25 years of experience in manufacturing. She is president of Deeney Enterprises, LLC, which helps organizations and people improve engineering design.

    12 min
  5. Cut Through The Design Fog

    JAN 22

    Cut Through The Design Fog

    Early concept development often fails because teams lack clarity and alignment, leading to wasted time and resources. Discover the structured approach needed to cut through the "design fog" and ensure your team is building the right product from the start. In this episode: • The Concept Space Model defines the fundamental questions teams must align on before diving into technical details. • The ADEPT Team Framework provides a five-part method for effective co-creation and structured ideation. • Learn how brainwriting and ensuring common understanding lead to actionable design inputs. Do you want next steps? Are you ready to pierce your design fog? Here is how to get started:  Listen to the free podcast series. Get the list at PierceTheDesignFog.comRead the book, Pierce the Design Fog. It contains detailed templates, facilitation guides, and case studies.Work with me. I help teams implement these frameworks. Visit DeeneyEnterprises.comSend us a message Support the show If your team is still catching problems too late — let's talk. → Schedule a free discovery call: Dianna's calendar Want insights like this? → Subscribe to my newsletter: qualityduringdesign.substack.com Get the full framework. → Pierce the Design Fog  ABOUT DIANNA Dianna Deeney is a quality advocate for product development with over 25 years of experience in manufacturing. She is president of Deeney Enterprises, LLC, which helps organizations and people improve engineering design.

    8 min
  6. The Design Fog is Derailing Your Project

    JAN 8

    The Design Fog is Derailing Your Project

    Your team spent six weeks on a feature that got rejected in the demo. Your engineers built a prototype that totally missed the mark. This misalignment is the design fog, and it’s where most product failures are born in the uncomfortable space of the fuzzy front end. In this episode: • Learn why jumping to prototypes introduces fixedness, robbing your team of the chance to define true user requirements. • Understand the symptoms of the design fog, including the silent assumptions problem and the premature precision trap. • Discover how the Concept Space Model and the ADEPT Team Framework act as the rope and torches you need to pierce the design fog and align your team in a matter of hours, not weeks. Subscribe at qualityduringdesign.substack.com so you don’t miss the framework that stops the cycle. Send us a message Support the show If your team is still catching problems too late — let's talk. → Schedule a free discovery call: Dianna's calendar Want insights like this? → Subscribe to my newsletter: qualityduringdesign.substack.com Get the full framework. → Pierce the Design Fog  ABOUT DIANNA Dianna Deeney is a quality advocate for product development with over 25 years of experience in manufacturing. She is president of Deeney Enterprises, LLC, which helps organizations and people improve engineering design.

    11 min
  7. Expected Value Makes Uncertainty Manageable

    12/25/2025

    Expected Value Makes Uncertainty Manageable

    Ever face a late-stage design decision where your gut says “maybe,” finance says “no,” and the schedule says “hurry”?  We unpack a simple way to make those calls with more clarity: using expected value to connect confidence, upside, and downside into one sober view of net benefit. No jargon, no spreadsheets required—just a clear framework that helps you see when a $50,000 test buys real certainty, and when the right move is to ship. Still, numbers don’t get the final say. The goal isn’t to pick the biggest EV; it’s to choose the most balanced, actionable, project-aligned option. If this approach helps you navigate the gray areas between risk and reward, follow the show, share it with a teammate, and leave a quick review so others can find it. Got a decision you’re wrestling with? Send it our way—we’ll feature it in a future breakdown. This blogpost: https://deeneyenterprises.com/qdd/podcast/expected-value-makes-uncertainty-manageable/ Facing a really complicated and nuanced decision? Try this Method to Help with Complex Decisions (DMRCS) Send us a message Support the show If your team is still catching problems too late — let's talk. → Schedule a free discovery call: Dianna's calendar Want insights like this? → Subscribe to my newsletter: qualityduringdesign.substack.com Get the full framework. → Pierce the Design Fog  ABOUT DIANNA Dianna Deeney is a quality advocate for product development with over 25 years of experience in manufacturing. She is president of Deeney Enterprises, LLC, which helps organizations and people improve engineering design.

    13 min
  8. Define Kill Criteria to Avoid Zombie Projects

    12/11/2025

    Define Kill Criteria to Avoid Zombie Projects

    When pursuing aggressive benchmarks, engineers must employ portfolio thinking, running multiple design projects simultaneously. But choosing winners requires a decisive way to eliminate projects that are not feasible to continue innovating, often referred to as a "project killer".  In this episode, we analyze Tesla's battery development as a case study. We delve into their use of five clear-cut constraint categories that define failure conditions upfront: the Economic filter, Performance filter, Scalability filter, Resource filter, and System filter.  We discuss the challenges engineers face in letting go of projects due to the sunk cost fallacy, where prior investments irrationally influence future choices, leading to the creation of "zombie projects".  Learn why defining explicit kill criteria before development begins is a vital, often overlooked exercise that saves resources and ensures rational decision-making. Blog for this episode: https://deeneyenterprises.com/qdd/podcast/define-kill-criteria-to-avoid-zombie-projects/ Episode with Dianna's review of Annie Duke's "Quit": Exploring Product Development and AI Through Literature: Insights from 'Loonshots', 'AI 2041', 'Quit', and "How Big Things Get Done' (QDD Book Cast) - Deeney Enterprises Send us a message Support the show If your team is still catching problems too late — let's talk. → Schedule a free discovery call: Dianna's calendar Want insights like this? → Subscribe to my newsletter: qualityduringdesign.substack.com Get the full framework. → Pierce the Design Fog  ABOUT DIANNA Dianna Deeney is a quality advocate for product development with over 25 years of experience in manufacturing. She is president of Deeney Enterprises, LLC, which helps organizations and people improve engineering design.

    13 min
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About

Quality during Design is the podcast for engineers and product developers navigating the messy front end of product development. Each episode gives you practical quality and reliability tools you can use during the design phase — so your team catches problems early, avoids costly rework, and ships products people can depend on. You'll hear solo episodes on early-stage clarity, risk-based decision-making, and quality thinking, along with conversations with cross-functional experts in the series A Chat with Cross-Functional Experts. If you want to design products people love for less time, less cost, and a whole lot fewer headaches — this is your place. Hosted by Dianna Deeney, consultant, coach, and author of Pierce the Design Fog. Subscribe on Substack for monthly guides, templates, and Q&A.

Information

  • Creator
    Dianna Deeney
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    192
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Deeney Enterprises, LLC
  • Show Website
    Quality during Design