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. Local LLMs: Where to Actually Start, with Vincent Deeney (A Chat with Cross-Functional Experts)

    3d ago

    Local LLMs: Where to Actually Start, with Vincent Deeney (A Chat with Cross-Functional Experts)

    Most of the social conversation around AI is aimed at business owners and programmers, but if you’re an engineer or quality professional, you might be wondering how to actually use these tools to help with your own work processes or information pools. While many people are waiting for their company to provide an AI strategy, there is a way to start building your own private "AI intern" today without being a coder or a programmer. In this episode, I’m joined by technologist Vincent Deeney to discuss the practical side of running Large Language Models (LLMs) locally on your own hardware. We move past the hype to talk about how "playing" with these models is actually a high-level form of learning that can help you bridge technical gaps and soar in your productivity. Vincent introduces a mental model for your personal development: the "Senior Engineer vs. Intern" workflow. You’ll learn how to use elite frontier models to help you architect complex concepts, then hand that plan over to a local model to execute the repetitive, data-heavy tasks.  Whether you want to automate your morning research or just understand the "why" behind AI behavior, this episode is your guide to becoming a more capable, AI-literate professional. We don't just talk about AI - we give you a roadmap to start executing on your own. Listen in and visit the podcast blog for extra resources: https://deeneyenterprises.com/qdd/podcast/s3e20 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. The Knowledge Your Team Has That Nobody's Using

    May 14

    The Knowledge Your Team Has That Nobody's Using

    Late-breaking insights in product development aren’t caused by negligence but by a lack of structure that pulls existing team knowledge into concept discussions early, when changes are cheaper.  Dianna describes an experiment running three product briefs (solar post-installation support, a portable oxygen concentrator, and a field lettuce harvester module) through traditional versus structured concept development.  Both produced credible outputs, but the structured method added context: linking each design input to a specific use-process failure or targeted benefit, its severity or importance, and a clear acceptance condition. Engineering inherits clarity rather than having to guess intent.  Dianna proposes a three-question filter (who fails, how severe/important, what “done” means) and challenges listeners to apply it to one current design input.  Visit the YouTube series showing side-by-side results: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTtGpfRyyNcZ9qMVL2HmWA7heE3Idyfbt 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
  3. Beyond the Pipeline: Rethinking Engineering Careers with Cassie Leonard (A Chat with Cross-Functional Experts)

    Apr 23

    Beyond the Pipeline: Rethinking Engineering Careers with Cassie Leonard (A Chat with Cross-Functional Experts)

    The episode features Cassie Leonard—former aerospace technical leader, executive coach, and author of STEM Moms and Beyond the Pipeline—explaining why the traditional linear “pipeline” model of engineering careers is constricting and mislabels non-linear moves as failure.  Drawing on expectancy-value theory, she presents an ROI-style equation for decisions: attainment, intrinsic, and utility value divided by effort, loss of valued alternatives, and cost of failure, illustrating it with her choice to leave a Fortune 100 role and start her coaching business.  This conversation applies the framework to individual confidence and authenticity, leader strategies for retention and recognition (including “rock stars” vs. “superstars”), and cross-functional empathy when trade-offs arise.  See more about Cassie at ELMMcoaching.com. Visit the blog post for more: https://deeneyenterprises.com/qdd/podcast/s3e19/ 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.

    34 min
  4. The Quiet System: Why Your Lessons Learned Aren’t Sticking

    Apr 9

    The Quiet System: Why Your Lessons Learned Aren’t Sticking

    Your team keeps solving the exact same problems project after project. What if the issue isn't careless execution, but a reactive system designed to hide failures rather than learn from them?  In this episode: • Discover how protective, reactive systems create "quiet" organizations where vital failure data gets buried instead of shared. • Learn the three essential shifts high-performing organizations use to turn lessons learned into strategic, upstream inputs. • Understand why the pendulum swing toward over-constrained, paperwork-heavy processes is just another system design failure. Ready to stop the cycle of repeating mistakes? Download the strategic quality integration checklist via the Quality During Design newsletter, or book a free 20-minute clarity call at qualityduringdesign.com/talk to map out your next best move. 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.

    9 min
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. 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
  8. 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
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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
    196
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Deeney Enterprises, LLC
  • Show Website
    Quality during Design