INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ENGINEERING DESIGN, ICED11 15 - 18 AUGUST 2011, TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF DENMARK STUDY ON THE INTRODUCTION OF DESIGN MANAGEMENT IN THE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS OF BRAZILIAN CLOTHING COMPANIES Graziela Kauling1 and Maurício Bernardes2 (1) Federal Center of Technological Education, Brazil (2) Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil ABSTRACT The goal of this research is to study the introduction of design management in the product development process of Brazilian clothing companies. The theoretical framework of this research shows that the curricular programs of the Schools of Design in Brazil do not yet emphasize management sufficiently in their courses, making it improbable that designers will develop managerial abilities. The principal objective of the present study is to analyze how the clothing companies in Araranguá, in the state of Santa Catarina – Brazil, introduce design in their processes. The analysis was carried out via a comparison with the Design Management Model presented by the authors Bruce; Cooper and Vazquez and used as a guiding element for this research. The sample encompasses five companies that are developers of fashion products. Qualitative data analysis of their structure and operation resulted in suggestions for improvement for each company studied. Keywords: Fashion Companies, Design Management, Fashion Design 1 INTRODUCTION The etymology of the word design and its metamorphic applications in modern English demonstrate that the meaning of the word encompasses not only creativity and innovation but planning, process, and execution as well. One way of integrating the goals of a company into the product development process is through design management. That term has been used, in general, by business managers to describe an approach, for the solution of problems characteristic of design that aims at valuing the concept, the project and the aesthetics. This represents the insertion of a design culture into a company [1],[2],[3]. In view of this context, design management assumes fundamental importance and for that reason is the topic of this study. On the European continent government contributes strongly toward the dissemination of design concepts with the goal of improving the competitive performance of the companies there [4]. Studies by [5] carried out in the European Union present a model of design management that emphasizes the importance of three elements: briefing, sourcing and evaluating design. The research done by those authors will be used in this study for a comparative analysis of companies of the clothing sector as well as an analysis of the methodology’s application in those companies. This sector stands out in its national and international scope, since Brazil is presently the sixth largest manufacturer of textiles in the world producing 8.2 billion pieces of clothing per year [6]. Hence, this research becomes even more relevant, in that it diagnoses what takes place in the reality of these small Brazilian companies. The sample selected includes only a small number of companies, and it is recommended that this sampling be expanded, both in the region studied and beyond because it shows qualitative data and is therefore capable of revealing information valuable both for scientific research and for the studied region, thereby making possible improvements regarding Design Management. In Brazil, the clothing manufacturer segment of industry is characterized by the predominance of micro to small-sized companies that in the majority of cases have an organizational structure based on family management, which is informal and intuitive. This may jeopardize their effectiveness and in this way they become less competitive in the market [7]. Confronted with this issue, we propose answering the following research questions: • How do Brazilian small clothing companies use design management? • How can effective design management render the small clothing companies studied more competitive? 2 INTRODUCTION OF DESIGN IN EUROPEAN COMPANIES Recent studies have shown that the effective use of design is fundamental for the creation of new products, processes and services. Good design may significantly aggregate value of products, lead to growth in sales and the exploration of new markets, as well as consolidating existing ones. A study carried out by the European government has analyzed a sample of two hundred projects at small European companies that received a subsidy from the government to engage the services of professional designers for a series of activities in the development of new products. The study identified that the major causes for failure of a design project include lack of commitment by project top management; low funding for project financing, insufficient funds to cover costs and inadequate application of design competencies [5], [4], [9]. In this study, design management analysis of small companies evaluated three primary factors: sourcing, briefing and evaluation. Sourcing refers to the acquisition of the design ability appropriate for the creation and implementation of new products, as well as for the development of a corporate identity [10].Briefing is an important stage for designers, since it contains a great deal of information oriented toward producing an effective solution for the customer. Designers need to have information on marketing, such as target-public, pricing, goals underlying the proposed design, details about production mode, as well as plans and a chronogram for execution [11]. Evaluation involves assessing the concept with regard to briefing; as well as market design and success analysis measured by criteria such as: sales performance, increase of awareness of the service, and equilibrium points, among others. The model presented by [5] highlights the critical points of the process and shows how to explore design management in small companies using the stages sourcing, briefing and evaluation. Based on the Design Management Model created by the European authors, Bruce, Cooper and Vasquez, the authors of the present research have pursued to perform a comparison through the model developed by the previously referenced authors. The model presents the following sequence: • Trigger for action: preparation of the gross concept, the customer factors, technology boosting factors, competitive factors, strategic management factors, market analysis proactive factors, cost factors, and consumer needs. • Evaluated concept: is equivalent to problem resolution or opportunity analysis. It includes investigation and analysis of information collected during the previous stage. A final report is prepared for the customer, as well as a project schedule [12]. • Concept development: after the identification of the needs, simple sketches are quickly prepared to express ideas and evaluate possibilities. It is necessary to have several points of view at this stage, as this is the learning and study stage for development of the product [12], [13]. • Sourcing: is the search for external help from organizations when hiring professional designers. • Briefing: involves two stages: the confirmation of briefing in which design is audited after which the project manager defines launching dates identifying production and distribution channels. The final briefing is approved or disapproved during the second stage. • Mock up: involves two stages: the initial version of a product that is being developed before marketing and the testing and planning stage with three-dimensional models. In the second stage, the version of the product has undergone the necessary reformulations and reevaluations and is used to generate the prototype. • Experimental production: is represented by multidisciplinary work between engineering, marketing, designer, factory, and salespeople. The result is a complete specification and detailing of the product with technical drawings, colors, materials, types of finishing, dimensions, and measurements. Withdrawal of product from the market: evaluates the withdrawal process of the product • Complete production: serial production of the product. Represents design management at the operational level. • Launching: consists of promoting and evaluating the launching. 3 RESEARCH METHOD This research is defined as exploratory and will not present statistical indicators, but rather will carry out a qualitative mapping of the real situation of the companies studied through a comparative analysis using the model proposed by [5]. Multiple case studies were used as a research strategy to identify the way in which Brazilian companies introduce design management in their processes. A case study is an empirical study that investigates a contemporary phenomenon in its real-life context [14]. The strategy of qualitatively analyzing the companies in different scenarios was selected after a few meetings with business people of the clothing industry in the region that revealed dissatisfaction with the performance of the companies in the market. The research was carried out in three stages. The goal of the first stage was to prepare a semi- structured interview to collect data on the variables. The questions considered the following variables: briefing, sourcing, evaluating, design and design management. The content of the interview was formulated with the help of the Design Atlas Questionnaire, a tool developed by the Design Council (UK) to analyze the capacity for design within a business [21]. The Design Atlas served as a support tool for the preparation of the