Essay from the year 2009 in the subject Business economics - Miscellaneous, Tsinghua University, language: English, abstract: As the competitive environment rises and the life cycle of a product decreases in length it becomes more and more important to develop products cost efficiently. Products do not yield profit for as long as they used to. Therefore the costs spent have to match the achievable outcome. Moreover, the technology pace harbors the risk that a product that went trough a long development process might already be outdated when it is ready for market emerge. Today's companies face the challenge to provide quality products that are up to date and yet at a low price. The money spent on development and production has to be distributed wisely. The rationalization of the design process helps through various approaches to reduce the costs and still remain the products quality. This paper will examine the approach of applying rationalization to the design process. It will outline the potential of reducing costs and gaining market share through faster market emerge.