9 - Product End-Of-Life

Manage and fund the recycling, resuse, reclamation and appropriate disposal of discarded product (see The Effect of Environmental Laws, Policies and Standards On the Product Development Lifecycle)

International laws are in effect as of 2005 (and more are coming in 2006 and 2007), which will require 'producers' to fund and be responsible for the recycling of their products.

It's no longer legal to just throw away (into waste areas) certain product types under various circumstances. The intent is to keep the waste down and free from dangerous substances thus promoting consumer and environmental health and safety.

1. The effort put into verification and validation is always commensurate with the risk (criticality, reliability and safety issues) associated with the product and development process. If risk is low, then there is most likely no need to go beyond normal testing regimens. Regardless, there must always be a fault or hazard analysis to determine what risks are associated with the safety and usability of the product. Also, the project risks must be determined and managed.
2. All test plans must include measurable criteria and targets for determining when the testing is complete. No regulatory agency, standards group or government organization dictates when testing is complete; it's up to the developer to determine this!
3. The design specifications created by the architects and designers shall be complete, approved and under change control so that the implementers cannot make ad hoc design and process decisions - unless ratified by the architects and designers, as functionality or performance may be altered.
4. Periodic (planned) reviews at the technical and business level of the market, buyers, competition, regulatory agencies, as well as, reviews of features, numbers etc. are necessary to maintain the product development as close to the market as possible.
5. Design the product development process to be easy to understand, implement, audit and modify (under managed conditions).
6. When implementing the GPEP avoid:
   • Setting any standards without trying them beforehand or at least being knowledgeable of them.
   • Going for it all at once. Implement in steps;
   • Blindly following the process without auditing it for necessary corrections.