Design Rules?

Wow, good question and not sure there is a clear one. As for any companies I have worked for or owned it was a conglomeration of styles because everyone had their own talent, skill set, and personalities. When people start working on a project it eventually ends up that everyone is headed in the same direction. This works if you have the right personel on board, but this is just what I learned from experience.

As far as end product quality I think it depends on the product. I like to make sure a product is prototyped along the way through the design process to get a good feel for where it's headed. I also like to do testing along the way, and certainly before production, to know that I am producing/selling a proven product. I've never been keen on selling a product through hype. Again, it's just what works for me.

Aaron is right, it is very difficult to have a design convention, or rules. Of course every company has its own standards but even if every person in the company is using the same software or specifications it depends on the way the people think and use their skills. If you want different people do work in a similar way then you should make a guideline with very specific goals you want to achieve.

This is what I have so far:
1. Keep it simple.
2. Avoid almost symmetry.
3. Threaded fasteners are to be secured using spring washers or retaining compound.
4. Sheet metal parts are to be created using the sheet metal commands.
5. Weldment parts are to be created using the weldment commands.
6. No ‘external references’.
7. Each part is to have a defined material.
8. Each part is to have a defined finish.
9. No mates to patterned components or patterned sub-assemblies.
10. Each part is to have its own drawing.
11. All bills of material are to be ‘Top-level only’.
12. All meetings should be facilitated with ground coffee and biscuits.