Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) Practice Exam

Why is "over the wall design" referred to as such in product development?

1. It involves outside consultants

2. It requires cross-department collaboration

3. Each area does its part and passes information on

4. It eliminates all boundaries between teams

The correct answer is: Each area does its part and passes information on

"Over the wall design" refers to a product development process where different departments or teams handle their respective tasks independently before passing information over to the next team, akin to tossing a ball over a wall to be caught by the next person. This approach often leads to each team working in isolation, with minimal collaboration or feedback from others. In this case, once one area completes its work, it "throws" the results over the wall to the next area, which then must deal with the output without holistic insight or input from other teams. This can create challenges, such as misalignment of goals or lack of communication, leading to inefficiencies and potential rework if issues arise that could have been addressed earlier in the process. Other options highlight aspects such as collaboration and boundary elimination, which are not characteristics of the "over the wall" approach, emphasizing that this design method is distinctly characterized by segmented efforts rather than integrated teamwork.