The commercial companies GAO visited achieved success in product development by first achieving a mature, stable design supported by completed engineering drawings during an integration phase and then by demonstrating that the product's design was reliable and critical manufacturing processes required to build it were in control before committing to full production.
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Mature, stable designs were an important part of the success of commercial companies in the area of product development.
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GAO found no commercial companies that benefited from having a stable design during product development.