NPI, DFM/DFA & Engineering Change worked example
Design Freeze Risk with change impact severity at freeze of 15 score: a worked example
Push change impact severity at freeze up to 15 score and the picture changes. This example computes every intermediate figure at that operating point. Use it when design freeze risk in npi, dfm/dfa and engineering change needs a defensible ranking against other npi, dfm/dfa and engineering change risks for the next review.
The inputs for this scenario
- Change impact severity at freeze: 15 score (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 6)
- Likelihood of late design change: 4 score (unchanged)
- Detectability before freeze: 3 score (unchanged)
Working through the calculation
- Applying the documented formula (Design freeze risk score = design freeze risk severity score × design freeze risk occurrence score × design freeze risk detection score) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
- At this operating point the engine returns 8.15 score for design freeze risk score, the number this scenario is built around.
- At this operating point the engine returns 15 score for design freeze risk severity score.
- At this operating point the engine returns 4 score for design freeze risk occurrence score.
- At this operating point the engine returns 3 score for design freeze risk detection score.
How this compares with the baseline
- Against the tool's baseline example, where change impact severity at freeze sits at 6 score and the headline result is 4.55 score, this scenario comes in 79.12% above the baseline at 8.15 score.
- It multiplies the severity of a late change, its likelihood of occurring, and how poorly it would be detected before freeze into a single risk priority score. The value of this scenario is the size of the gap it exposes: that gap, priced out over a year, is the budget you can justify spending to close it.
Results at a glance
- Design freeze risk score: 8.15 score (headline result)
- Design freeze risk severity score: 15 score
- Design freeze risk occurrence score: 4 score
- Design freeze risk detection score: 3 score
Run it with your numbers
- Every input above is editable in the live Design Freeze Risk calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.
Last reviewed 2026-05-12.