On the Integration of Process and Product Design with Microeconomics and Finances

In this paper the on-going process of integration of tools from process and product design with concepts of microeconomics and finances is discussed. The paper focuses in two such integrations. It is first shown that financial risk considerations can alter the decisions made in a project or in process operations. Then it is shown that some parameters that used to be considered data by PSE models, such as price, should be considered as variables, in some cases, first stage (“here and now”) variables and that they have an influence in the technical and operational decisions. Finally, a multi-scale/multi-model for new product design is presented, claiming that consumer behavior should be modeled.