E057: Piercing The Design Fog with Mark McBride-Wright and Dianna Deeney

In this episode of The SAFE Leader Podcast, Mark is joined by quality and reliability engineer Dianna Deeney to explore what really happens in the early stages of product design. With over 25 years of experience across medical devices, manufacturing and consumer products, Dianna explains why teams don’t fail because they lack effort or expertise, they fail because of assumptions, misalignment and what she calls “the design fog.” Together, they unpack how better conversations in concept development can prevent late stage failures, reduce costly rework and empower engineers to make stronger decisions from the very beginning. From implantable heart pumps to brand defining product pivots, Dianna shares practical insights on design justice, customer experience, usability and why quality is not a department but a mindset. This is a powerful conversation for engineers, product leaders and anyone building solutions for real people. If you care about clarity, collaboration and designing products that truly work for their users, this episode will change how you think about quality forever.