What Is PID Control Theory?What Is PID Control Theory?

When asked to define just what Product in Development (PID) control theory is, Cory Estes, owner of Infuse Solutions LLC, used an analogy of a simple thermostat. “You set a temperature and the room temperature is read,” Estes said. With access to a heater and an air conditioner, the controller’s job is to drive the temperature to the set point, he noted, and if it is really cold in the room, every available heater will engage, and as the temperature rises, the amount of heat requested will slow down.

“That little box on the wall is operating as a PID controller,” he said. “PID controls are just a mathematical way of asking, 'What do I do next?' It’s a way of looking at the process as a whole, figuring out what you need to do, and using the levers that are available to you.”

In the upcoming MD&M West 2025 presentation, "The Product in Development (PID) Control Theory: How Product Development Processes Can be Modeled and Optimized as Engineering Control Systems,” Estes will share with his attendees the benefits of using the theory of PID controls in the product development process. He explained that there are three responses of any given control system. The first is “overdamping,” which he likened to a fireplace dampener. “You control the amount of oxygen, and if you cut off the oxygen, the fire dies, it slows down,” he said. 

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Conversely, the second type of response, called “underdamping,” removes most of the controls. “There’s a lot of effort in changing direction and doing things differently,” Estes said, “But the control system never really drives the system to the destination.” 

But the third and most efficient response type is called “critically damped,” Estes said. This approach requires product developers to strike a balance between documentation and making sure there is built-in quality and timeliness. “You want to be critically damped, you want to arrive fast, but still meeting a minimum set of expectations that this process has to deliver,” he said. 

Additionally, there are three basic parts to any product development system, Estes said. They are resources, the ability to make decisions, and documentation. “Those are your three levers, and it just so happens, they correspond to the levers in the control system analogy,” he said.

“The whole point of my talk is to say, ‘Look at certain points in time and act this way,’” Estes noted. “But as you go along, you need to adjust your behavior to deliver to the endpoint.” 

Estes welcomes everyone to attend his session, including anyone who works with the product development process, either developing new products, or receiving the output of a development process. “Because as both sides of that coin become familiar with the common language, then they can figure out how to implement it and effect the transition of designs into production,” he said.

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“There is a way to optimize anyone's production process or product development process and this talk should infuse hope into your situation,” he concluded. “There is hope we can construct the process in such a way that we succeed at delivering in a timely manner, while maintaining quality, and delivering to a manufacturing organization something that is seamless or painless to transfer.” 

Estes will present “The Product in Development (PID) Control Theory: How Product Development Processes Can be Modeled and Optimized as Engineering Control Systems,” on Wednesday, February 5, from 2:15 to 3 p.m., in Room 203AB, at MD&M West 2025 at the Anaheim Convention Center. He will also be available at the Infuse Solutions Booth #4097 to answer questions.