THIS PAPER IS MEANT TO RAISE THE AWARENESS THAT ALL CAPABILITY INDICES MEANT TO ASSESS THE JOINT ABILITY OF THE DESIGN AND THE PROCESS TO ECONOMICALLY CREATE A PRODUCT THAT WILL SATISFY THE CUSTOMER NEEDS. WE LOOK AT THE SHORTFALLS ASSOCIATED WITH THE MOVEMENT IN AMERICAN INDUSTRY TO UTILIZE CAPABILITY INDICES AND THE OVER EMPHASIS BEING PLACED ON THIS METRIC AS COMBINED WITH A GENERAL LACK OF UNDERSTANDING REGARDING THE UNDERLYING ASSUMPTIONS AND LIMITATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE INTERPRETATION OF THESE METRICS.
