With the cost of competing designs becoming an integral part of any analysis, design trade studies are increasingly relevant. By the end of the concept definition phase of a program, about 80 percent of system life cycle costs (LCC) me committed, and by the time drawings are signed off by the engineer approximately 95 percent of life cycle costs are already determined. One method to ensure that competitive cost goals are achieved is to apply Design to Cost (DTC)) principles to all projects. Mandated by government regulations for acquisition or modification programs with design efforts, DTC is extremely important. DTC is not value engineering or bottoms up estimating from detailed parts lists, although these activities may take place during DTC within certain program phases. DTC is the design and development of an item to meet a cost target or cost range. That is, in order to be DTC activity, there must be both design activity and a cost target. This paper addresses DTC from a global perspective.