There are two general ways to navigate information to make a manufacturing decision. First is to use intuition, experience, and rules of thumb which helps us to take correct decisions. Second is a methodical approach which is based on analysis and objective information. Bill Frahm (President 4M Partners LLC), writes in this article link about how metal-formers make many of their forming and die-engineering decisions based on the results of finite element analysis (FEA) simulations. Read more at: http://www.thefabricator.com/article/shopmanagement/decision-making-in-metal-forming