The fuel cell is regarded as a next generation power source for portable electronics as well as military applications due to significantly higher energy density compared to that of a battery.The key issues in developing DMFC systems for portable applications are volume and weight. In this paper, we describe three design rules to optimize the stack design, such as a flow field design, in consideration of volume, weight, robustness, and efficiency. In addition, the stack development history and two fatal failure modes are reported to aid in designing robust and reliable DMFC stacks.