Best Practices of New Product Development Workshop

This three- or five-day workshop is based on our framework of 270 best practices for product development that we have maintained over the last nineteen years. These best practices address the dimensions of organization, process, design optimization, and technology tools. The workshop can include exercises to reinforce the concepts presented. The five-day version of the workshop includes more detail related to the best practices and more exercises to reinforce understanding.

This workshop is conducted onsite for individual clients and customized to the nature of the client’s products, markets, development process, and manufacturing processes.

1. BEST PRACTICES OF NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

  • Introduction
  • Applying Best Practices: A Framework of 270 Best Practices for Product Development

2. IDEATION

  • Sources of Ideas for New Products
  • Capturing Ideas
  • Evaluating Ideas
  • Making the Decision to Investigate a New Product Idea
  • Supporting Tools and Systems

3. PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT & PIPELINE MANAGEMENT

  • Portfolio Management Goals
  • Methods to Support Portfolio Management
  • The Business Plan and Strategic Allocation
  • Methods and Considerations for Prioritizing Projects
  • Steps to Achieve Balance in the Proposed Portfolio
  • Checking the Portfolio Plan – Resources and Financial Objectives
  • An Overall Approach to Portfolio Management

4. MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT WITH GATE REVIEWS

  • Gate Review Objectives
  • Gate Review Preparation
    • Business Case
    • Risk vs. Reward
  • Gate Reviews – A Two-Part Decision
  • Gate Review Criteria and Scoring
  • Gate Review Process and Ground Rules
  • Hard vs. Soft Gates
  • Lean Gate Review Process and Best Practices

5. ORGANIZING FOR PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

  • Effectively Empowering Teams – Two Sides to the Equation
  • Cross-Functional Teams – the Key to Effective Early Involvement
  • Best Practices for Product Development Teams (PDT’s) or Integrated Product Teams (IPT’s)
    • Launching Effective Teams
    • Structuring and Integrating Teams on Large Programs
    • “Internal” & “External” Factors Affecting Team Success
    • Practical Approaches to Collocation
    • Team Leader Responsibilities
    • Effective Team Collaboration and Decision-Making
  • Integrating Suppliers – Early Supplier Involvement

6. PLANNING AND MANAGING THE PROJECT

  • Best Practices for Project Management
  • Developing the Project Plan – Rolling Planning and Team Member Involvement
  • Identifying and Managing Project Risks
  • Critical Chain Project Management – A Key to Reduce Project Schedule
  • The Iron Triangle – Know What Project Parameters Are Important

7. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

  • Establishing a Repeatable vs. Ad-Hoc Development Process
  • Tailor the Process to Different Project Types
  • Key Activities by Project Phase
  • Performance Measurement & Metrics

8. CUSTOMER-FOCUSED DEVELOPMENT

  • Define the Market – A Starting Point
  • Understanding the Voice of the Customer (VOC) – Best Practices
  • Voice of the Customer Methods and Best Practices
  • Organizing and Interpreting VOC Data
  • Quality Function Deployment (QFD) – Translating Customer Needs into Product Plans & Requirements
  • QFD Process & Examples
  • Effectively Using QFD

9. LEAN DESIGN – OPTIMIZING CUSTOMER VALUE

  • Target Costing and Design to Cost – a Framework for Customer Value
  • Establishing a Market-Driven Target Price
  • Deriving a Target Cost and Tracking Target Cost Achievement
  • Using Product Cost Models to Guide Development Decisions
  • Design to Cost Actions During Each Phase of Development
  • Value Analysis/Function Analysis
  • A Design for Manufacturability/ Assembly (DFM/A) – a Key Component of Lean Design
    • Design for Assembly Guidelines with Examples
    • Design for Manufacturability Guidelines for Fabricating Parts
    • Determining Process Capabilities & Developing Guidelines
    • DFM/A Analysis Tools
  • Robust Design – Design of Experiments (DOE) and Taguchi Quality Engineering
  • Addressing Reliability, Maintainability, Testability and Other Factors
  • Enhancing Reliability with Design Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (DFMEA)
  • Reducing Mistakes and Controlling the Process with Process FMEA (PFMEA)
  • Establishing a Development Process Oriented to Lean Design

10. ENABLING TECHNOLOGY

  • Using a Common Digital Product Model
  • Integrated CAD/CAE/CAM Tools
    • Solid Modeling, Assembly Modeling & Assembly Modeling
    • Analysis-Driven Design
    • Integrated Electronic Design Automation
  • Rapid Prototyping
  • Managing Product Data with Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)
  • Knowledge Organization & Design Re-Use

11. PRODUCT VALIDATION AND LAUNCH

  • Establishing a Validation and Verification Plan
  • Prototype to Get Rapid Feedback
  • Validating the Product and Process
  • Product Launch Best Practices

12. LEAN PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES

  • Lean Principles and Supporting Practices
  • Eliminate Waste from the Product Development Value Stream
  • Make the Value Creating Steps Flow
    • Pipeline Management to Manage Queues
    • Flow Process and “Pull” Scheduling
    • Small Batch Sizes in Product Development
    • Defer Commitment to Address Change
    • Rapidly Explore Alternatives
  • Amplify Learning

13. MANAGING THE PRODUCT LIFECYCLE

  • Support Products During Their Life
  • Monitor and Extend Product Life
  • Determining When a Product Should Be Phased-Out

14. IMPLEMENTATION – MAKING IT HAPPEN

  • Assessing Your Product Development Process Against the Best Practices
  • Developing an Overall Improvement Plan
  • Metrics for Measuring Performance
  • Discussion – Participant Questions and Issues