The PDP Challenge
Product Development Processes have gone far in
moving product development from an art to a science. PDPs such as Robert
Cooper’s Stage-Gate ™ process have helped many development companies
become more efficient, reduce development cycle times, make decisions, and
identify organizational deficiencies.
However, from our experience, many Product Development Processes
don’t work as promised or as effectively as they should.
Here a few common problems we have seen in
instituting a PDP:
1. The Organization in not ready
Instituting a PDP is like
starting a 12-step program. The first step is to admit you have a problem
and prepare to fix it. If the company is not committed to the culture
change, has not designated champions for the process, and does not have
management support, the PDP is doomed.
2. The PDP is seen as “Engineering”.
Engineering is often
perceived as the guilty party if a PDP goes astray. They typically employ
the keepers of the process (Program Management), are inherently good at
process, and are strongly correlated with “development”. But
Engineering can’t own the PDP. A PDP must be company driven. Engineering
can facilitate the process, but Senior Management, Product Marketing,
Finance, Operations, and other functions all must take partial ownership
and participate in the process.
3. The Process starts with the MRD.
Development often starts
with a Marketing Requirement Document, frequently when management has not
yet agreed on which opportunities they will pursue. This leads to false
starts, organizational frustration, and failed products. Therefore, the
process must start earlier than the MRD with a thorough investigation of
products and markets with a focus on high-potential opportunities. This
requires management participation and support before the MRD is written.
Making your PDP work
A PDP can be successful if it has been architected
correctly and has been designed for your company’s culture. Here are
three areas to look for improvement in your PDP:
1. Start with clear input
A clear understanding of
the opportunities you are pursuing will provide the vision that drives the
process. This does not mean you need every product requirement. However,
having a thorough understanding of your target market, competitors, market
trends, technology trends, and potential customers will significantly
reduce initial confusion when kicking off a project.
2. Involve Engineering in discovery
If your marketing team
spends too much time “selling” their product plans to engineering you
should consider involving engineering team members in the discovery
process. An on-going
cross-functional team that is tasked with spotting new products and
services can help short cut the selling process by allowing engineering
discovery team participants to sell new product concepts into engineering.
3. The PDP Must Be Dynamic
A product will never be
fully defined before development starts, nor should it be (or you will
never get started.) But time
and resources spent on any path that is not directed toward your goal are
wasted. Your organization should have a system in place to make decisions
as the need arises. This system could involve one person with authority to
make decisions, a small team, or any other mechanism that allows for quick
decisions.
A PDP is a dynamic set of rules that provide a
check and balance system for your development organization, but for a PDP
to work your organization must 1) agree there is a development system in
place, 2) understand and participate in the system, and 3) use continuous
feedback to improve the system. If designed properly and maintained, a PDP
is a powerful tool for launching successful products.
Done
© 2009 Planning Innovations Inc. |
