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An effective
process
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NPD processes
The NPD process
focuses on how a development project is to be structured,
managed, controlled and organised. The design process can be viewed in the context of the NPD
process as the sequence of design activities and decisions to
progress from idea to detailed solution. The design process is
essentially iterative and involves the definition of the problem,
gathering and codification of relevant information, a divergent
search for solutions, convergence on the preferred solution and
detailed implementation and optimisation. It has a narrower scope
than the NPD process and is not concerned with management and
control issues. For practical purposes, most organisations make
no distinction between the NPD process and the design process.
A generic
NPD process
Shown below is a generic NPD process, consisting of 6 phases
running from project and product definition through to product
obsolescence. It includes a continuous project generation process
to represent ongoing business activities such as business,
technology and marketing strategy, which are essential in order
to generate new projects. The process is drawn with the phases
deliberately overlapping, to indicate the iterative nature of
product development.
The design process can be viewed as the design activities
which take place during phases 1, 2 and 3.
Figure 1: A
generic NPD process
Each phase is now
briefly described, along with the typical pitfalls encountered at
each stage:
Phase 0 -
Continuous project generation
New projects do not appear out of thin air! There are a range of
ongoing 'pre-project' activities which are critical to ensure
that a strong stream of new product ideas is generated. Equally
important is the evaluation and screening of potential ideas to
ensure that only the potential winners get taken through to the
next phase. Typical problems encountered during this phase
include:
- Insufficient 'good ideas'
resulting from a lack of up-front marketing and research
activities
- A tendency for 'technology
push' concepts in engineering led companies
- Inadequate user and customer
exposure across the business
- Poor 'project portfolio
management' resulting in too many projects and not enough
resources
- No involvement of industrial
designers to help draw together the market and technology
perspectives
- Platform and modularity
opportunities not explored
Phase 1 -
Project and product definition
Often referred to as the feasibility, this phase aims to
establish the commercial and technical viability of a project and
establish the criteria for success. This requires a deep
understanding of the needs of potential users, the environment
and conditions of use and the benefits which will be delivered in
a new product. The primary output from this phase is a normally a
detailed product specification in addition to a clear business
case to justify further investment. Typical problems encountered
during this phase include:
- A poor understanding of the
market, with little attempt to segment the whole market
and clearly position a proposed new product
- Inadequate understanding of
user requirements and a poor product 'vision' based on
features rather than benefits
- A weak business case, based
on unsupported 'guesstimates' of the potential
opportunity
- Little consideration of the
market, technical and commercial risks
Phase 2 -
Concept design & selection
Having defined the potential opportunity and specified the
characteristics of a successful solution, the concept design
phase aims to ensure a divergent search for possible solutions.
It is during this phase that the product architecture and
usability issues will be established. These are critical
decisions which require a close integration of industrial and
engineering design specialists. Typical problems encountered
during this phase include:
- Lack of creativity during
concept design, and a tendency to choose the first
solution
- Poor integration of
industrial and engineering design, resulting in 'stylish
but un-manufacturable' or 'practical but ugly' concepts
- No formal planning of the
product architecture, leading to component proliferation
and manufacturing inefficiency downstream
- Little modelling or testing
of ideas resulting in late design changes as problems are
found
- No analysis of the cost
implications of design solutions
Phase 3:
Development & pre-production
Once an overall concept has been agreed, it must be translated
into a reproducible and saleable reality. This is often one of
the longer phases (in elapsed time), whilst prototypes and
tooling is produced. It is vital that during this phase, the
product does not drift away from the original concept as detailed
engineering and design decisions are made. It is not unusual for
a product to grow 20% in size during this phase! Typical problems
encountered during this phase include:
- Late involvement of
industrial design to 'tart up' an engineering led design
- Technical difficulties due to
poor risk management and insufficient early prototyping
- Poor coordination and
communication between functional groups means that the
product is ready, but the sales plans are not in place
- Rushing to exhibition, before
basic technical issues have been resolved
- No downstream involvement of
industrial design results in an 'engineered product'
which has lost the subtlety of the original concept
How
detailed should the process be?
Most companies tend to move over time from one extreme to another
- from being too bureaucratic to overly informal. In both cases,
the result can be undesirable. There is no 'ideal' solution and
the best companies continually improve their product development
process to add or remove control points and formal structure as
lessons are learnt. Effective companies aim to get the balance
right, with a clear and simple overall structure which is easily
understood by all and further detail accessible where necessary.
Figure 2:
Finding the balance between chaos and bureaucracy
Further
information
- Cooper R G, (1993), Winning
at new products: accelerating the process from idea to
launch 2nd edition, Perseus Books Publishing, USA
- McGrath M E, (1996), Setting
the PACE in product development: a guide to product and
cycle time excellence, Butterworth-Heinemann, USA
- Pugh S, (1996), Creating
innovative products using total design: the living legacy
of Stuart Pugh, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, USA
- Ulrich & Eppinger,
(2000), Product design and development, McGraw Hill, USA
- Wheelwright S C, Clark K B,
(1992), Revolutionising product development: quantum
leaps in speed efficiency and quality, Free Press, New
York
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