To gain control and to reduce risk it is essential to have defined processes that are aligned with the business. In most companies there are a variety of different types of product introduction projects. Every type of project should have its own defined process. One such classification is runner : repeater : stranger.
| Stranger Project |
Radically new product / process / technology to company Probably involves research and development Long project timescales High risk and uncertainty High cost - man hours and capital expenditure Involves most functional areas Project success or failure has a critical impact on the business |
| Repeater Project | Modification to an existing product / process Uses existing technology in a new way Medium term timescales Project team members come from a limited number of functional disciplines Some risk and uncertainty |
| Runner Project |
A very minor change to an existing product / process Low cost Project based in one function Normally routine work Low risk and uncertainty High frequency Short duration No capital expenditure |
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Most companies have one undocumented process that supports the most complex project. This results in minor projects being subjected to unnecessary time consuming control and overhead. Organisations should develop their own classifications for their projects. Different processes for each of the different types of projects should then be developed. |
World class companies use stage gate systems to control stranger and repeater projects. A typical system with five stages and gates is shown over the page.
Gates are used to review a project. The make-up of the reviewing committee is determined by the nature of the product and the business and the stage the gate is reviewing. The stages are the make major work packages in the introduction project. The documented process should define who is involved when, what criteria are to be used to evaluate the stages and which tools and techniques should be used in the various stages.
A stage gate system can be used to help gain senior management commitment at the early stages. All too often senior managers do not get involved in a product introduction project until problems surface. This is too late. The graph shows that managers can have a greater influence at the earlier stages of a project when less costs are committed.
Products and services are developed for customers. It is, therefore, common sense to involve customers in the product introduction process. This can be achieved in a variety of ways including:
Suppliers are experts in their respective fields. Suppliers normally know far more about their products than their customers. It may be sensible to let suppliers design non-core competence components. Advantages include:
Simultaneous or concurrent engineering is the concurrent development of the total product (including packaging, manuals and maintenance plans) and its associated manufacturing system. The benefits of adopting the simultaneous engineering concepts include cutting time to market, reducing costs and improving customer satisfaction. Simultaneous engineering is normally deployed by forming multi-functional teams and the use of tools and techniques such as Qualify Function Deployment and Design for Assembly. Stage gate systems should be used as an integrated planning and control tool in simultaneous engineering. Many companies that deploy the simultaneous engineering concepts in isolation do not realise the massive benefits that are achievable.
It must be remembered that product introduction measurement is different to day-to-day operations and should be managed as a series of projects. Best practice programme and project management techniques should be adopted.
Information technology can radically improve product introduction process performance. Engineering Document Management, Product Data Management and Work Flow Management systems allow vast quantities of data to be accessible organisation wide and help to prioritise activities. Information technology should be used aggressively to optimise the new product introduction process.
1 Reprinted from Business Horizons, (May/June). Copyright (1990) by the Foundation for the School of Business at Indiana University. Used with permission.
2 Reprinted with permission of The Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster from DYNAMIC MANUFACTURING: Creating The Learning Organisation by Robert Hayes, Steven C. Wheelwright, Kim B. Clark. Copyright 1988 by The Free Press
