• Effective, timely decision-making is essential.
    • Effective and timely decision-making by both the leadership of the business and the product development project team is essential for managing time-to-market and product development speed.
    • The decision-making process must include both the leadership of the business and the product development project team.
  • Leadership Team Decision-Making
    • The leadership team makes decisions for the business at review points so that the team can continue their work without delay.
    • The leadership and whole project team meet to maximize communication and information sharing with the aim of having no delays at review points.
    • There are only three types of decisions at review points:
      • GO: The team may propose changes to the project plan. There is agreement on timing, deliverables and resources. The resources needed are provided for the team.
      • STOP: The team is disbanded and assigned to other, higher priority projects.
      • RETURN: Re-convene in a defined short time, e.g. 1 or 2 weeks, because something is missing or needs work to clarify.
  • Product Development Project Team Decision-Making
    • The product development project team makes decisions about project-related matters; that is they have operational autonomy within clear strategic goals for the business.
      • This empowerment of the team has a significant effect on product development speed.
      • High autonomy for project teams is particularly important for high novelty, exploratory innovation.