Does the leadership team have the right problem statement?
Does the project team’s findings validate this problem statement?
Do the actions identified address the concerns of the problem statement?
Is the work involved in changing worth the potential reward?
Are these essential organizational processes in place:
Measure
Measure time-to-market for all NPD projects and build a data-base for use by project teams when they are planning their work. The start time and end time must be clearly defined and consistently measured for all projects.
Efficiency AND effectiveness
Efficiency is based on assigning enough of the right resources to the project. It is essential for Speed-to-Market.
Effectiveness is based on acquiring and utilizing the right information. It is essential for product excellence and success.
Both efficiency and effectiveness are essential.
Team Role
The product development team creates the product development project plan including the time-to-market.
Team Membership
Keep the same product development team from the beginning of the project to the end. This is particularly important for the team leader.
Decision-making process
Open communication and decision-making process between business leadership and the product development team.
Use a robust process
Improving the overall product development capability is more effective in improving speed and time to market than a narrow focus on speed/time-to-market. Keeping the NPD process robust requires continuous effort.
