Implementing the New Product Development Process

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P e rg a m o nTechnovation, 17(4)(1997) 189-197

1997 Elsevier Science LtdAll rights reserved. Printed in Grea tBritain

0166-4972/97 $17.00 + 0 .00

Im p le m e n t in g th e n e w p ro d ud e v e lo p m e n t p ro c e s s

J o h n B e s s a n t a n d D a v i d F r a n c i s

Centre for Research in Innovation Management, University of Brighton, Falmer, Brighton,U K

A b s t r a c tMu ch d iscuss ion in the new produ ct development (N PD ) l i te ra ture i sconcerned w i th descr ib ing b luepr in ts for more e ffec t ive sys tems for manag ingthe process. Fea tures o f the emergent pa t te rn o f good prac t ice in NP Dinclude cross-functional team working, early involvement, effective projectmanagement a r rangements and learn ing sys tems. However, there i s re la t ive lyli t t le in the l i terature on the implementation question; how a part icularorganisa t ion can ar t icu la te and e mbe d the necessary behaviour pa t te rns andaccomp anying s t ruc tures and processes needed to make good-prac t ice NPDw ork fo r t hem.

This pap er repor ts on a case s tudy of an e lec t ronics f i rm des igning andimplement ing a n ew NP D sys tem. In par ticu lar, i t emphas ises theorganisa t iona l developmen t processes requi red to implement and developownersh ip o f the sys tem. The pap er concludes wi th some comm ents ontransferring this approach to other organisat ions, and on research issuesar i s ing f rom the experience . 1997 Elsevier Sc ience Ltd

1 . INTRODUCTION

New produc t deve lopment (NPD) i s wide ly r ecog-n i sed as an impor tan t source o f compe t i t ive advan-

tage , and emphas i s i s be ing p laced on sys tems w hichs imul taneous ly p rov ide qua l i ty, va r i e ty, f r equency,speed o f r e sponse and cus tomisa t ion (Cooper, 1994;Crawford, 1991; Johne and Snelson, 1988; Smith andReiner tsen, 1991; Soud er and Sherm an, 1994). Inorder to meet these chal lenges , a t tent ion has beenp laced on reconf igur ing in te rna l mech an i sms fo r in te -g ra t ing and op t imis ing the NPD process such as con-cur ren t eng inee r ing , c ross - func t iona l work ing ,advanced too l s , ea r ly invo lvement e t c . (Thomas ,1993; Wh eelw right and Clark, 1992). W ith shor terl i f e cyc les and demand fo r g rea te r p roduc t va r i e ty,p ressu re i s a l so p laced upon NPD sys tems to workwi th a wide r por t fo l io o f new produc t oppor tun i t i e s

and to manage the r i sks a s soc ia t ed wi th p rogress ingthese th rough deve lopment to l aunch . To dea l wi ththis , a t tent ion has focused on systemat ic screening,moni to r ing and p rogress ion f r ameworks such as

Cooper ' s ' s tage-gate ' approach (Cooper, 1988, 1994) .

Mo s t o f these ideas a re no t in themse lves new; fo rexample , Law rence and Lorsch (1967) d rew a t t en t ionto c ross - func t iona l t eam work ing and co-o rd ina t ionmechan i sms back in the 1960s , and Cooper (1994)has r epor t ed on NASA's ' phased rev iew process ' a sa s t age ga te mode l da t ing back to the same pe r iod .Bu t i t can be a rgued tha t the re i s now growing con-sensus about thei r in tegrat ion in to a new model of'good pract ice ' in NPD. Table 1 l i s ts key features of

th i s emergen t mode l .

P I I : S O i ~ I -4 1 7 2 ( H ) O 0 0 9 3 - 4 Te d m v a i i o . Vo l . 1 7 N o . 41 8 9


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TABL E I. Key features of emergi ng "good practice' model in NPD*

Theme Key characteristics

Systematic process for progressing new products

Early involvement of all relevant functions

Overlapping/parallel working

Appropriate project management structures

Cross-functional team working

Advanced support tools

Learning and continuous improvement

Stage-gate modelClose monitoring and evaluation at each stage

Bringing key perspectives into the process early enough to influence design and prepare lordownstream problcmsEarly detection of problems leads to less rework

Concurrent or simultaneous engineering to aid faster development whilst retaining cross-functionalinvolvement

Choice of structure e.g. matrix/line/project/heavyweight project managemen t - - to suit conditionsand task

Involvement of different perspectives, use of team-building approaches to ensure effective teamworking and develop capabilities in flexible problem-solving

Use of tools such as CAD. rapid prototyping, computer-supported co-operative work aids (e.g.Lotus Notes) - - to assist with quality and speed of development

Carrying flrrward lessons learned, via post-project audits etc.

Development of continuous improvement culture

*Table based on Cooper, 1994: Crawford, 1991; Johne and Snelson, 1988: Lilien and Yoon, 1989: Mahajan and Wind, 1992; Maidique and Zirger, 1985; Rothwell,1992; Smith and Reinertsen, 1991; Stalk and Hout, 1990; Thomas, 1993; Wheelwright and Clark, 1992.

2 . T H E IM P L E M E N TA T IO NQ U E S T I O N

T h e p r e s c r i p t i o n f o r b e t t e r N P D p e r f o r m a n c e(out l ined in Table 1) i s wel l a r t icu la ted , and the casee v i d e n c e c o n v in c i n g . H o w e v e r , w e h a v e l es s s y s t e m -a t i c u nde r s t a nd i ng conce rn ing t he e f f ec t i vei m p l e m e n t a t io n o f n e w o r i m p r o v e d N P D p r a ct ic e s .Tha t i s , ho w does an o rgan i s a t i on a r t i cu l a t e andemb ed n ew s t r u c tu r e s , sy s t ems and behav iou r pa t te rn stha t enhance i t s ab i l i ty to in t roduce ( fas te r than i t sco mp e t i t o r s ) a s t r e am o f new p roduc t s w h ich cus -t omer s va lu e?

T h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f a s t re a m o f n e w p r o d u c tsr e qu i r e s m ore t h a n awarenes s o f t he i ssue s ; spec i a l-i s ed s k il ls , k no wl e d g e , p roce s se s , m ind - se t s , p rob l em -s o l v i n g m e c h a n i s m s a n d m a n a g e m e n t p h i l o s o p h i e sa r e n eeded . Th e s e a r e deve loped , i n pa r t , u s i ng t hec oncep t o f ' r o u t i n e s ' f r om the i nnova t i on l i t e r a tu r e .R ou t i ne s a r e be hav iou r pa t t e rn s a s soc i a t ed w i tha spe c t s o f o rg a n i s a t i ona l pe r fo rma nce wh ich a r e

r e hea r s ed t o t h e po in t whe re t hey become au to -m a t i c - - ' t h e w a y w e d o th i n g s a r o u n d h e r e ' - - a n dth e r e i s g ro w i n g i n t e r e s t i n t h i s app roach t o unde r-s t a nd i ng o rga n i s a t i ona l behav io u r i n te rms o f l e a rn ing(Be s s an t a nd Ca ffyn , 1996 ; Pen t l and and Rue t e r,1 99 4 ) . Ne l s on a n d Win t e r ( 1982 ) sugges t t ha t f i rm-sp ec i f i c r ou t i n e s f o r dea l i ng w i th ce r t a i n a spec t s o fi n no va t i o n p rov ide a power fu l exp l ana t i on fo r f i rm-l eve l d i f f e r en ce s i n i nnova t i ve pe r fo rmance , and t h i sappe a r s t o be b o rne ou t i n emp i r i c a l obse rva t i on .S i mi l a r l y N on a k a (1991 ) , Senge (1990 ) , Leona rd -Ba r to n (1992 ) a nd Ga rv in (1993 ) a l l i n t e rp r e t com-pa ny s pe c i f ic s u c c e s s i n t e rms o f pa r t icu l a r r ou t i nebe ha v iou r.

W in t e r ( 1986 ) de fi ne s r ou t i ne s a s " . . . a r e l a t i ve lyc o m p l e x p a t te r n o f b e h a v i o u r. . , t r ig g e r e d b y a r e la -t i ve ly sma l l num be r o f in i t i at i ng s i gna ls o r cho i ce sand func t i on ing a s a r e cogn i s ab l e un i t i n a r e l a t i ve lya u t o m a t ic f a s h i o n . . . " . T h i s i s n o t to s a y t h at r o u ti n e sa r e m ind l e s s pa t t e rn s ; a s G iddens (1984 ) po in t s ou t ," . . . t h e r ou t i n i s ed cha rac t e r o f mos t soc i a l a c t i v i t y i ssome th ing t ha t ha s t o be 'wo rk ed a t ' con t i nua l l y bythose who su s t a in i t i n the i r day - to -d ay conduc t . . . " .I t is r a t he r t he ca se t ha t t hey have beco me in t e rna l i s edt o t h e p o in t o f b e i n g u n c o n s c i o u s o r a u t o n o m o u s .

By t he s ame t oken , r ou t i ne s do no t equa t e t o r i g idand mechan i s t i c behav iou r s ; t hey can con t a in con -s ide r ab l e f l ex ib i l i t y. Fo r examp le , i n NPD the r e maybe a bund l e o f r ou t i ne s a s soc i a t ed w i th deve lop inga d e e p u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f c u s t o m e r r e q u i r e m e n t s , b u ts e l ec t i on o f a pa r t i cu l a r s e t w i l l d epend on t he pa r t i -c u l a r c u s to m e r - - a s w il l th e m o d e o f e x e c u ti o n .

I t i s a l so impor t an t t o emphas i s e t ha t pos i t i ve rou -

t i ne s encou rage a l e r t ne s s and a t t en t i on r a th e r t hanrep l ace t he need fo r consc iousnes s . Fo r exam p le , t herou t i ne s t ha t a po l i c eman l e a rn s deve lop h i s s e l ec t i vea t t en t i on so t ha t c l ue s , t ha t wou ld be mi s sed by mos to f u s , a r e qu i ck ly s een .

T h e c a p a b i l it y t o m a n a g e n e w p r o d u c t d e v e l o p m e n tr equ i r e s a c l u s t e r o f ab i l it i es : t o i n t eg r a t e d i f f e r en tfunc t i ona l pe r spec t i ve s , t o i n t e rp r e t t he needs o f cu s -t omer s , t o f o r eca s t t e chno log i ca l deve lopmen t s , t ose l ec t and p r i o r it i s e be tween p ro j ec t s , e t c . Be low eacho f t he se ab i l i t i e s a r e ba s i c r ou t i ne s wh ich de sc r i be' how we do t h ings round he r e ' and wh ich a r e , by andl a rge , unconsc ious pa t t e rn s o f behav iou r t ha t p romo te

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Im p le m e n t in g h e n e w p r o d u c t d e v e l o p m e n tp r o c e s s

en ha n ced aware n e s s w he re t h i s a id s t he fu l f ilmen t o fa n N P D p r o c e s s . T h e s e p a t t e r n s m i g h t i n c l u d e r o u -t in e s f o r c o l l e c t in g a n d c o m m u n i c a t i n g i n f o r m a t i o n ,f o r w o r k i n g i n t ea m s , f o r p r o j e c t m a n a g e m e n t a c ti v i-t i e s , a n d s o o n . T h e s e m a y a p p e a r a u t o n o m o u s a n dl a rge l y f i x ed , bu t t hey a r e t he r e su l t o f a l e a rn ing andre in fo r c i ng p ro c e s s .

O n e i m p o r t a n t f e a tu r e o f s u c h a b e h a v i o u r a l m o d e li s tha t , o ve r t im e , r ou t i ne s c r ea t e and a r e r e i n fo r cedb y v a r i ous a r t e f ac t s , t ang ib l e exp re s s ions and p ro -duc t s o f t he un d e r ly ing b e l i e f sy s t em. S o pa r t i cu l a rs t r uc t u r e s, p roced u re s and po l i c i e s com e t o de fi ne ' t h ew a y w e d o t h i n g s r o u n d h e r e ' a n d h e l p t o r e i n f o r c eand f i x t he pa t t e r n . Thus capab i l i t y becomes a h igh lyspec i f ic c omb ina t i o n o f behav iou r s and a r t e f act s ; t h ish e lp s e xp l a in w hy im i t a t i on o f c apab i l i t y o r i ts con -

s t i t u en t ab il i t ie s a nd rou t i ne s i s ex t r e me ly d i f f i cu l t(Pav i t t , 1 99 1 ) . S i mp ly copy ing wha t o the r s do i s asup e r f i c ia l r a t h e r t han a f undam en ta l c hange ; i t i s on lyw hen t he und e r l y ing behav iou r s a r e l e a rned ,r e i n fo r c ed and i n s t i t u t i ona l i s ed t ha t l a s t i ng changec a n e m e rg e .

T h e n e e d f o r d e e p b e h a v i o u r a l c h a n g e l im i t s t heu t i l it y o f the cu r r e n t f a sh ion fo r ' b e s t p r ac t i c e ' b e nch -ma rk ing , w h ich i m p l i e s t ha t a l l f i rms need t o do t obeco m e 'wo r ld c l a s s ' i s t o cop y p roce s se s and s tr uc -t u r e s . Fo r exa mp le , 3M i s o f t en c i t ed a s an exampleo f an e f f ec t i ve a n d cons i s t en t l y succe s s fu l p roduc ti nnova to r - - t o the ex t en t o f bu i l d ing i ts bus ine s s onthe p r e mi se t ha t a s i gn i f ic an t p ropo r t i on o f s a le s w i l lc ome f rom n ew p r o duc t s . Ach i ev ing t h i s i s no t a ma t -t e r o f be i ng b l e s s e d by occa s iona l l uck bu t t he conse -q u e n c e o f a le a r n in g p r o c e s s w h i c h h a s e m b e d d e d k e yrou t i n e s f o r dea l i n g w i th t he NP D ques t i on (C oyne ,19 96 ; Nayak an d Ke t t e r i ngham, 1986 ) .

Ro u t i ne s a r e n o t e a sy t o a cqu i r e , howeve r. Theya re t he r e su l t o f a l e a rn ing p roce s s o ve r t ime , andinvo lve expe r im en t and f a i l u r e . I t i s pos s ib l e t ode s c r i be succe s s r ou t i ne s , bu t t hey a r e no t e a s i l y

t r ans f e r a b l e . Th e a na logy can be d r awn wi th l e a rn ingto d r iv e a c a r - - i t s e l f a comp lex i n t eg ra t ed su i t e o fb eha v io u r s wh i c h have t o be l e a rned , i n t eg r a t ed andp rac t i s ed b e fo r e f a c i l i t y i s deve loped . Wa tch ingano th e r pe r so n d r i ve o r r e ad ing a manua l c an qu i ck lyid en t i f y t he key b e hav iou r s i nvo lved , bu t t r an s f e r r i ngth is kno wled ge i s n o t t he s ame a s t r an s f e r r ing t he sk i llt o a c tua l l y d r i ve t he ca r. Th i s mus t be l e a rned ove r ape r i od o f t i me a n d w i th ex t ens ive r ehea r s a l .

3 . L E A R N IN G O M A N A G EN P DI t h a s l on g b e en an em p i r i c a l obse rva t i on t ha t som e

f i rms m an ag e i nn o va t i on be t t e r t han o the r s - - t ha t i s ,

t ha t t hey have l e a rned and deve loped be t t e r c apab i l i -t i e s . Impor t an t l y, t he se d i f f e r ences may be i nde -penden t o f t he i r spec i f i c t e chno log i ca l compe t ences .F o r e x a m p l e , C a r t e r a n d Wi l l ia m s ' ( 1 9 5 7 ) p i o n e e r in gwork i den t i f i ed t he concep t o f ' t e chn i ca l p rog re s s -i venes s ' , d r awing a t t en t i on t o d i f f e r enes i n t he wayin wh ich some f i rms managed t he p roce s s . S tud i e so f succe s s and f a i lu r e , exp lo r ed t h rough a va r i e t y o fme th odo log i ca l r ou t e s , d r aw s imi l a r conc lu s ions , ineach ca se i den t i f y ing a s e t o f c apab i l it i e s a s soc i a t edw i t h i n n o v a t i o n m a n a g e m e n t ( C o o p e r , 1 9 8 8 ; F r e e -man , 1982 ; Geo rgh ioue t a l . , 1986 ; L i l i en and Yoon ,1989 ) . The re i s cons ide r ab l e cons i s t ency i n t he f i nd -ings o f ma ny o f t he se s tud i e s ; Ro thw e l l ( 1992 ) sumsthe se up we l l i n h i s r e cen t r ev i ew.

Innova t i on canno t be an i so l a t ed ac t i v i t y. Dec i s i ons

a b o u t t h e c o m m i t m e n t o f f u n d s a n d o t h e r o rg a n i s -a t i ona l r e sou rce s a r e e s s en t i a l l y s t r at eg i c. S ince man yf ir m s s p e n d 5 % o r m o r e o f t u r n o v e r o n r e s e a r c h a n ddeve lopmen t i t i s impe ra t i ve t o r e a l i s e t he s t r a t eg i cs ign i f i c ance o f dec i s ions t o suppo r t o r k i l l a deve lop -ment in i t ia t ive ( Janis , 1989) .

T h r e e d i s t i n c t c lu s t er s o f p r o b l em s e m e rg e f o ro rgan i s a t i ons s eek ing t o improve i nnova t i on manage -men t .

F i r s t , i nnova t i on s t ud i e s h igh l i gh t b road capab i l i -t i e s bu t no t nece s sa r i l y t he cons t i t uen t ab i l i t i e s androu t i ne s . Fo r examp le , many s t ud i e s h igh l i gh t t heimpo r t ance o f deve lop in g c lo se l inks w i th t he marke t -p l ace and commun ica t i ng t h i s pe r spec t i ve t h rough t othe va r i ous func t i ons i nvo lve d in c r ea t i ng new p ro -duc t s t o s a t i s fy t ha t ma rke tp l ace . Bu t t he r e i s r e l a -t i ve ly l i t t l e i n fo rma t ion , excep t i n c a se s t ud i e s , abou th o w t h a t unde r s t and ing m igh t be bu i l t up, o r o f howsome f i rms a r e ab l e t o do so more cons i s t en t l y ande ff ec t i ve ly t han o the r s .

Second , c apab i l i t i e s i n i nnova t i on managemen t a r ef i rm- spec i f i c ; wha t works fo r one f i rm canno t s imp ly

be cop i ed by ano the r w i th t he s ame r e su l ts . Theunde r ly ing p rob l ems t owards wh ich t he capab i l i t i e sadd re s s t hemse lve s may be gene r i c - - i ndeed , t h i s i swha t s t ud i e s o f succe s s and f a i l u r e h igh l i gh t we l l - -bu t t he r e i s no subs t i t u t e f o r i nd iv idua l l e a rn ing andd e v e l o p m e n t o f a p p r o p r i at e r e s p o n s e s. S o , f o re x a m p l e , m a n y c a r c o m p a n i e s v i s it e d To y o t a d u r i n gthe 1980s t o t r y and unde r s t and how i t was ab l e t op r o d u c e c a r s s o p r o d u c ti v e l y. T h e c o m p a n y w a s q u i t ehappy t o pa ss on t he ' s e c r e t s ' o f i ts app roach t o p ro -ce s s i nnova t i on , and i ndeed s eve ra l books on t he' To y o t a p r o d u c t io n s y s t e m ' w e r e a v a i la b l e; h o w e v e r ,a s s im i l a t ing t he u nde r ly ing capab i l i t i e s t ook cons ide r-ab ly l onge r and i t i s on ly now tha t t hose f i rms a r e

v 1 7 , o .4 1 9 1


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demons t r a t i ng the i r own ve r s ions o f t he unde r ly ingcapab i l i ty (Monden , 1983; Wo ma cke t a l . , 1991).

Las t ly, i nnova t ion has been f r equen t ly s een a s al a rge ly t echn ica l endeavour, d i s t i nc t f rom l ine man-agemen t and on ly loose ly connec ted wi th t he f i rm ' ss t r a t egy. Th i s has p reven ted the fo rma t ion o f ve ryc lose l i nks be tween the ' i nnova t ive ' and ' r ou t ine 'par ts of the organisa t ion . I t i s now rea l i sed tha t inno-va t ion mus t be w idesp read ac ros s a f i rm and tha tinnovat ive parochia l i sm severe ly res t r ic ts the quant i tyof resource tha t can be appl ied to e i ther product orprocess innov at ion (Mo rgan, 1986).

I m p l e m e n t i n g n e w o r i m p r o v e d N P D a p p r oa c h e srequ i r e s t ha t we s t r eng then ou r unde r s t and ing o f t heprocesses which suppor t the ar t icula t ion , develop-

ment , in t roduct ion and consol ida t ion of su i table rou-t ines . In ou r own w ork we h ave d raw n ex tens ive ly onthe l i te ra ture and prac t ices in the f ie ld of 'o rganis-a t iona l deve lopmen t ' (OD) to p rov ide a f r ameworkfo r exp lo r ing imp lem en ta t ion o f changes in s t ruc tu re s ,process a nd behavio ur (French and Bel l , 1990, p .283).OD offers ins ights in to change processes , par t icular lythose a s soc i a t ed wi th chang ing an o rgan i sa t iona l cu l-tu re and e mbe dd ing a l t e rna t ive behav iou ra l rou t ines .

Combin ing the two approaches o f i nnova t ionresea rch and OD in ' a c t i on r e sea rch ' p ro j ec t s a l l ows

bo th exp lo ra t ion o f t he imp lemen ta t ion i s suesinvo lved in NPD and the deve lopmen t o f suppor t iverout ines wi th in c l ient organisa t ions . The fo l lowingcase example i l lus t ra tes th is process .

4 . N P D W IT H I N A B C E L E C T R O N IC S

ABC Elec t ron ic s i s i nvo lved in t he des ign andmanufac tu re o f p roduc t s fo r t he i n fo rma t ion t ech -nology ( IT) indust ry ; i t has core technica l exper t i sein acous t i c s , e l ec t ron ic s des ign and a s sembly andplas t ics moulding. Typica l products inc lude bat tery

cha rge r s , speake r k i ts , t e l ephone handse t s and r emotecontro l devices for te levis ion and hi - f i sys tems. Thecompany cu r r en t ly employs a round 700 peop le onsevera l s i tes across the UK; turnover in 1995 wasa round 30 mi l l i on .

Founded in 1957 , t he company was o r ig ina l lyinvo lved in des ign and m anufac tu re o f hea t ing a idsfor the Nat ional Heal th Service ; the l ink to te lephoneequ ipmen t was ea sy to make and the then na t iona lm o n o p o l y t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s c o m p a n y b e c a m e ama jo r c l i en t . A l though owner sh ip o f ABC changedon seve ra l occas ions , i t en joyed a v i r tua l monopo lyon sa l e s o f acous t i c componen t s t o t hese marke t s .

How ever, du r ing the 1980s m a jo r changes - - pa r ti -cular ly the l ibera l i sa t ion and subsequent pr iva t i sa t ionof Br i t i sh Te lecommunica t ions (BT) - - mean t t ha tm a r k e t s w e r e b e c o m i n g m o r e d e m a n d i n g in t e rm s o fpr ice , qual i ty and product innovat ion . Prof i tabi l i tydec l ined sha rp ly and the company f aced a moun t ingcr is is ; i t los t i t s major contrac ts in microphone andrece ive r marke t s because o f s lugg i shness i nimp lem en t ing new t echno logy in p roduc t s, and i t l o s tan inc reas ing number o f tende r s on p r i ce and p roduc tdes ign g rounds .

In 1990 the com pany was t aken ove r by a J apaneseg roup wh ich in t roduced a new s t r a t egy bu t l e f t t heold organisa t ion largely in tac t . Key fea tures of th isnew approach w ere the focus on d ive r s i fy ing the cus -tomer base , on t a rge t ing OEM marke t s and mov ing

towards p roduc t f ami l ie s . By the mid -1990s A BC wasac t ive in fou r ma in marke t s egmen t s , t e l ecommuni -ca t ions , mob i l e communica t ions , home en te r t a inmen t(TV/video/hi - f i ) and f i re and secur i ty, and the com-pany began a pe r iod o f acce l e ra ting g rowth and r i s ingpro f it ab il i ty. Much o f t h is succes s a rose f ro m a mu chh ighe r l eve l o f NPD ac t iv i ty ; fo r example , t he twomain p roduc t ca t ego r i e s , cu r r en t ly accoun t ing fo r76% of t o ta l s a l es t o an e n t i re ly new se t o f cus tomers ,were no t even in the com pan y ' s p roduc t mix in 1991.

5 . T H E E M E R G IN GN P I ) C R I S ISRap id g rowth th rough p ro l i f e r a t ing new p roduc t s ,

acce l e ra t ed by the speed wi th wh ich many o f t he i rkey sec to r marke t s ( such a s mob i l e t e l ephones ) wereexpand ing , mea n t t ha t AB C be gan to f ace a new c r i s isin NPD. Whereas t he company ' s ea r l i e r p rob lemswere due to too l i t t le NPD act iv i ty, th is new cr is isr e su l t ed f rom too much - - o r r a the r, t oo muchuns t ruc tu red and uncon t ro l l ed - - NPD ac t iv ity.

A t t he s ame t ime , t he company f aced a s e r i e s o fs t r a t eg i c ques t ions . Wha t ca t ego r i e s o f p roduc t s

shou ld be manufa c tu red? Wha t marke t s shou ld be ta r-ge t ed? Wha t po r t fo l io o f compe tences shou ld bebu i l t? Re so lu t ion o f t hese ques t ions w as e s sen t i a l top rov ide the s t r a t eg i c umbre l l a unde r wh ich NPDrequ i r emen t s cou ld be spec i f ied . The top t eam unde r-took a s t ra tegic c lar i f ica t ion process fo l lowing thegu ide l ines o f one o f t he au tho r s o f t h i s pape r (F ranc is ,1994) . Th i s enab led the s en io r mana gem en t g roup o fABC to see t ha t NPD was a co re compe tence andneeded subs t an ti a l i nves tmen t o f t ime an d r e sou rce .

La te i n 1994 a s em ina r was he ld fo r sen io r manage -men t t o d i scuss t he emerg ing ' good p rac t i ce ' mode lo f NPD and the dec i s ion was t aken to imp lemen t

1 9 2 Te e h n'do n e l . 7N o.4


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Im p le m e n tin g h e n e w p r o d u c t d e v e lo p m e n tp r o c e s s

STAGE 0EvaluateRequirement

STAGE 1 )Prepare

Quotation

S~TAGordE 2

STAGE 3 ~) ~Detail

Project Plan

S / T A Q E 4

STAGE 5ApproveProduct

STAGE 6 )ApproveManufacture

NPD Process O verview

Presented By Decision Maker

Product ManagingManager ~ DirectorSales Director

Product NPDManager E ~ Executive

Product NPDManager ~ Executive

Project NPDLeader [ ~ Executive

Project NPDLeader [ ~ Executive(Minutes to

NPD Executive)

Project ProjectLeader [ ~ Leader

(Minutes toNPD Executive)

Project NPDLeade r ~ Executive

GATE 0 /Proceed WithQuotation

GATE 1 /Submit

Quotationto customer

GATE 2 /AcceptCustomerOrder

GATE 3 /

G AT E /CommitTo Pre -/Production /

GATE5 /ommltTo M ass/

Production /

GATE 6 /Transfer FromProduct /Development/

1( o u = S u o o o r ,)

F i g . 1 . N P D p r o c e s s o v e r v i e w.

TedmvalmYd.17No.4 193


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J . B e s s a n t a n d D . F r a n c i s

s o m e f o r m o f c h a n g e ; t h e r e q u i r e m e n t t o a p p o i n t an e w N P D m a n a g e r p r o v i d e d a n o p p o r t u n i t y f o r m a k -in g t he s e ch ang es .

A d i a gnos t i c s t udy was ca r r i ed ou t i n Feb rua ry -M a r c h 1 9 95 w h i c h i d e n ti f ie d a n u m b e r o f p r o b l e ma re a s w i t h in t h e c u r r en t NPD sys t em; t he se a r e sum-mar i s ed i n Ta b l e 2.

F u r the r d i s c u s s i on w i th s en io r managemen t l ed t oa c o m m i t m e n t t o d e s i g n a n d i m p l e m e n t a n e w N P Dsy s t em by ea r l y 1996 .

T h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f a n e w N P D s y s t e m w a s s e e n(co r r ec t l y i n o u r v i ew) a s an o rgan i s a t i on deve lop -men t t a sk r a th e r t han a r equ i r em en t f o r a more e l abo r-a t e and c om pr eh e n s ive s e t o f p rocedu re s . The p r i n -

c ip l e s shap in g t h e OD in t e rven t i on we re :

p e o p l e w o r k i n g th e p r es e n t s y s te m k n o w m o s t o ra l l o f t h e p r o b l ems ; a way ha s t o be found t o co l l e c tthese ins ights ;

m an y p rob l e m s a r e due t o ' s i l o ' t h i nk ing : e acha c to r ne ed s a c ommi tmen t t o he lp ing o the r s t o w ina nd mus t kn o w wha t t h i s means i n p r ac t i c e ;

p ro ced u ra l c h a nge ( e spec i a l l y e l abo ra t i on ) w i ll bein e ff e c t ua l u n l e s s i t i s unde r s to od and ' ow ned ' byth e pe op l e i nv o lved ;

a c a r e fu l ba l an ce needs t o be ma in t a ined be tw eensys t em ( w h i ch t ends t o b r i ng r i g id i t y ) andad hocp r oce s s e s (w h i c h can dea l w i th oppo r tun i t i e s o f t hemomen t ) . To o much , o r i napp rop r i a t e , sy s t emi s -a t i on i s a s m uc h an enemy a s t oo l i t t l e .

F r o m t h e se f i ve O D p r i n c i p le s a n N P D i m p r o v e -m e n t p r o g r a m m e e m e rg e d w h i c h i s s u m m a r i s e d i nTa b l e 3 ; th i s p r o g r a m m e c o m b i n e d i n p u ts o f e x t e r n alk n o w l e d g e ( a b o u t g o o d p r a c t i c e N P D , a b o u t m o d e l su se d e l s ewh e re , a bou t o the r c a se example s , e t c . ) w i thi n t e rn a l dev e lo pmen t on t he de s ign and de t a i l ed e l ab -o r a t i o n o f t he ne w p roces s , i nc lud ing t he a t t it ud ina lan d b eh av io u ra l changes r equ i r ed . I t i s impor t an t t o

emphas ise tha t a l l the s teps out l ined in the tab le were

no t , and cou ld no t have been , de f i ned i n advance .NPD p roces se s a r e ( a t l e a s t i n pa r t ) o rgan i c , and sot h e p r o g r a m m e h a d t o b e r e s p o n s i v e to t h e d e v e l o p i n gneeds o f t he i n t e rven t i on p roce s s .

Tab l e 3 p rov ide s an ov e rv i ew o f t he ac t i v it i e sunde r t aken . W ha t i s mo re d i f f i cu lt t o conv ey i s t hepas s ion , emo t ion and en thus i a sm tha t was r e l e a sed bythe p roce s s . F rom the s t a r t t he Manag ing D i r ec to radop t ed t he v i ew tha t a pa r t i c i pa t i ve app roach wasneeded : t he ques t i on was how to s t r uc tu r e pa r t i c i -pa t i on so t ha t i dea s and conce rns cou ld be r e l e a sed ,cod i f i ed and t u rned i n to a coh e ren t s e t o f pos i t i ve rou -t i ne s t ha t we re comprehens ive , con t ex t s ens i t i ve andaccep t ed .

T h e p a r t i c i p a t i v e d e v e l o p m e n t p r o g r a m m e

invo lved a round 35 peop l e f r om ac ro s s t he o rgan i s -a t i on and r ep re sen t i ng d i f f e r en t l eve l s and func t i onsin t he NPD ac t i v i t y. The a im was t o ge t eve ryonew h o m a d e a c o n t r ib u t i o n to t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f n e wproduc t s i nvo lved a s a con t r i bu to r.

T h e O D p r o c e s s w a s n e i t h e r ' t o p - d o w n ' n o r ' b o t -t o m - u p ' - - i t w a s b o t h . F r o m t h e to p c a m e s t r a t eg y,pe rmi s s ion , l e ade r sh ip , r e cogn i t i on and t e rms -o f - r e f -e r ence . F rom the bo t t om ( r ea l l y t he midd l e ) c ame c r i -t i que , i dea s , de t a i l , commi tmen t , d i l i gence anden thus i a sm.

A c t i v i t i e s r a n g e d f r o m w o r k s h o p s f o r t h e w h o l eg roup t o i n t ens ive sma l l g roup work on de s ign ing t hen e w N P D s y s t e m ; a s t h e p r o g r a m m e e v o l v e d , s o t h eowne r sh ip and i npu t f r om the ABC s ide i nc r ea sed .T h e N P D m a n a g e r p l a y e d a c r u c i al r o l e as t h e c h a m -p ion o f p roce s s change ; h i s sk il l s as an emp ow eredfac i l i t a t o r and sy s t em des igne r we re c ruc i a l .

M anag ing t he complex i t y o f la t e r s tage s o f t he p ro -j e c t r equ i r ed a change o f d i r ec t i on . I t p roved pos s ib l efo r a l l 35 pa r t i c i pan t s t o con t r i bu t e t o a d i agnos i s o ft he p rob l ems o f the p r e sen t sy s t em and gene ra t e i dea s

fo r improvemen t . The need t o e l abo ra t e and r ea l i t y -

TABLE 2. Overview of problem issues in NPD

NPD process unclear ~ad hoc' appr oach to project selec tion and priority setting unclear responsibilities and lack of accountability limited teamwork lack of early involvement and subsequent downstream delays and problems lack of cross-functional involvem ent inter-function competition rather than cooperation no clear link to company strategy in NPD decisions overloading of product managers, required to oversee a wide range of new products through the NPD cycle all projects treated the same, no 'fast tracks' or special projects no mechanisms for capturing learning from NPD experience

1 9 4 T e c hn o v aS o n o l.1 7 N o . 4


7/10

Im p le m e n tin g h e n e w p r o d u c t d e v d o p m e n t p r o c e s

TA B L E 3. K e y s t ep s i n t h e N P D o rg a n i s a t i o n a l d e v e l o p m e n t p r o g r a m m e a t A B C

D a t e A c t i v i t y P u r p o s e I n v o l v e m e n t

F e b . ' 9 5

A p r i l ' 9 5

J u n e ' 9 5

A u g . ' 9 5

S e p . ' 9 5

S e p . ' 9 5

Oct . ' 95

Oct . ' 95

N o v . ' 9 5

N o v . ' 9 5

N o v . ' 9 5

D e c . ' 9 5

D e c . ' 9 5

D e c . ' 9 5

Jan . ' 96

F e b . ' 9 6

M a r. ' 9 6

In i t i a l da ta co l l ec t ion and d iagnos t i c

F e e d b a c k t o a n d d i s c u s s i o n w i t h B o a r dA g r e e m e n t t o b a si c O D p r o c e s s f o r n e w N P DIden t i fy key pa r t i c ipan t s

S e n i o r m a n a g e m e n t s t r a t e g y w o r k s h o p

S e n s i n g i n t e r v i e w s

Wo r k s h o p IAw a r e n e s s r a i s i n g , u s i n g c a s e s t u d i es , s i m u l a t i o nand o the r exe rc i ses , e t c .

C o m p a n y - b a s e d p r o j e c t w o r k r e v i e w i n g p r o b l e m si n c u rr e n t N P D s y s t e m

R e p o r t b a c kC l u s t e r k e y p r o b l e m i s s u e sR e v i e w c a s e e x a m p l e s o f g o o d N P D p r a c t i c ee l s e w h e r e - - ' i n f o r m a l b e n c h m a r k i n g '

P r o j e c t t e a m a c t i v i t y a r o u n d k e y t h e m e s - -p r o j e c t m a n a g e m e n t , t e a m w o r k i n g , l e a r n i n g , u s eof advanced too l s , e t c .

P resen ta t ion o f p ro jec t t eam ideas abou t a newN P D s y s t e m - - t h e ro u g h b u i l d i n g b l o c k s a n dd e s i g n p r i n c i p l e s w h i c h c o u l d b e u s e d t oc o n f i g u r e a n e w p r o c e s s

S e n i o r m a n a g e m e n t w o r k s h o p

Wo r k s h o p p r e s e n t a t i o n a n d d i s c u s s i o n / e x p l o r a t i o no f o u t li n e N P D s y s t e m

M a n d a t e t e a m w o r k o n d e t a i l e d d e s i g n

Wo r k s h o p a n d p r e s e n ta t i o n o f n e w N P D s y s t e mb y m a n d a t e g r o u p t o r e s t o f t e a m p l u s s e n i o rm a n a g e m e n t

P i lo t p ro jec t s

Wo r k s h o p a n d d i s c u s s i o n , i n c l u d i n g s i m u l a t i o nw i t h d u m m y p r o j e c t s

P r e s e n t a t i o n w o r k s h o p

F o r m a l l a u n c h d a t e

P r o v i d e o v e r v i e w t ~ e d b a c k t o c o m p a n y o n s t a t e o fN P D

O b t a i n t o p m a n a g e m e n t s u p p o r tA g r e e p a r a m e t e r s f o r N P D p r o g r a m m e

D e v e l o p c o h e r e n t b u s i n e s s s t r a t e g y t o p r o v i d ef r a m e w o r k f o r N P D - - w h i c h p r o d u c ts s h o u l d w e b ework ing on ' ?

D a t a c o l l e c t i o n a n d d i a g n o s i s

To p m a n a g e m e n t e x p r e s s i o n o f s up p o r t a n dc o m m i t m e n tR a i s e a w a r e n e s s o f g o o d p r a c t i c e a n d l i m i t a t i o n s i nc u r r e n t A B C N P D p r o c e s s

B u i l d i n g a n a w a r e n e s s ( w i t h s p e c i f i c e x a m p l e s ) o ft h e l i m i t a t i o n s o f N P D a n d s u r f a c i n g f r u s t r a ti o n s a n d

f r i c t ions assoc ia ted wi th p a r t i cu la r pa r t s o f thep r o c e s s

F o c u s o n k e y a s p e c t s o f N P D p r o c e s sA l i g n A B C e x p e r i e n c e w i t h t h e o r y r e g a r d i n g c r it i c a ld i m e n s i o n s o f ' g o o d p r a c ti c e " - - e . g . n ee d f o r as t a g e g a t e s y s t e m t o co n t r o l a h i g h v o l u m e o fproduc t oppor tun i t i e s

Ta k i n g m a j o r t h e m e s ( c f . Ta b l e 1 ) a nd e x p l o r i n gthe i r app l i cab i l i ty in ABC

B u i l d i n g f r o m t h e i r e x p e r i e n c e o f w h a t w a s w r o n gwi th the cur ren t sys tem, and the i r awareness o fgener ic ' good p rac t i ce ' , t o c rea te a sha red ~v i s ion ' o fw h a t c o u l d b e d e v e l o p e d a s a n N P D p r o c e s s . T h i sea r ly p ro to type cou ld be d i scussed and ex tens ive lym o d i f i e d , b u t o w n e r s h i p w a s a l r e a d y w i t h i n t h eg r o u p w h o w o u l d u l t i m a t e l y b e r e s p o n s i b l e f o ri m p l e m e n t a t i o n a n d o p e r a t i o n

C o n f i g u r i n g t h e b u i l d i n g b l o c k s i n t o a b a s i ca rch i t ec tu re whi ch took accoun t o f s t r a t eg ic and o the rbus iness concerns

C o m m u n i c a t i n g t h e n e w N P D m o d e l f r a m e w o r k a ndg i v i n g t e a m m e m b e r s t h e c h a n c e t o e x p l or e , s u r f a c ec o n c e r n s a n d b e g i n t h e n e x t p h a s e o f d e v e l o p m e n t

E l a b o r a ti o n o f b a s i c f r a m e w o r k a n d d e v e l o p m e n t o fmaps , p roced ures and o the r a spec t s o f the news y s t e m . T h e m a n d a t e t e a m a l s o b e g a n t h e i n t e g r a t i o no f w o r k d o n e b y s m a l l g r o u p s b e f o r e D e c e m b e r o ni n d i v i d u a l a s p e c t s o f t h e n e w p r o c e s s

P r e s e n t a ti o n o f n e a r - c o m p l e t e N P D s y s t e m d e s i g n ,i n c l u d i n g s a m p l e d o c u m e n t a t i o n . D i s c u s s i o n a n diden t i f i ca t ion o f f ine - tun ing i s sues

Te s t i n g o u t a s p e c t s o f n e w s y s t e m w i t h n e w p r o d u c ti d e a s c o m i n g i n t o t h e c o m p a n y

Ti d y i n g u p o n k e y i s s u e s s u c h a s t h e p r o c e s s f o rensur ing s t r a teg ic f i t ( ' s t ag e 0 ' )D e v e l o p m e n t o f g u i d e l i n e s f o r N e w P r o d u c tE x e c u t i v e d e c i s i o n sP l a n n i n g i m p l e m e n t a t i o n , s e l e c t in g i m p l e m e n t a t i o nteam, se t t ing ou t l ine ro l l -ou t t ime tab le , e t c .

F o r m a l p r e s e n t a t i on o f th e n e w p r o g r a m m e f o r N P Dto a l l those wi th an invo lvement in new produc t s .M o b i l i s e c o m m i t m e n t t o h e l p r o ll - o u t t h e n e wprog ram me and ~sel l " i t on to o the r s t a ff

Univers i ty r esea rchers

B o a r d ( M D , M a r k e t i n g D i r e c t o r ,M a n u f a c t u r i n g D i r e c t o r ) p l u s N P D a n dp e r s o n n e l m a n a g e r s

S e n i or m a n a g e m e n t

Key pa r t i c ipan t s in cu r ren t NPD process andl ike ly to p lay a ro le in the deve lopment t eamI~the NPD task fo rce ' ) fo r a new process

N P D t a s k f o r c e

1 2 s m a l l s u b - g r o u p s o f t h e N P D t a s k l o r c e

N P D t a s k f o r c e

1 2 s u b -g r o u p s , t w o o f e a c h w o r k i n g o n ap a r t i c u l a r a s p e c t o f ' g o o d p r a c t i c e ' i n N P D

N P D t a s k f o r c e p l u s s e n i o r m a n a g e m e n t

S e n i o r m a n a g e m e n t

W h o l e t e a m p l u s s e n i o r m a n a g e m e n t

' M a n d a t e t e a m ' , a s m a l l g r o u p m a d e u p o fr e p r e s e n ta t i v e s f r o m t h e w h o l e t e a m a n dwi th the respons ib i l i ty fo r r ep resen t ing the i rv i e w s a n d f e e d i n g b a c k d e v e l o p m e n t s t othem on a r egu la r bas i s

W h o l e t e a m p l u s s e n i o r m a n a g e m e n t

P r o d u c t m a n a g e r sS e n i or m a n a g e m e n tP r o d u c t i o n e n g i n e e r s

S e n i or m a n a g e m e n tP r o d u c t m a n a g e r sR e p r e s e n t a t i v e s f r o m m a n d a t e t e a mR e p r e s e n t a t i v e s f r o m p r o p o s e di m p l e m e n t a t i o n t e a m

W h o l e d e v e l o p m e n t t e a mS e n i or m a n a g e m e n tA l l N P D - r e l a t e d s t a f f

Tec:hnov~Jon d. 17 No. 4 1 9 5


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t e s t i dea s a nd p r oduce an i n t eg ra t ed syn the s i s o fi m p r o v e m e n t p r o p o s a ls c o u l d n o t b e d o n e i n t h e f u llg r o u p - - t h e i n fo r m a t i o n p r o c e ss i n g t a s k w a s j u s t t o ob i g . Ac co rd i ng l y, f o r mu ch o f the l a t e r de s ign w orka r ep re sen t a t i v e s ma l l g roup was fo rmed , w i th t heman d a t e t o r ep r e sen t t he i n t e r e s t s o f a l l p a r t i c ipan t sand r ep o r t ba ck t o t hem.

T h e e m e rg i n g m o d e l c o r r e s p o n d s c l o s e l y t o t h e' b lu ep r in t ' s ugges t ed i n Tab l e 1 , bu t e l abo ra t ed i n ah ig h ly cu s t om i s e d w ay fo r t he needs o f a pa r t i cu l a rf i rm . F ig u re 1 i ll u s t ra t e s t he ove ra l l f r am ework .

6 . C O N C L U S IO N S

T h e p a r t i c i p a t i v e p r o c e s s o f d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e

N P D s y s t e m f o r A B C s u r f a ce d s i x k e y d e s i g ne l em en t s wh ich a dd t o ou r unde r s t and ing o f thebeh av i ou ra l p r eco nd i t i ons needed fo r t he succe s s fu limp l em e n ta t i o n o f a new o r upg raded p roce s s .

( 1 ) Th e nee d fo r a s tage -ga t e sy s t em, a sha r ed unde r-s t an d in g o f t h e rou t e t h rough t h i s and t he c r i t e r i af o r ' g o /n o go ' dec i s i ons a t e ach s t age . Th i s p ro -v id e s a s t r u c tu re f o r t he dec i s i on mak ing e l emen t si n N PD an d e nsu re s t ha t a c t i ve dec i s i ons a r et a k e n w h e n r e s o u r c e c o m m i t m e n t d e c i s io n s m u s tbe ma de .

( 2 ) T h e e s t a b l is h m e n t o f a N e w P r o d u c t E x e c u t i v e(m a d e u p o f r e l evan t d i rec to r s , mee t i ng f r eque n t l ya nd i f n ece s s a ry on anad hoc bas i s ) , t o make t hefo r ma l ap p r o va l dec i s i ons fo r p rog re s s ing t h roughthe sy s t em . T h i s e l eva t e s NPD to a s en io r l eve la nd ensu r e s t h a t commi tmen t dec i s i ons a r e t akento suppor t the s t ra teg ic in ten t of the f i rm.

(3 ) T he i d en t i f ic a t i on o f c l e a r r o l e s and r e spons i -b i l it i e s w i t h in t he p roce s s , e spec i a l l y hand - ove rf rom p ro du c t m anage r s t o p ro j ec t manage r s . Th i sp rov ide s f o r t he supe r io r managemen t o f l i nk -ages - - an i nc i p i en t weak a r ea i n h i e r a r ch i ca l l ybased o rgan i s a t i ons .

( 4 ) T h e n e e d f o r b a l an c e b e t w e e n e a r l y i n v o l v e m e n to f do w n s t r e a m func t i ons such a s p rodu c t i on andfa s t - t r a ck de c i s i on mak ing . Th i s d imin i she s t heb u r d e n o f t r y i n g t o c o m m u n i c a t e e v e r y t h i n g t oe v e r y o n e w h o c o u l d p o s s i b l y b e i n v o l v e d a t a l lt imes .

(5 ) Th e nee d fo r a mu l t i - tr a ck sy s t em to cope w i thd i f f e r e n t k in d s o f new p rod uc t s , f r om s im p le va r i -a n t s on ex i s t i ng t hemes t o com p le t e ly r ad i ca l newc oncep t s . Th i s p rov ide s i nhe ren t f l ex ib i l i t y,t he r eby r e duc i n g t he r i sk t ha t a demand ing ( andth e r e fo r e co s t l y ) p rocedu re i s u sed fo r s imp le p ro -d uc t enh ance me n t s wh ich do no t r equ i r e an e l ab -o r a t e d ec i s i on mak ing p roce s s .

( 6 ) A s h a r e d u n d e r s ta n d i n g o f t he c o m p a n y ' s c o m -pet i t ive s t rengths and i t s s t ra teg ic focus . Thise n a b l e s N P D t o b e a n i m p l e m e n t a t i o n p r o c e s sr a the r t han a d ive rgen t a c t i v i ty d r i ven by i n t e rna lgene ra t ed goa l s .

D i scus s ion o f r ou t i ne s i n t he i nnova t i on l i t e r a tu reo f t en focuse s on t he a r t e f ac t s o f such behav i ou r pa t -t e rn s - - f o r examp le , t he p rocedu re s , s t r uc tu r e s andr u le s w h i c h e m e rg e . ( T h e 3 M ' 1 5 % ' p o l i c y, i n w h i c he m p l o y e e s a r e a l l o w e d t o w o r k o n ' b o o t l e g ' p r o j e c t sfo r up t o 15% o f t he i r t ime , i s an exam ple . ) Bu t t he sea r t e f ac ts a r e on ly t he su r f ace i nd i ca to r s o f an unde r ly -i ng cu l t u r e wh ich ha s t o be e s t ab l i shed and g roundedin t he o rgan is a t i on . Deve lop ing such a cu l t u r e - - ' t h ew a y w e d o N P D a r o u n d h e r e ' - - i n v o l v e s a r ti c u la t in gthe key i s sue s , su r f ac ing conce rns and con f l i c t s ,

bu i l d ing a sha r ed v i s i on o f wha t t he new sys t emmigh t l ook l i ke and de t a i l ed and pa r t i c i pa t i ve de s ignwork on key a spec t s ( i nc lud ing r e so lv ing t en s ionssuch a s t ha t be twee n fo rm a l i s a t i on and f l ex ib i l it y, o rpe r sona l and co l l e c t i ve r e spons ib i l i t y ) .

Th i s i n t e rven t i on t augh t t he r e s ea r che r s a g r ea tdea l , d emons t r a t i ng t ha t i n managemen t s c i ences t heuse o f a c t i on r e sea r ch p roce s se s ha s g r ea t heu r i s ti cva lue . I n t he ABC company p ro j ec t we we re c r ea t i ngthe cond i t i ons fo r a l e a rn ing o rgan i s a t i on t o deve lopand s ee ing t he i n t e rdependency o f s t r a t egy, sy s t em,

cu l t u r e , l e a rn ing and behav iou r. Bu t t he mos t power-fu l l e a rn ing po in t i s t ha t sha r ed owne r sh ip i s t he keyto succe s s : i f t hose i nvo lved unde r s t and , a f f i rm andsuppo r t t he NPD p roces s , t hey w i l l make i t wo rk .E v e n t h e w o r l d ' s m o s t e l e g a n t N P D s y s t e m w i l l fa i li f unde r s t and ing i s la ck ing , t he r e is no ' b uy - in ' o rsuppo r t i s ab sen t . We wi l l a lways f a i l i f we unde re s t i -ma t e t he o rgan i c na tu r e o f o rgan i s a t i ons .

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John Bessant is Professor of TechnologyManagement at the Centre for Research inInnovation Management (CENTRIM), Uni-versity of Brighton, and also Profes sor at theScience Policy Research Unit (SPRU), Uni-versity o f Sussex. He is the author of numer-ous books and journal articles, the latest ofwhich, E ff e c t i v e I n n o v a t i o n P o l i c y(Thomso n Business Press) appeared in 1996.His research interests include continuousimprovement, innovation policy for SMEsand organising for new product develop-ment. He is a member of the Editorial Board for Technova t ion .

D a v i d F r a n c i sis leader of the InnovationConsulting Group at the Centre for Research

Innovation Management (CENTRIM), Uni-versity of Brighton. He is a behaviouralscientist specialising in innovative strategicmanagement skills amongst senior man-agers. He has worked as a team effectivenesscoach and management development adviserfor more than twenty years. David wor kedin retaining (at Harrods) and was Head o fManagement and Organisation Developmentat the Food, Drink and Tobacco IndustryTraining Board. He has acted as a consultant to many organisat ionsin Europe, the Far East and the USA.

David has written o r co-authored 23 books, including Team St ra t -e g y, To p Te a m B u i l d in g , M a n a g i n g y o u r o w n C a r e e r, E f fe c t i v e P r o b -l e m S o l v i n g , U n b l o c k i n g O rg a n i z a t i o n a l C o m m u n i c a t i o nand Step-by-

Step Compet i t ive S t ra tegy.

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kehrungen fo r e ffek t ive P ro jek t l e i tung und Lernsy-s teme. D ie Fac hl i tera tur enth~il t jedo ch recht w enigzur F rage de r E in f t ih rung : wie kann e ine bes t immteOrgan i sa t ion d ie no twend igen Verha l t ensmus te r undd ie beg le i t enden S t ruk tu ren und Ver fahren , d i e

no twen d ig s ind , um NPD mi t gu te r P rak t ik e inse tzba rund effekt iv f iar s ie zu machen, ar t ikul ieren und ver-ankern?

In dieser A rbeit pr~isentieren wir die Fa llstud iee ine r E lek t ron ik f i rma , d ie e ine neues NPD Sys tementwicke l t und e in f t ih r t . Wi r konzen t r i e ren unsinsbesondere au f d ie o rgan i sa to r i schen En twick lungs -ve r fah ren , d i e zu r E in f t ih rung und En twick lung desEigen tumsrech t s des Sys tems no twend ig s ind . DieArbei t schl ie l3t mi t e inigen Kommentaren zur Ober-t r agung d ieses Ansa tzes au f andere Organ i sa t ionenund zu Forschungsaspek ten , d i e durch d iese Er fah-rung ents tehen, ab. 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd

L a im p le m e n ta c iG n d e l p r o c e s o d e d e s a r r o llo d e u n

p r o d u c to n u e v o

R e s u m e nLas publ icaciones acerca del desarrol lo de los pro-

duc tos nuevos (NPD) hab lan mucho de los an tep ro -yectos para s is temas m zis ef icaces de adm inis t raci6ndel proceso. Entre los aspectos del pat r6n resul tantede bu ena pr~ic tica en NP D se encuen tran e l t rabajo enequ ipos in te r func iona les , el i nvo luc ramien to desde e l

p r imer m om ento pos ib le , l a e fec t iv idad de l a admin i s -t raci6n del proyecto y los s is temas de formaci6n. Sinembargo , ex i s te m uy p oco esc r ito r e fe ren te a l a cues -t i6n de l a implementac i6n , c6mo una empresa enpar t icular puede ar t icular y arra igar los pat rones nece-sar ios de comportamiento y dem~is es t ructuras acom-paf iantes y los procesos necesar ios para hacer que labuena pr~ic t ica NPD le funcione.

En es t e a r t i cu lo se comenta un es tud io de caso deuna empresa de e lect r6nica en e l d isef io y laimplementac i6n de una s i s t ema nuevo de NPD. Sehace hincapi6 especia l en los procesos de desarrol loorgan izac iona l necesa r ios pa ra implementa r y desa r-

rol lar la propr iedad inte lectual del s is tema. E1 ar t fculote rmina con a lgunos com enta r ios r e fe ren tes a l a t r ans -fe renc ia de e s t e en foque a o t r a s o rgan izac iones yacerca de los f i reas de invest igaci6n que surgen deesta exper iencia . 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd

In t e g r a tn g c o n U n u o u s m p r o v e m e n t a n din n o v a H o n in t o a c o r p o r a t e c u l tu r e : ac a s e s t u d yZ a h i r I r a n i a n d J o h n M . S h a r p

Technovation 17 (4 ) (199 7) , 199-206

I n t ~ r a t io n d e I 'a m G ii o ra t io n e t d e I 'i n n o v a t io n c o

t in u e s d a n s la c u l tu r e d e r e n t r e p r i s e : U n e 6 t u d e d e c

R ~ s u m ~L'am61io ra t ion con t inue , comme son nom l ' i n -

dique, adopte une ap proche d ont le but es t d 'am61iorerles performances organisat ionnel les , grf ice a de pet i t sincr6ments sur une longue p6r iode. Dans cet te appro-che, ce n 'es t pas la ta i l le de l ' incr6ment qui es timportante , mais la vra isemblance que ces am61ior-a t ions con t inue ron t . Un g rand nombre d ' en t rep r i sescompl6tent l ' am61iorat ion cont inue avec de l ' innov-at ion, qui es t consid6r6e com me l 'explo i ta t ion r6uss iedes id6es nouvel les , e t qui appara~t c la i reme nt com mela synergie entre ces deux phi losophies , lorsqu 'e l le

es t in t6gr6e dans la cul ture d 'entrepr ise ad6quate .Dans ce papier, l ' auteur d6cr i t une 6tude de cas surun pet i t ar t isan du no rd ouest de l 'A ngleterre , e t d6cr itcomment son entrepr ise a r6uss i , malgr6 des reversde for tune e t des p6r iodes di ff ic i les a garder in tactesses id6es e t sa foi en l 'am61iorat ion cont inue e t lamei l leure prat ique tout au long de la r6cess ion qui af rapp6 l e Royaume-Uni au d6bu t des ann6es 90 . Lepapier cont inue en d6cr ivant la cul ture d 'entrepr iseau se in de laquel le une approache de l 'am61iorat ioncon t inue e t de l ' i nnova t ion a pe rmis ~ l ' ensemble dupersonnel d 'a l ler p lus lo in dans leur qu~te pour laqual i t6 to ta le . 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd

In t e p 'a t io n v o n s t e ~ e r Ve r b e s s e ru n g u n d I n n o v a t io

in e i n e U n t e rn e h m e n s k u ltu r .e i n e F a l ls t u d i e

A b r i s sSte t ige Verbesse rung ve r tr i tt , w ie de r Nam e schon

andeu te t, e inen Ansa tz zu r Verbesse rung de r Le i s tungeines Unternehmens in kle inen Schr i t ten t iber e inenl~ingeren Zei t raum. B ei d iesem Ans atz is t es n icht d ieGrti l3e jed en Schr i t t s , d ie entsche idend is t, so ndern dieWahrsche in l i chke i t , dab d ie Verbesse rungenandauern und fo r tgese tz t werden . V ie le Unte rne hmenerg~if izen inzwischen ihre s te t ige Verbesserung mitInnova t ion , da d ies a l s e r fo lg re iche Aussch6pfungneuer Ideen be t rach te t wi rd undes e ine deu t l i cheSynerg ie zwischen d iesen be iden Ph i losoph ien zugeben sche in t, so fe rn s i e in e ine angem essene Unte r-nehmensku l tu r in t eg r i e r t werden . In d ie se r Arbe i tbeschre iben d ie Auto ren d ie Fa l l s tud ie e ine rkle inen/mit te lgroBen Werksta t t fur Einzelauf t r~ige imindus t r i e l l en Herzen Nordwes teng lands . Wi r e rk l~enin der Arbei t , w ie die F irma es s chaff te , t ro tz betr~icht-l icher Rt ickschl~ige und Harte ihre Ideen zur s te t igenVerbesse rung und ih ren Glauben an bes te P rak t ikenw~ahrend de r U K Rezess ion Anfan g de r 90e r Jah reaufrechtzuerhal ten. Die Arbei t beschreibt wei terhin

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