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IN PLANNING
Here are some of the more common roadblocks that occur during the planning stage of a PD project:
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No planning!
If you don't know what you are doing, then… good luck, Pal! |
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What to do about it!
You definitely need some kind of a plan to cover the business, marketing, development, production, support, end-of-life and exit strategy before you even begin the PD effort. A Typical plan includes (but is not limited to) strategies for:
- Funding and resources.
- Concept development / selection / testing.
- Opportunity and trend research.
- Market / user needs / segmentation / selling / distribution.
- Product requirements development.
- Product costing models.
- IP protection / patent considerations.
- Product architecture, ID, design, development, prototyping, support.
- Manufacturer selection / support.
- Production: pilot / ramp-up / full scale.
- End-Of-Life strategy.
- Documentation and management systems.
- Product extensions / enhancements.
- Parallel processes, if possible, with coordination and communication.
- IDEATION: schemes to generate / validate ideas - brainstorms, focus groups, concept screening, needs & wants studies, QFD, etc.
- VALIDATION: testing of technology, product, production, sales channels, etc.
- Constant evaluation of market Share, market "attractiveness", Product, cost forecasts, production and QC, sales forecasts, Go/No-Go gauges throughout project.
- Monitor company growth or exit strategy (important to investors).
"Management is the process of mapping expectations to reality", and the plan is the record used to do this. But, the plan must not be used to hamstring the program, stifle innovation or establish a bureaucratic tangle; it must provide guidance to the team, stakeholders and business - it's a road map so to speak. The team must take the plan and manage it as the program and business develops.
The plan does not need to be accurate to minute details. But, it needs to cover all major claims for the project, the product and the business case - and it must contain a detailed enough strategy so that investors and executives are able determine the business worth of the product and its development effort.
Some operations tips for planning can be found in Product Development - Where Do You Start? by Dick Haney
An excellent product for developing business plans is The Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies, by Rhonda Abrams, http://www.planningshop.com/TPS/default.asp |
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©2003, Richard M. (Dick) Haney
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