The GPEP process is an ordered methodology to assist in the development of a useful and profitable product.

Product -

A service or device including associated hardware, software, manuals, labels, essential accessories, warranty, packaging, etc. (design & implementation), which is profitably (finance) replicable (manufacturing), available (distribution) and supportable (service) and recyclable or reclaimable (corporate).

Assist -

The process supports the marketing function by translating user attitudes and market requirements into a commodity, which provides user benefits and which is properly engineered for replication by the production function.

Ordered -

The process is planned by thorough up-front considerations (requirements, specifications, budgets, schedules, resources, team, etc.), periodically reviewed (design, fault/risk, verified), well known (controlled documentation) and regulated (compliant, traceable).

Useful -

The operation of the product is proven acceptable to the user within the product's environment (product validation).

A few comments about Useful are in order since this term can be the most confusing of the four terms defined above.

• The market environment and users define a product's usefulness. A product can't be defined as useful solely by its technology; such occurrences can happen, but are rather serendipitous and very rare. GPEP assists in providing a controlled process to replace serendipity and chance - and to increase the probability of success.
• A useful product can be thought of as a black box where the user is not necessarily concerned with what is inside, but where the user receives benefit from the product (defined as output) as the user stimulates the product by some means (defined as input). Every useful product requires necessary user inputs and provides concomitant user outputs. When viewed as such, the product's usefulness can be objectively defined and then validated by thoroughly gauging the outputs to the inputs.

The GPEP discipline intends that the attitude must be 'to construct and support the process and adhere to it'. This is the most difficult part, but if achieved, it enables one to 'Walk-the-Walk'.