I prefer the PDMA’s definition because it is more of a product-based, pragmatic significance than the others are. However, I believe this definition needs to be extended to explicitly include stakeholders beyond just the “customer” such as regulatory agencies, contract manufacturers, beneficiaries, brotherhoods, watchdog/cultural groups, and municipalities. These stakeholders will most certainly have an effect on a product’s collection of attributes, many of which a consumer may not even be aware. Additionally, the collection of attributes needs to satisfy both demands and stated and implied needs. I’d also substitute the term “qualities” for “attributes”, because quality seems to be the more generally used term in the PD industry.

Following are Product definitions from various media:

• “An item that ideally satisfies a market's want or need”
• “Merchandise, wares, commodities offered for sale”
• “An artifact that has been created by someone or some process”
• “Something which is produced by physical act or labor”
• “Product: Term used to describe all goods, services, and knowledge sold. Products are bundles of attributes (features, functions, benefits, and uses) and can be either tangible, as in the case of physical goods, or intangible, as in the case of those associated with service benefits, or can be a combination of the two.” (The Product Development Management Association Handbook, 1st Edition)

Once again, the PDMA’s definition is most relevant, since it rightly includes services and knowledge as products too. I would also add processes since many companies sell processes separately or with goods, services and knowledge. I would also move the term functions outside the attributes set because function has a more encompassing use (described later under Reliability).

Following are Product Development definitions from various media:

• “The development of new, improved, or replacement product or service”
• “The stages that occur from the time a business generates a new business idea to the launch of that particular product on the market”
• “A set of activities beginning with the perception of a market opportunity and ending in the production, sale, and delivery of a product”
• “Improving an existing product or developing new kinds of products”
• “The overall process of strategy, organization, concept generation, product and marketing plan creation and evaluation, and commercialization of a new product.” (The Product Development Management Association Handbook, 1st Edition)

Again, I prefer the PDMA’s definition since it specifically encompasses the activities and implied processes that are also essential to consider when developing a product. However, I believe it necessary to be more specific and substitute ‘cost analysis, design, development, production, validation & support’ for the very general term “commercialization”.