This guidebook gives R & D professionals an in-depth explanation of ways companies are able to achieve substantially higher levels of development productivity; while better aligning product development with strategy through new practices and systems. --

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is the newest wave in productivity. This revolutionary approach is an outcome of lean thinking; however, PLM eliminates waste and efficiency across all aspects of a product's life--from design to deployment--not just in its manufacture. By using people, product information, processes, and technology to reduce wasted time, energy, and material across an organization and into the supply chain, PLM drives the next generation of lean thinking. Now PLM pioneer Michael Grieves offers everyone from Six Sigma and lean practitioners to supply chain managers, product developers, and consultants a proven framework for adopting this information-driven approach. Product Lifecycle Management shows you how to greatly enhance your firm's productivity by integrating the efforts of your entire organization. Most companies are seeing the returns of their efforts in lean methods diminishing, as the most fruitful applications have already been addressed. Here, Grieves reveals how PLM gives you an opportunity to make improvements both within and across functional areas in order to increase agility, optimize efficiency, and reduce costs across the board. He gives you the most comprehensive view of PLM available, fully outlining its characteristics, method, and tools and helping you assess your organizational readiness. There's also proven examples from the field, where PLM is being widely adopted by leading companies, including General Motors, General Electric, and Dell, that are widely adopting the approach. You'll see how PLM has saved these companies billions in unnecessary costs and shaved as much as 60% off cycle times. With this book you'll learn how to: Develop and implement your PLM strategy to support your corporate objectives Engage all your employees in using information to eliminate waste Enable improved information flow Better organize and utilize your intellectual capital Foster an environment that drives PLM Lean manufacturing can only take your organization so far. To bring your productivity to the next level and save remarkable amounts of time, money, and resources, Product Lifecycle Management is your one-stop, hands-on guide to implementing this powerful methodology.

Although many companies have introduced product innovation processes, they are still struggling to achieve the financial results they expected. This book shows how to properly balance the need for speed with the drive for profitability. It demonstrates how to maximize the value of a new product portfolio, how to streamline the product innovation process, and how to achieve growth that is both profitable and sustainable. New product success is not simply about developing new products that sell; it's about getting them to market quickly with the lowest cost and the highest return. Dr. Robert G. Cooper and Dr. Scott J. Edgett use their latest research and draw upon their combined 60 years of experience in the field to show you what the companies that continuously win at new products are doing. Top performers have discovered how to properly balance the need for speed with profitability. With a new process they call NexGen(TM) Stage-Gate(R), Dr. Cooper and Dr. Edgett show precisely how you can ensure that your innovation is not only lean and rapid but profitable as well. For more information, visit: www.stage-gate.com

Managing the Dynamics of New-Product Development Processes merges product-based planning, process modelling, process execution, probabilistic simulations, and simulation based decision-making into one framework called the Dynamic new-Product Development Process. It provides readers with a means of improving the management of product development through enhanced methods and tools that are specifically tailored to the characteristics and challenges of such processes. It calls for a new Product Lifecycle Management paradigm of utilizing the managed product data for management of the product's development process. Within the framework, the methods used are enhanced or modified to fit the new-product development process requirements. Each specific method is exhaustively analyzed, from the basic definition of terms through a description of the state of the art of that topic and its limitations. Then, the method enhancements are illustrated by many examples, and discussed while suggesting further research directions. Finally, the enhanced methods are integrated and demonstrated by a test case. The main two methods described are the design structure matrix (DSM) and Petri nets, which are merged into a novel concept entitled DSM nets. Managing the Dynamics of New Product Development Processes provides algorithms, proofs, and practical examples that can be used for general study of the issues concerned. The main concepts presented are applicable to systems engineering and can be used by practitioners of product development processes, such as designers, product managers, and process managers, as well as developers of process management tools for systems with dynamically changing process structures.

Employers who don’t adapt to the expectations of younger generations are losing top talent, as they leave for positions at companies with modern practices. Learn what companies need to do to fit into the new normal in the workplace. Generation Y sees the world differently than any other generation in modern memory, and nowhere is this more evident than in the workplace. The shifts that this generation has seen in the economy, technology, and the world have changed what they want from life and work--which is not a 9-5 existence for forty-plus years, leading to a typical retirement at sixty-five. What older generations call a poor work ethic from a spoiled generation, Gen Y sees as a different way of doing things. Companies that take the time to listen realize that what Gen Y is asking for isn’t that crazy; in fact, it’s better in many ways such as: A demand for work-life balance isn’t a cry for fewer work hours--it’s a cry to be able to work from outside the office beyond a rigid 9-5 schedule (which can lead, to Gen Y employees working even more hours than you expected). Leaving a job after a couple years isn’t an inability to commit--it’s a need to learn more, expand their experience, and develop their career at a faster pace, which is helpful to companies that hire those individuals, including your own. Elevating nontraditional benefits over financial benefits is a step toward creating an emotional connection to the company where employees spend most of their time and invest mental and emotional efforts. The need to work for a company with a purpose reflects the power that social media has on the social consciousness. Next Generation Leadership will explore what’s behind these shifts in the character of the emerging workforce. It shows that, as Gen Y assumes managerial positions, the nature of leadership and business will change over the next few decades in irrevocable and profound ways.

For more than two decades, Winning at New Products has served as the bible for product developers everywhere. Robert G. Cooper demonstrates why consistent product development is vital to corporate growth and how to maximize your chances of success. Citing the author's most recent research, Winning at New Products showcases innovative practices by industry leaders to present a field-tested game plan for achieving product leadership. Cooper outlines specific strategies for making sound business decisions at every step-from idea generation to launch. This fully updated and expanded edition is an essential resource for product developers around the world. "This is a must read. There's so much new in this book, from how to generate the breakthrough ideas, picking the winners, and driving them to market successfully." -- Philip Kotler, Professor of International Marketing, Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management

Based on methods of actual product developments from Goodyear Aerospace and Hewlett-Packard, this engrossing book provides specific guidelines plus a wealth of data for rapid and efficient development of new products using a systems theory which works vertically through an industry's management structure and horizontally across functions that contribute to new product development. Demonstrates how to integrate the best available tools with appropriate techniques and how to deliver new products within performance objectives and budget. An abundance of checklists, data and reference material enable readers to implement the methods presented.