New product introduction: An IfM approach
Introduction to New Product Introduction (NPI)
In this section, Kate introduces the topic of New Product Introduction (NPI) and shares some techniques that have been developed by the Design Management Group at the Institute for Manufacturing.
What is NPI and Why Can it Fail?
- NPI is the process of selecting an initial idea and developing it into a final market-ready product.
- Many companies struggle with NPI due to issues such as too few ideas, insufficient screening, sporadic input from critical stakeholders, late design changes, poor upfront project definition, bosses pressuring for early product release, and no-go decisions made just as the project is available to launch.
- To avoid these issues, it's important to consider the four Ps of process, product, project, and portfolio.
The Four Ps of NPI
- Lack of an appropriate NPI process can lead to too much bureaucracy.
- Lack of customer or market awareness can result from too little market research or user involvement.
- Projects that are regularly late and over budget may be due to poor project monitoring and control or ineffective design reviews.
- Failed project selection can lead to not enough resources or too many things to do.
Assessing Your MPI Process
- One way to improve your NPI activity is by assessing where you are right now using an MPI maturity assessment tool.
- Gather a group of 4 or 5 individuals from relevant functional teams and allow each person to score each category separately.
- Use scaling statements to better understand what each score means for each category.
- Assign scores for where you are now, what your minimum standard should be, and where you need to get to.
MPI Process Maturity Assessment
The speaker discusses the current state of their company's MPI process and how they plan to improve it.
Roles and Responsibilities
- A more embedded and less directive approach with clearly defined roles and responsibilities is needed.
- Desired score: 4/5.
Teamwork
- Functional teams do not work well together, leading to silos and significant rivalry.
- Current score: 1/5.
- Minimum required score: 2/5 for lightweight project management.
- Desired score: 3/5 for a structured and formal project management approach.
Project Phases and Decision Points
- There is a loose idea of project phases, but they vary across teams.
- Current score: 2/5.
- Fractured decision making has led to increased project costs.
- Minimum required score: 3/5 for clearer project phases and deliverables.
- Desired score: 4/5.
Overall MPI Process Assessment
- The company has a process, but there are issues with it.
- Current score: 2/5.
- Minimum required score: 2/5 to maintain current level.
- Desired score: 3/5 for a process that is used and understood by all.
Project, Product, and Portfolio Maturity Assessment
Range of Responses
- Before reviewing average responses, it's important to look at the range of scores received from team members involved.
Overall Performance
- The company meets the minimum standard in each category but falls below desired standards in all categories.
- Process maturity
- Project maturity
- Product maturity
- Portfolio maturity
Process Management
Teamwork
Issues
- Teams are not working well together.
- Lack of common understanding around gated review sessions.
Required Actions
- Support communication and teamwork.
- Take actions to get everyone on the same page.
Project Phases and Decision Points
Issues
- Loose idea of project phases.
- Varying project phases across teams.
- Fractured decision making leading to increased project costs.
Required Actions
- Clearer project phases and deliverables.
Portfolio Management
- The company falls below the minimum standard in all areas.
- A simple, non-bureaucratic, useful, and time-efficient way to review MPI activities is needed.
- One tested and proven approach is the "Portfolio on a Page" method developed by IFMA.
Revealing Gaps and Pain Points
In this section, the speaker invites viewers to discuss their own MPI maturity assessment gaps and pain points. They also offer bespoke on a page templates for those interested.
- If you want to talk about the gaps and pain points revealed by your own MPI maturity assessment or would like to discuss creating your own bespoke on a page templates please do get in touch with us on the email address below the video.
Conclusion
The speaker concludes the video.
- Thanks for watching.
- See you next time.