PMP-Tech

Is Agile a Digital Version of Waterfall?

Posted on 02.09.22

I first encountered the terms “analog” and “digital” in high school physics. While I probably remember more about the pranks my classmates played on our teacher, the terms analog and digital repeatedly popped up in my engineering education. For those of you who had a high school physics teacher NOT named Mr. Founds, we’ll touch on the definitions of these two words and investigate how they relate to product and project management.

Analog vs. Digital

Analog – in layman’s language – means you can select whatever value you want. Think of an old-fashioned radio tuning dial that turns back-and-forth. As you seek a particular frequency, you first hear static, then a mix of static with the music, then the music comes in strongly. If you turn the dial too far, you’re back in the static zone.

In Houston, I enjoy listening to 89.3FM. With a digital device, there are exact increments, and your radio “dial” will lock onto specific stations. So, in my car, I tune from 89.1 (static) to 89.3 (music) to 89.5 (static). The “digital” increment on my car radio is 0.2 on the FM frequency.

Waterfall Project Management

Waterfall project management has fallen out of favor in recent years. I believe there is a place for waterfall project management, especially in the space of tangible product development. In general, waterfall suggests upfront planning and a detailed list of features and requirements for the new product. Usually, detailed schedules are created during early project planning phases, with assigned tasks and resources.

Agile Project Management

While extensive upfront planning can work for projects with low levels of technical uncertainty and low levels of requirements uncertainty, waterfall fails to be flexible and adaptable to changing customer needs throughout the project lifecycle. When the schedule is disrupted, the plan must be re-created and tasks dependent on other tasks fall behind schedule.

Agile project management promises flexibility by planning just the minimum work necessary to build a minimum set of features (often called an MVP, minimum viable product). Teams and tasks are designed to be isolated from interruptions (dependencies). Autonomy and empowerment are key to success in Agile implementations.

Agile is Digital Waterfall

The drawback, I believe, of many Agile implementations is a heavy emphasis on the ceremonies and artifacts of the process. Instead of using these elements as tools to assist development work, some Agile teams use the ceremonies and artifacts in the same way waterfall teams use upfront planning tools (e.g., Gantt charts and critical path analysis). The sprint increment in Agile becomes a set of planning meetings that could have been handled with a larger, upfront activity in waterfall. In essence, sprints tune the radio at specific frequency increments while waterfall can spin the dial to get close to the final result.

WAGILE Product Development Meets in the Middle

Some of the equipment I used in engineering school had a combination of analog and digital tuning. You used the digital selection to get to the right range of data (e.g., the left end of the radio dial) while you used analog tuning to get to the specific reading (e.g., 89.3 FM). Other pieces of equipment were the opposite – using analog selection to get within range and digital selection for a specific, known incremental value. Regardless of the device, the benefits of combining analog and digital were obvious and well above analog-alone or digital-alone.

WAGILE product development is much the same. We use a hybrid project management model, picking the best aspects of waterfall and of Agile. (Thus, the name – WAGILE.) Overlaying incremental feature development with frequent customer interactions onto a disciplined, risk-balanced staged-and-gated process can lead to faster development times and increased customer satisfaction.

Learn more in the upcoming WAGILE Product Development workshop (15 & 17 February).

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

Project Controls in Innovation

Posted on 04.29.21

Controlling is often a misunderstood management function. In everyday use, we use the term “controlling” to mean manipulating or limiting other’s behavior. Yet in engineering management, project management, and new product development (NPD), controlling is an important process that helps the team leader assess the performance of a project and of his or her team.

Definition of Controlling

Let’s define controlling as follows, consistent with the American Society of Engineering Management (ASEM).

“A management function of measuring performance and comparing the results with established standards to ensure that the work conforms to requirements and brings a desired outcome.”

Defined in this way, controlling is a critical function that assures work meets expectations. If at any time, the project outcomes are not meeting expectations, we make adjustments to bring the product or project work into alignment with the plan.

Steps in Controlling

There are typically four steps that product and project managers follow in controlling.

Set a baseline,
Measure performance,
Compare the baseline against performance measures, and
Take corrective action as necessary.

Set a Baseline

In project management and NPD, setting baselines for performance should be easy. In reality, however, setting baselines requires substantial planning effort on behalf of the project leader. The baseline must reflect the best outcome of project planning. Principles of project management dictate that during the initiation phase, the project leader and team members identify requirements from all project stakeholders. Gathering and documenting project requirements ensures that stakeholder expectations can be met.

In innovation projects, customer needs are documented in the PIC (product innovation charter). During all stages of the structured NPD process, the innovation project team will test customer needs to ensure alignment with the product design. One way in which to map customer needs to engineering design specs is to use the QFD tool (quality function deployment). Read more about process design here.

Measure Performance

In Step 2 of controlling, we measure the performance of engineering and project teams. Here, both individual and team member performance are assessed as well as the project requirements. For example, if a new product development project had a customer requirement to increase battery life by 50%, the engineering team would measure all new battery designs against the performance standard. A new battery with just 20% increase in lifetime would be inadequate, while a battery with a life that is 48% longer is considered a successful technology. The project is approved when it meets the technical hurdles and would move along in the NPD process.

image from creative commons with free to share and use

Compare Baseline Against Performance

In Step 3 of controlling, the project leader and project team members assess the project performance by comparing current design elements against the baseline set forth in the project plan. It is important to ensure that the baseline and product performance requirements are measurable so that this comparison is meaningful. Objectives are stated in measurable terms and metrics are gathered without difficulty or subject to opinion or interpretation.

Again, for instance, battery life extension of 50% is measurable. The initial battery in the current product demonstrates an average of 3-hour life before requiring a recharge. Sample batteries in lab tests demonstrate 4-hour, 4.2-hours and 4.4-hours. These data points are easy to compare to the initial product performance level. The product development and innovation teams strive for measurable goals and objectives to improve customer satisfaction.

Take Corrective Action

At the heart of the controlling process is the idea that correcting errors early leads to higher quality products and that the development effort will be less expensive overall. Thus, the final step in the controlling function is to take action based on analysis of the data from Step 3. In the case where performance matches expectations and baseline plans, no action is required.

Frequently, controlling will reveal that a project is over-budget and/or behind schedule. In these situations, the project manager and sponsor must work with the customer to modify the plan. Some tools are available to help accomplish the work within the required time frame, but these schedule adaptations normally require additional costs (e.g. crashing and compression). Further, missing the timeline for a new product launch can impact the overall profitability of an innovative new product.

Controlling Function

In engineering management, project management and new product development, controlling is an important management function. The four steps in controlling are: (1) set a baseline, (2) measure performance, (3) compare the baseline against performance, and (4) take corrective action as appropriate. To learn more about the controlling function and other ways to improve new product project execution, you must earn your New Product Development Professional (NPDP) certification. Check out our training and speaking schedule for innovation and project management here.

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

Can Nerds Serve the Customer?

Posted on 04.22.21

I’m a self-admitting nerd. My educational background is in engineering and I enjoy learning how things fit together. I love to watch movies, but I never know the names of actors or actresses. I fail miserably at the literature questions in Trivial Pursuit™.

Yet, I love math, logic, and reasoning. In recent years my fondness to “figure out how things work” has become a study of people, leaders, and teams. Successful innovation teams have a different culture than others.

A friend and colleague mentioned that her son was studying mechanical engineering. She encouraged him to take a Design Thinking class so he could learn about human-centered design. I agree wholeheartedly with her! Engineers have an isolated educational experience driven by high-level calculus an intense theory of physics. Of course, accountants, sociologists, and architects also have educational experiences driven by depth of knowledge, rather than breadth.

So, can nerds learn to serve the customer?

The Customer

First, we have to take a step back. Any free economy functions to produce goods and services that generate profit for the seller. Buyers pay a price for goods and services that give them utility and functionality at their own perceived value. The buyer (or customer) seeks a benefit in purchasing a product that is greater than the price they pay. Moreover, the price that the buyer pays must include a margin of profit for the producer. If not, the producer will cease to offer those goods or services.

A seller learns what to sell by studying customers and markets. Customers are the key element in designing and developing new products. My friend was very astute to encourage her son to broaden his studies beyond engineering. New Product Development Professionals (NPDP) blend the unique skills of technology understanding, market perception, and product knowledge to successfully innovate profitable goods and services.

Engineers, like other innovation leaders, have an intense curiosity about how things work. Yes, we are nerds because we enjoy tinkering and troubleshooting. So, trying to solve a customer’s problem by designing a new widget is exactly a perfect fit!

Design Thinking

Again, my friend gave her son a huge gift toward his employability by encouraging him to supplement engineering classes with Design Thinking. Design Thinking is both a process and a set of tools. From the process perspective, Design Thinking teaches us to collaborate with fellow nerds, customers, and any function that will help solve the problem. From the tools point of view, Design Thinking gives us templates and techniques to elicit even the most obscure unarticulated customer needs.

At the core of Design Thinking is empathy – an understanding of the feelings, thoughts, and attitudes of another person. In the case of product development, the product development engineers build empathy for the customers by interviewing, shadowing, and observing their interactions with the product. When we understand the struggle that a customer has to open a package or assemble the parts, we improve the features and functions of that product.

For example, IKEA includes a small (cheap) hex wrench with its ready-to-assemble furniture (such as a bookshelf). The packaging is small (a benefit to customers and transportation) but only nerds have a full tool chest available to assemble a bookshelf. So, for most folks, the cheap hex wrench is a huge time-saver. Parts are clearly labeled and the visual instruction sheet from IKEA gives simple directions to assemble the parts using the tools (hex wrench) provided. Both the seller and buyer benefit – higher profit margins and enhanced perception of the product’s value.

Engineers and Design Thinking

Yes, nerds can serve the customer! Engineers are great at trouble-shooting and finding creative solutions to problems. Augmenting our technical training with customer empathy creates a superhero innovation leader.

If you don’t know the basic tools and process of design thinking, that’s okay. Register here for an interactive, online workshop, led by a full-fledged nerd.

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

What is WAGILE?

Posted on 01.28.21

WAGILE is an emerging approach to product innovation. You might ask, “Why do we need yet another, new approach to managing product development?” The answer is that every system has advantages and that over time, we can recognize process improvements. A secondary answer is more data-based. Studies indicate that revamping and revitalizing your new product development (NPD) process can not only enhance participation but yield improved results, such as creative solutions, time-to-market, and profitability.

Traditional NPD Processes

Organizations implement NPD processes to manage risk. Risk in innovation is more loosely defined than in traditional project management. Innovation professionals encounter risk from two perspectives: understanding the product or project requirements and developing the required technology. These are identified as “requirements uncertainty” and “technical uncertainty” in the figure.

A traditional NPD process, such as the staged-and-gated process, is designed primarily to manage investment risk. Each stage of work involves more resources but as the project advances through the various stages, technical risks are addressed. Each subsequent stage of work encounters less uncertainty. In this way, financial risk is minimized because there is little investment for small-scale experiments during initial stages and as more knowledge is gained, the investments will grow but with reduced uncertainty in the outcomes. Sometimes these processes are called “waterfall” since each step flows to the next; however, there is no easy way to go “backward” in the system.

To counter the bureaucracy that many large companies incorporate alongside traditional NPD processes, the Agile methodology intentionally leaves the overall requirements uncertain. Theoretically, the customer provides feedback after each incremental development step (called a “sprint”) so that the requirements uncertainty is reduced. A drawback of Agile is that real customers are often not included in the process. Further, it is difficult to determine when a project is “done” in terms of meeting market requirements.

What is WAGILE?

WAGILE is a hybrid process that blends the best of the traditional waterfall systems with Agile philosophy (“W” + “Agile”). The rigor of a staged-and-gated project management approach is coupled with required customer feedback in each phase. Incremental and iterative work within a stage allows innovation teams to adequately address design and development needs. Yet repeating a phase of work is done only when necessary. The WAGILE philosophy incorporates key ideas from these innovation approaches.

Move fast
Practice discipline
Understand risks
Engage customers
Provide autonomy

You can read more about the WAGILE Philosophy here.

WAGILE Roles

Roles and responsibilities are defined clearly for Agile processes, such as Scrum, as well as in traditional project management. Many of these roles are similar to those utilized in WAGILE. Some key roles and responsibilities for WAGILE are described below. You can read more about the WAGILE Roles here.

Project Leader: Somewhat like a traditional brand manager, the Project Leader in WAGILE is responsible for the overall product life cycle and drives product innovation.
Customer Representative: In Scrum, the product owner represents the voice of the customer. In WAGILE, the Customer Representative carries out this responsibility and helps to translate or articulate customer needs for the innovation team.
Team Leader: In many ways, the team leader in WAGILE is similar to a traditional project manager with tactical and operational responsibility for the execution of the project. Team leaders are servant leaders yet maintain autonomy for project decisions within the scope of the project.
Cross-Functional Team: Like all new product development teams, successful innovation under a WAGILE approach requires participation from all relevant departments and functions. Team members are generalist-specialists, as in an Agile approach and the core team maintains continuity throughout the project effort.

Some WAGILE Tools

WAGILE tools are based primarily on Design Thinking to incorporate customer feedback at each stage of development. Each individual WAGILE project will use several complementary tools to complete the work of a given phase. Depending on the scale, scope, and breadth of the innovation work, several tools are used at multiple points during development. A fundamental decision point in selecting feedback techniques is to use the data gathering, testing, and experimentation tools that provide the highest density of customer information. Read more about WAGILE Tools here – a list of some of my favorite tools follows.

Customer empathy map
Customer journey map
Affinity diagrams
Product Portfolio Management
Scrum board
Business model canvas
Paper prototypes

Benefits of WAGILE

Again, you might be asking, “Why do I need a new system to manage product development?” Often the NPD process becomes stale and the links to customer feedback become broken. You need WAGILE if you find your innovation teams bogged down in idea generation stages or if recent product launches are met with “ho-hum” market responses. The biggest benefit of WAGILE is that it is a flexible, risk-based process to get new products into competitive markets. We measure success of product innovation in WAGILE via market success: customer satisfaction, market share, and profitability.

What’s Next?

If you’d like to learn more about WAGILE, please join our WAGILE class on 18 and 19 February. We will dig deeper into each of these concepts. Your homework during the course allows you to begin transitioning to a more flexible and adaptable approach to innovation within the governance of a risk-adjusted process. For personalized problem-solving or customized training, contact me at [email protected] for innovation consulting.

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

About Me

I am inspired by writing, teaching, and coaching. I tackle life with an infusion of rigor, zeal, and faith. It brings me joy to help you build innovation leaders. Teresa Jurgens-Kowal is an experienced innovation professional with a passion for lifelong learning with a PhD in Chemical Engineering and an MBA in Computer and Information Decision Making. My credentials include PE (State of Louisiana), NPDP, PMP®, and CPEM, and I am a DiSC® certified facilitator. Contact me at [email protected] or area code 281 + phone 787-3979 for more information on coaching for entrepreneurs and innovators.

Unless otherwise indicated, images used under Creative Commons.

Wagile Tools

Posted on 09.24.20

For several weeks, we have been posting about the Wagile innovation process.

Wagile is a hybrid new product development (NPD) process that brings together the best of waterfall (“w‑”)project management systems with Agile systems used for software development (“‑agile”). The outcome is an innovation process that has a deep focus on customer needs while managing risk (investment) through a disciplined approach.

Product Innovation Tools

Most innovation processes include checklists of what has to be done and when. In a traditional staged-and-gated process, the business case must be completed in order to pass a certain gate. Market testing must be completed before going to market with a new product, etc. (Read more about product innovation tools here.)

Likewise, Scrum specifies a checklist of features (known as the “product backlog”) to complete during a sprint. Sprints are short periods of time in which the project team works on the list of tasks provided by the business. Tasks that are not finished in the prescribed two- to four-week period are added to the “sprint backlog” and rollover to the next sprint – akin to a never ending “To Do” list.

What’s missing in both the traditional waterfall and Agile processes is the “How To.” Of course, every project is unique and different. The fun and beauty of working in innovation is the variety and diversity of tasks, activities, and projects. Yet, each time we encounter a new situation, we can (and should) follow a given process to understand the situation (such as risk analysis) and to design solutions. In Wagile, we deploy a set of innovation tools to tackle the “how to” of each stage of work.

Wagile Stages and Gates

Wagile Stages and Wagile Gates are designed to involve the customer. After all, no innovation is valuable unless it meets a need in the marketplace and is saleable. Wagile tools use Design Thinking methods to gather customer insights and couple those inputs with measurable decision and performance standards. As a reminder the Wagile Stages and Gates are indicated here.

1: Opportunity Identification (Idea Gate)
2: Business Case (Functional Gate)
3: Technology Development (Technology Gate)
4: Scale-Up (Constructability Gate)
5: Production (Launch Gate)

Design Thinking Tools

To learn more about Design Thinking tools, read our previous post Tools for Product Innovation based on the work of Carlos Rodriguez (Delaware State University). Design Thinking is a customer-focused methodology to creatively and collaboratively solve customer problems. We involve the customer in defining problems and in creating solutions. We work collaboratively with cross-functional teams, both internally and externally. We ask questions and we listen.

Early in the Wagile product innovation process, we use observation and interviewing to gather customer insights. The Design Thinking tools of customer empathy map and customer journey map are deployed in Stage 1 (Opportunity Identification) to discover and define the customer problem. Download information on these tools here. An important outcome of the tools and activities in this stage is to determine if the gain for the customer is greater than the pain of acquiring and learning a new product.

An Example

I try to maintain a high level of fitness. I swim, bike, and lift weights. Recently, my husband got me a new Fitbit that allows me to track all exercises instead of just counting steps. It’s very convenient as I only have to select the correct icon, push start, and then press finish for each activity. And if I forget, the device automatically senses that I am cycling instead of running and tracks the calories burned.

However, I do not wear my new Fitbit when I go swimming. The pain is greater than the gain. Since swimming is still under the arbitrary restrictions of corona-panic, the pool is only open for 45 minutes at a time. My existing swim tracker records the number of laps, strokes per lap, efficiency, and calories burned. I would incur a transaction cost (lost time in the water) to calibrate my swim watch with the Fitbit. Right now, I view that cost as higher than the benefit (one device for all activities). Your customers will also weigh costs and benefits as they consider purchasing a new or updated upgraded product.

Design Tools in Wagile

Each stage in Wagile is defined to include specific tools to evaluate cost/benefit of an innovation. Design Thinking tools take the perspective of the customer. Later stages in Wagile use financial assessment tools (coupled with customer satisfaction measures) to determine cost/benefit from the company’s perspective. Remember organizations are in business to make money and deliver value to shareholders. Join me on 11 November for a Wagile tutorial and learn to apply Design Thinking tools in your innovation process! Register here.

Learn More

Check out where I’m speaking next (click here) and book me for your next event.
Get your copy of The Innovation ANSWER Book available at Amazon (now available on Kindle).
Vote on the cover of my next book, The Innovation QUESTION Book here.
Reference the new PDMA Body of Knowledge, available at Amazon.
Get your NPDP Certification! Join our October online class (Thursdays) following the brand new, 2^nd edition PDMA Body of Knowledge. REGISTER HERE!

About Me

I am inspired by writing, teaching, and speaking at great professional events. I tackle life with an infusion of rigor, zeal, and faith. It brings me joy to help you build innovation leaders. Teresa Jurgens-Kowal is an experienced innovation professional with a passion for lifelong learning with a PhD in Chemical Engineering and an MBA in Computer and Information Decision Making. My credentials include PE (State of Louisiana), NPDP, PMP®, and CPEM, and I am a DiSC® certified facilitator. Contact me at [email protected] or area code 281 + phone 787-3979 for more information on coaching for entrepreneurs and innovators.

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

The Wagile Stages

Posted on 09.17.20

This week’s blog continues our series on the Wagile product development process. Wagile is a hybrid of traditional waterfall (“w-”) and Agile (-“agile”) systems. The Wagile philosophy is to move fast, practice discipline, understand risk, engage customers, and provide autonomy.

Traditional Stages and Gates

In a conventional new product development (NPD) process, stages are defined intervals where work gets done. Gates are used as decision points – does the project advance to the next stage of work? The advantage of a staged-and-gated framework for innovation projects is the discipline of a structured system. Risk is managed because the investment in R&D or technology development is low when uncertainty is high (e.g. early stages).

A common complaint of traditional NPD processes is that the system becomes overly bureaucratic. Many managers recognize the inherent risk of innovation projects. So, in the view of a risk-averse person or entity, knowing all the answers and planning for all contingencies upfront should eliminate risk. Yet, this behavior drives costs of investigation and evaluation up without learning from failure. Failure is perceived negatively.

Scrum Artifacts and Meetings

Scrum, the most common implementation of Agile, uses increments of work called “sprints”. Rather than defining specific task completions as in the traditional staged-and-gated framework, sprints are defined by time. A typical Sprint last two to four weeks.

The team works with the organization’s business analysts to determine what work tasks they can accomplish during each Sprint. The idea is to have a deep focus on the highest priority features first.

Risk is managed in Scrum by developing a minimally viable product (MVP). The advantages that cost should be low by designing highest priority features early and avoiding “gold-plating” of products and services. A challenge in Scrum is to define “done”, and my many features end up with gold-plating anyway.

Another difference between Wagile and Scrum is when the team cannot complete the agreed-upon tasks within the sprint. Activities then rollover to the next sprint, creating a backlog. Sprint backlogs impact the overall project schedule and can cause delays in market launch.

Wagile Stages

As we discussed in an earlier post, the Wagile gates are decision points in a project to move forward. The plan for the next stage of work is approved at the gate review. Stages of work in Wagile have two boundaries: task completion and risk. Schedule or project budget serves as a proxy for risk. A stage is complete when either (1) the tasks are finished or (2) the schedule/budget is consumed. Every stage has a set of required activities (standard) and a set of specific questions related to the individual project. The Wagile stages are:

Opportunity Identification,
Business Case,
Technology Development,
Scale-Up, and
Production.

Wagile Stage Activities

A key differentiator for Wagile versus other innovation processes is customer focus. Stage-Gate™ was designed by Bob Cooper to include customer feedback but does not explicitly call it out. Scrum uses the role of the Product Owner to represent the voice of customer. Unfortunately, the Product Owner often presses internal demands for features and technology rather than the external needs of a target market. In Wagile, each stage requires customer interaction via the Customer Representative role, tools, and tests.

For example, in Stage 1 (Opportunity Identification), activities include Create, Trial, and Validate. Both Trial and Validation require customer feedback. These activities cannot be completed (or measured) without external data. At Stage 1, however, these data are qualitative for the most part.

Similarly, subsequent Wagile stages include required customer feedback activities of concept testing, technical functionality testing, prototype testing, and market testing. Wagile stages are complete only when customer feedback is recorded. In the situation where schedule or budget (project risk elements) are depleted before customer feedback is gathered, the project is re-evaluated through the Product Portfolio Management system. Often, challenges in gathering customer feedback are symptoms of an unattractive project.

Using Wagile

Wagile stages, like conventional NPD process stages, are where work gets done. Unlike a traditional system, recycle of activities and iteration of the new product or service idea is encouraged. On the other hand, Wagile varies from Scrum (which also encourages utilizes iterative design) by installing hard barriers associated with customer feedback and risk.

Ask yourself if your NPD process is balancing discipline with flexibility. Are you getting the expected results within the desired time frame? If not, it’s probably time to revamp your process. Research shows that revitalizing your product innovation process with industry best practices leads to continued success. And if you don’t have consistent customer feedback, flexibility, and discipline built into your NPD process, it’s time to become Wagile! Join me on 11 November for a Wagile tutorial and right-size your product innovation workflows. Register here.

Learn More

Learn more about Wagile Product Development in my Webcast with PDMA on 10 September (register here). Contact me at [email protected] for a complimentary 30-minute innovation coaching session.

Check out where I’m speaking next (click here) and book me for your next event.
Get your copy of The Innovation ANSWER Book available at Amazon (now available on Kindle).
Vote on the cover of my next book, The Innovation QUESTION Book here.
Reference the new PDMA Body of Knowledge, available at Amazon.
Get your NPDP Certification! Join our October online class (Thursdays) following the brand new, 2^nd edition PDMA Body of Knowledge. REGISTER HERE!

About Me

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

Product Development Fundamentals

Posted on 06.06.19

New product development (NPD) is a set of processes and systems that convert ideas into saleable products and services. Successful NPD means that those processes are simple, repeatable, and lead to profit. Nearly every organization – big or small – creates new products and services in order to stay competitive. But, to win the competition, the business must be successful at continuous NPD. As Peter Drucker said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”

Simple

NPD processes and systems must be simple to lead to repetitive success in innovation. As an engineer, I appreciate simplicity. The most elegant systems that humans have ever created are truly the least complicated. And as an engineer, I know that when a system breaks down, it is much quicker and easier to troubleshoot a simple system then a complex one.

Simple NPD processes include traditional staged-and-gated systems as well as emerging agile processes, like Scrum. A typical staged-and-gated system for innovation requires the NPD team to lay out goals and action plans for the next stage of work. A set of gatekeepers, will approve the course of work along with an appropriate budget and by assigning adequate resources. In this way, each stage of work is evaluated for risk and the gate reviews ensure progress on the project as the new product moves from idea to concept to prototype and, finally, to commercialization.

Scrum processes are also simple systems to develop new products. In this case, flexibility in design is valued and product specifications are varied to ensure customer satisfaction. Risk is managed via frequent customer feedback, and prototypes are created in parallel while the NPD team scopes the remainder of the project.

Repeatable

Regardless of whether an organization chooses to follow traditional staged-and-gated NPD systems or more flexible Scrum project management frameworks, innovation processes must be repeatable. Processes should repeatedly eliminate poor concepts early and rapidly advance the most promising ideas. Project advancement decisions are made on a consistent and predictable basis. As a result of repeatable innovation, investment in design and marketing is steady while new products grow in contribution to the overall product portfolio.

Profitability

I recently heard someone say that if you’re not making sales, you are just playing with a hobby. New product development must lead to business profits or the business will suffer. Of course, there is an expected time period in which the investment in design and development will exceed sales, but at some point, every successful product or service turns a profit.

As a kid, I really loved doing plastic canvas needlepoint. I made all kinds of cool items from coasters to tissue box covers and tic-tac-toe games. During the course of a summer, I completely saturated my mom, sisters, and grandmothers with my clever crafts. So, I put the rest up for sale at the shop of a family friend. After Christmas, half of my “wonderful” products came back to me. I made a teensy, tiny profit and learned the difference between a hobby and a business.

Fundamentals of Product Development

New product development requires three facets to be successful: simple processes, repeatable systems, and profitable endeavors. Without these three fundamentals an idea might be converted into a reality but not a commercial, saleable product.

To learn more about product development fundamentals, join our easy online course at www.simple-pdh.com. Learning about Product Development Fundamentals is the first step in your journey to becoming an innovation leader. Contact me for more information!

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple. r

Scrum in New Product Development

Posted on 05.24.18

One of the hottest topics in project management and product development today is Agile. Agile is a set of values that generate several different project management frameworks to increase productivity, customer satisfaction, and team morale. While agile methodologies are widespread in software and IT, they are only recently being adapted to the development of physical products.

The Agile Manifesto

The core values of the agile philosophy are reflected in The Agile Manifesto. This proclamation was produced by a group of software developers in 2001 in an attempt to improve speed-to-market and accuracy of product delivery.

The Agile Manifesto compares a preferred way of doing things in a project to the traditional way. So, while conventional project management tools, techniques, and procedures are not rejected outright, the agile philosophy recognizes a better and more efficient way to accomplish project tasks. These are shown on the left-hand side of the comparison statements, while conventional policies are shown the right-hand side.

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working products over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change instead of following a plan

Scrum

While there are literally dozens of implementations of the agile philosophy, the most commonly adopted framework for physical product development is Scrum. Scrum is an adaptative, flexible approach to projects that allows for iterative development and improves communication across a team and with the customer. Elements of Scrum fall into three categories: artifacts, tools, and roles.

Artifacts

A key artifact or process in Scrum is the idea of time-boxing. This produces a rhythm and cadence in the work and, for product development, helps to minimize risk. Several events are time-boxed or limited. The first is the sprint.

A sprint typically lasts two to four weeks and is a period of intense work for the product development team. Only a few, priority tasks are completed in each sprint so that the team maintains focus. For example, a sprint may be designed to gain customer insights through market research by conducting customer focus groups or testing a particular concept in a real environment. Sprint tasks re prioritized to bring the highest value to the project as early as possible. Thus, by keying in on a few, critical items early in the project, a new product can be designed with appropriate features that customers want and need.

A disadvantage of the sprint in physical product design is in the definition of “done”. Whereas a software project can deliver completed lines of code at the end of a sprint, physical product development sprints may deliver test results or qualitative market research. It may be useful to view the sprint as a learning period.

Other artifacts in Scrum include the daily stand-up meeting and retrospectives. I’d like to refer you to other posts and papers for more information on these artifacts.

What is Scrum? (blog post)
Scrum Roles (blog post)
What is Scrum? (full paper)

Tools

As indicated, the new product development (NPD) team works on gaining customer feedback or delivering a working feature during each sprint. A crucial decision-making tool for Scrum is the product backlog. This is loosely like a list of project requirements in a traditional phased and gated product development process.

The product backlog is developed at the beginning of a project and is constantly reviewed and updated (“groomed”) during the project life cycle. Product features and attributes, along with the most critical customer experiments are listed in rank order. Items from the product backlog are worked during any given sprint. The NPD team commits to only work on a product backlog item during a sprint which can be completed in the timeframe (e.g. 2 to 4 weeks). In this way, the highest business value items are worked first.

In physical product development, it is of high value to determine the business case for a new product as well as to test a minimally viable product (MVP). Market studies and technical experiments are often conducted int eh early sprints to determine customer need and product feasibility. Such knowledge-building activities are designed to eliminate uncertainty in the product development effort.

Scrum Roles

Three important roles in a Scrum project are the team, the Scrum Master, and the product owner. A cross-functional, co-located team does the work of the project during the time-boxed sprints. Close collaboration among team members is often cited as a reason for improved productivity in an agile project versus traditional staged and gated processes.

The Scrum Master is a bit like a project leader yet works in a service role more than a directional one. The team largely decides how to accomplish tasks during any given sprint while the Scrum Master interfaces with the customer, and removes roadblocks and obstacles facing the team in their daily work.

The product owner is a unique role in Scrum and a role that is frequently overlooked in practice of traditional NPD and project management processes. Product owners create the prioritized product backlog, making the decisions of which features are most important – and valuable – to the business and to the customer. It is the product owner who approves features and applications at the end of each sprint. NPD projects benefit from creating personas for the product owner to assume in this role.

Agile for NPD

While initially designed for software development, agile methodologies are gaining traction in NPD for physical, tangible product development. Often, the agile processes, like those in Scrum, are overlaid on a traditional NPD process. Learning cycles are especially important in the market and technology development of a new product.

Please contact me if you’d like a free pdf copy of the Scrum Body of Knowledge (SBOK). To learn more about applying agile to new product development management, check out self-study and other NPDP Workshops. Feel free to contact me at [email protected] or 281-280-8717. At Simple-PDH.com where we want to help you gain and maintain your professional certifications. You can study, learn, and earn – it’s simple!

Reading Recommendation

Stories of entrepreneurial success, like Airbnb, using agile techniques for new business are artfully included in The Creator’s Code and Barking Up the Wrong Tree (affiliate links). I also dedicate an entire chapter to traditional NPD processes in NPDP Certification Prep: A 24-Hour Study Guide, and you can find additional references at https://globalnpsolutions.com/services/npd-resources/. Some more great references on agile and Scrum are:

Essential Scrum by Kenneth Rubin
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
Effective Project Management by Robert Wysocki
Being Agile by Leslie Ekas and Scott Will
Making Sense of Agile Project Management by Charles Cobb

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

A division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

The Pros and Cons of Traditional NPD Systems

Posted on 05.17.18

If you enjoy our blog, be sure to check out the reading recommendations at the end for more information.

New product development (NPD) is most successful when a systematic process is utilized to create repetitive product or service commercialization. “Success” means hitting a sales volume target or profitability goal. In benchmarking studies, “success” also means that a firm is among the top performer for innovation in its industry.

The benefit of a systematic NPD process is that everyone throughout the firm, and including customers and suppliers, understands the status of a project in progress, the steps required for technical and market development, and the necessary market approvals. NPD processes do not have to be complicated and certainly should not be onerous, but the must ensure that each project is reviewed consistently and fairly. Moreover, NPD processes must be applied to every innovation idea, concept, and prototype within the firm. The most common NPD process is the Stage-Gate™ model, designed by Robert Cooper and documented in his famous book, Winning at New Products.

Benefits of a Stage-Gate Model

In a traditional stage-gate model for new product development, work on the product is done in “stages” and decisions are made at “gates”. About 80% of US companies use a stage-gate model for innovation today. Various incarnations of phased and gated models are utilized for traditional engineering and construction projects as well.

A key benefit of a phased process model, like a stage-gate system, is that investment risk is minimized. Relatively few dollars are committed in the early stages to study market opportunities and ideas. If the options prove out, then more money is invested to build prototypes and conduct customer tests. Then, if these experiments are also positive, further investment occurs to build or enhance manufacturing facilities and to formally commercialize the product. At any point in the process, a project can be killed if the tests do not return expected outcomes. In this way, the investment in any given idea is minimized and risk-adjusted.

Steps in a Traditional NPD System

A traditional NPD process, like a stage-gate system, is considered a “waterfall” approach to project management. As water flows downhill, it cannot flow uphill to return from whence it came. Likewise, once a step in the stage-gate framework is completed and funding is consumed, it is not easy to go back and repeat a prior step. However, the purpose of the gate decisions is to validate prior work on the project and to approve future plans. Assuming that all work is accurate, there should be no need to repeat earlier steps. Waterfall processes require that upfront planning and requirements are correct at the beginning of each phase. Traditional phases in an NPD process are as follows.

Stage 1 – Opportunity identification
Stage 2 – Concept generation
Stage 3 – Concept testing
Stage 4 – Technical development
Stage 5 – Product launch and commercialization

In the “fuzzy front end,” investment is not high as there are typically no physical assets involved. The work done in these early phases (Stages 1 through 3) involves gathering market and customer insights, testing proofs and prototypes, and narrowing design characteristics of the new product.

Cautions in Deploying Stage-Gate Models

As with any waterfall process, the biggest disadvantage of stage-gate systems is the upfront planning. In theory, a traditional NPD process is designed to test customer feedback and gather end-user insights during each phase of work. Market attractiveness and customer need are major criteria reviewed at gates, and a project must deliver positive results for a project to pass a gate and move to the next stage. Customer interactions are built into the work and the approvals of each phase of NPD work.

In practice, however, many firms are sloppy in customer testing. After all, a lot of smart people work in the R&D department and have the greatest knowledge of technical advances in their field. Further, just asking a customer what s/he wants in a next generation product does not yield insights into disruptive innovations. And, finally, we often work on NPD projects that flow through the system because a high-level manager thinks the idea is great, even though there is not one iota of supporting data.

A traditional stage-gate system works for NPD. But, senior management must make tough and honest decisions at the gates. Projects that won’t deliver expected commercial value or solve a customer’s needs must be killed. Oddball product ideas that show promise must be nurtured, even if they appear to be outside the standard operating mantra of the firm.

Airbnb is an example of a new platform that pressed forward even when faced with multiple innovation and sales challenges. Customer insights were positive in concept tests and the market need was genuine. Tweaking how properties were photographed allowed Airbnb to move out of the technical development stage and into widespread, successful commercialization.

Traditional Stage-Gate Models in NPD

Traditional waterfall processes are successful in brining new ideas to market. A stage-gate system minimizes investment risk because each stage of work is carefully matched to escalating goals and objectives. When customer insights and feedback are held as sacred gate pass criteria, a traditional stage-gate system yields repetitive market successes.

To learn more about new product development management, check out self-study and other NPDP Workshops. Feel free to contact me at [email protected] or 281-280-8717. At Simple-PDH.com where we want to help you gain and maintain your professional certifications. You can study, learn, and earn – it’s simple!

Reading Recommendations

One of my favorite new books on innovation strategy is The Power of Little Ideas by David C. Robertson and Kent Lineback. Of course, anyone interested supporting a repetitive NPD process should read Bob Cooper’s Winning at New Products and New Product Forecasting by Ken Kahn. Stories of entrepreneurial success, like Airbnb, are artfully included in The Creator’s Code and Barking Up the Wrong Tree (affiliate links). I also dedicate an entire chapter to NPD processes in NPDP Certification Prep: A 24-Hour Study Guide, and you can find additional references at https://globalnpsolutions.com/services/npd-resources/.

Stage-Gate™ is a trademark of Stage-Gate International

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

A division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Components of Learning

Posted on 12.01.16

Learning is a lifelong activity. An article in the newspaper relays information from recent studies documenting links between physical exercise, learning, and mental health in the elderly. Lifelong learning bridges our knowledge and experience from the vast array of times and events in our lives. Learning prepares us for the next step in our careers and in our lives.

For learning to be effective, it must contain and deliver three aspects: content, access, and technology. Professionals who gain certifications and credentials master these three perspectives of learning. To maintain a professional certification, learning again engages through these three arenas so the candidate can earn PDHs or CEUs (professional development hours or continuing education units).

Content

You’ve probably heard that the volume of information and data doubles at an astounding rate – faster than ever in the history of mankind. In just two years, they say, the amount of information ever created doubled from the beginning of time. Consequently, for a busy professional, knowing where to find information, that is meaningful knowledge, can be a challenge. Studies also show that knowledge retention decline precipitously if the information is not delivered when and how it is needed.

Today, anyone learning a new skill or refreshing basic competencies expects compelling content. That content should be delivered so learners engage as many of their senses as possible. This includes seeing (reading, viewing video), hearing (podcasts), and touching (writing, sketching). As more senses are involved in the learning activity, the retention will increase.

All of our online courses at Simple-PDH.com include lessons to engage these different learning styles, such as reading, watching videos, listening to podcasts, and taking quizzes. Online learning can be supplemented by face-to-face workshops where professional have opportunities to practice their skills in a non-threatening environment. Often, busy professionals cannot find time during a typical workday to test new management theories. An offsite training course provides the chance to apply knowledge in a risk-free environment with other like-minded individuals.

Access

Online learning has huge benefits for students and professionals. Content is available 24/7 and is accessible in whatever format a candidate needs. Learners can switch from a laptop to a cell phone and then to a tablet to complete an online learning module. Having lessons available on digital devices, like smartphones, offers a quick reference in the field as well; thus supporting learning when and where knowledge is needed.

Maintaining professional certification is simple when the information is broken into small chunks. A lot of people are too busy to book two hours per period for continuing education. But, these same people can fill 10 minutes of waiting time with learning. Online PDH courses break the content into small tasks on lessons, typically less than three (3) minutes each.

For candidates that require a deep dive into a new topic, labs and workshops offer access to knowledge and experiences shared in a classroom setting. Peer-to-peer knowledge sharing, known as “social learning,” is an effective way to increase knowledge retention. We remember the stories we hear and share in the classroom.

Technology

Finally, learning has been irrevocably changed by technology. Just 20 years ago, when I was in college, the professor wrote on a chalkboard and students took laborious notes in spiral binders. Advanced technology at the time included overhead projectors.

Today, technology assists learning in many ways. As indicated above, online learning delivers content to a candidate on his/her mobile device, transferring seamlessly between computer and classroom. Technology allows us to access the different learning modalities – seeing, hearing, and touch – in order to improve knowledge retention.

Yet, technology can be a hindrance to learning. We are easily distracted by ads and instant messaging while viewing internet content of any kind. Our attention spans have shrunk as we expect to be entertained and we quickly make that decision within a couple of seconds of loading a new web page. Consequently, technology can assist learning but it is not learning in and of itself.

Learning Components

If you want to learn a new capability or refresh an existing skill, you must consider three components to increase your knowledge. First, the content must engage as many senses as possible. Many subject matter experts possess great knowledge and experience in their trade but cannot adequately translate that information. Candidates for professional certification should look for courses (online or face-to-face) that provide opportunities to see, hear, and interact with learning materials. Particularly important to earning and maintaining professional credentials is an opportunity to practice the new skills.

Next, knowledge must be accessible. At Simple-PDH, our online course materials are available on your laptop or mobile device. Our classroom workshops provide reference material to check when you are back in the office facing a new situation. And, we are available to answer questions and share our experiences from the School of Hard Knocks.

Finally, technology can enhance the learning experience but it is not a substitute for well-built lessons. Our knowledge base is supplemented by carefully selected videos and podcasts to encourage multi-modal learner engagement. While our online courses rely on technology as a primary means of delivering information, our labs and workshops still ask you to use pen and paper, role-playing, and active discussion among other simple exercises to cement new concepts into your behaviors as a manager.

Lifelong learning is an adventure. We need to continue to learn to preserve our mental health as we age and to be successful on the job right now. Learning new skills presents challenges to advance our careers and professional performance. At Simple-PDH, learning is convenient and affordable. It’s simple to study, learn, and earn!

information on project management certification. At Simple-PDH.com, we want to make it convenient and affordable for you to study, learn, and earn your professional certification.

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

by Global NP Solutions, LLC