engineering manager

What Does Leadership Look Like?

Posted on 07.30.20

Years ago, I recall sitting in a conference room with a senior engineer. He spent a great deal of time sharing with me and other junior staff that we could – and should – be leaders. He went on to tell us that we did not have to be managers to be leaders. The very next month, I was promoted to my first supervisory role.

To be completely honest, I was devastated at being promoted. I am not an emotional person (think Spock), but I went home and cried. What did the company think of me if they were making me a supervisor? Wasn’t I smart enough? Why had I spent all those years working hard to achieve high ratings at the company? Was my graduate research in chemical engineering meaningless?

Later, I came to realize that instead of thinking I was dumb, the company valued my ability to work with diverse groups of people. They appreciated my aptitude to quickly understand data and make a logical decision. I also learned that in a managerial role, I was naturally exposed to more technologies and opportunities to learn. I have an insatiable appetite for education and learning, so being a manager was ultimately a good fit!

Leadership Characteristics

While I was initially upset at my promotion, I have since (many times over) tried to evaluate what traits I demonstrated so that my boss trusted me with leading others. I have also looked at all my bosses over time and other managers and leaders in lots of organizations since then. There are several characteristics that help someone become a successful leader.

Be A Good Listener

I know my husband would say I talk too much, but being a good listener is an important trait for leaders. For those of us with technical backgrounds, we often jump to a conclusion early in the conversation and want to shout out the answer. We also crave recognition for our clever and smart approaches to problem-solving. Thus, we are excited to offer solutions.

Yet, great leaders don’t make judgments or put forth their own ideas first. Great leaders listen to their team members. We ask subject matter experts (SMEs) to present their technical arguments and opinions, including risk assessments before making a decision. The higher up the ranks you go as a manager, the further away from the facts and data you get. It’s important to trust (but verify) information from your staff.

Demonstrate Compassion

For a lot of people, compassion comes easy. As a kid, I would have called them “bleeding hearts”. Just give me the data and let’s get moving! But as a young supervisor, I learned that compassion is one of the differences between being a manager and a leader.

While I still prefer clear, logical data and a simple plan of action, I now also recognize that other people do not live in a Vulcan world. Some people make decisions based solely on emotion (eek!). Some people will only process data when they understand how a decision will impact other people.

One tool that has helped me comprehend the differences among leadership and teamwork styles is the DiSC® Assessment. DiSC shows that people have different core working styles leading to various speed of decision-making and varying levels of “compassion”. Please contact me at [email protected] for additional information on DiSC and a free one-hour work style coaching session.

Weather the Storm

Finally, leaders must be prepared to weather the storm. The big puzzle is that we cannot predict when, where, or what storm will hit. This means leaders, especially innovation leaders, must be flexible, adaptable, and patient. Understanding the risks and benefits of our decisions allows us to move forward regardless of the circumstances.

Leaders will face setbacks and failures. In innovation and new product development (NPD), technologies will fail and potential customers won’t like the final design. The difference between a leader and manager is how we deal with the failure – e.g. how we weather the storm.

43693592 – dollar boat in the bad weather

Innovation leaders recognize the opportunity to learn while a manager will entrench to a risk-averse position. An effective innovation leader will evaluate the data and decide whether to redesign the new product feature or to abandon the project. A manager will selfishly worry about his bonus and reputation if there is another product failure. A leader rallies the team after a setback, but a manager punishes his staff for the failure

What Does Leadership Mean?

What does leadership mean to you? Do you think there is a difference between management and leadership? How do you view characteristics of listening, compassion, and failure?

Each day, week, and year, I hope I add wisdom with passing time. Today, instead of crying and feeling disappointed at a promotion, I would ask what could I learn and what outcomes did my boss expect? Leadership is a learning experience.

Read more about innovation leadership in The Innovation ANSWER Book and in the recently released PDMA Body of Knowledge (2^nd ed.) where I had the privilege to lead an innovative and diverse team.

Learn More

Check out where I’m speaking next (click here).
Get your copy of The Innovation ANSWER Book available at Amazon (now available on Kindle).
Reference the new PDMA Body of Knowledge, available at Amazon.
Do you know your strategy? Is it time to narrow your focus or expand to serve more customers? Join me for the two-part Reset Your Strategy workshop on 18 and 20 August. Register here – special discounts for the unemployed.

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

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.

Managing Team Skills

Posted on 10.18.18

Every team leader is challenged to balance productivity and growth. We can increase a team’s output by increasing the skills of each team member and we can ensure growth through learning. Many believe that a team composed of workers with only the highest capabilities will be able to produce at the highest levels.

In reality, teams need to have a diverse set of experiences and competencies to achieve the highest levels of growth. When some team members are learning the basics and others are sharing their mastery of skills, both growth and productivity accelerate.

Learning S-Curves

In her book, Build an A-Team, Whitney Johnson describes the learning curves as “S-Curves” in which a person’s competency is low as they first begin learning something new. Over time, s/he accumulates knowledge and practice so that capabilities are enhanced. After a few months on the job, rapid growth and learning take place so that the individual builds expertise.

This building of knowledge and expertise occurs in the steep part of the S-curve. Johnson indicates the learning and growth period lasts about 3-4 years in a typical job. When a person has mastered the tasks and developed deep, instinctional insight about the job, s/he has mastered the task set. Learning slows as shown by the flat part of the S-curve.

Challenging and Individual

Individuals need constant challenges to grow and learn. New challenges create opportunities for people to build new capabilities and competencies. Depending on how near or far the news skills are from their currently assigned tasks, a person may climb a new S-curve every few years.

It is incumbent upon managers and team leaders to ensure that each direct report is being adequately challenged to learn and grow. For individuals new to the team, a leader will work with them to ensure fundamental concepts are developed at the low end of the S-curve. For people that have served an intermediate term on the team, a leader will continue to offer new skills and learning opportunities. These individuals, on the steep parts of the S-curve, are hungry for more information and they energetically tackle task and activities that give them the chance to learn and demonstrate new skills and capabilities.

Leaders also must recognize the team members who have achieved mastery and expertise. These folks at the upper end of the learning curve are ready to transfer job tasks to others because they are getting bored with their routine assignments. The predictability of tasks and lack of new challenges can actually affect productivity in a negative way. Leaders must be careful to encourage new learning for the experts on the team so that these people don’t’ get “burned out” by doing the same thing over and over again.

Team Composition

Regardless of whether you team is co-located, virtual, or dispersed, you want to maximize productivity and growth. Growth of the team often depends on the growth of the individuals. Productivity of the team depends on the interactions of the whole team.

In her book, Whitney Johnson recommends composing the team of 15% or less newbies, 5-15% experts, and the balance in the growth stage. You should be able to assess and plot the skills development stage and competencies of your team members to show a composite S-curve for the team.

The benefits of this team structure are numerous, especially for innovation. First, creativity is often stifled by expertise. The jaded, old players think they’ve seen every problem and know every answer. The new team members bring a fresh perspective to problem-solving whether this is a youthful viewpoint or from experiences in other industries and companies. Balancing the newbies at the low end of the S-curve with the experts at the high end of the curve can increase and speed creativity.

Second, having a balance of experts and capable team members can increase productivity. Successful new product development (NPD) requires a lot of concept testing and validation with customers. When the bulk of the team members are on the growth part of the S-curve, they are anxious to learn and incorporate real-world feedback. Unlike the newbies, these individuals only need coaching form the experts and can handle task implementation independently.

Next, many experts view their legacy as teaching the next generation. This is a perfect fit for the masters on a team who are few in number but can spread and share their talents to hep both the novices and intermediates learn. Storytelling helps to transform the organization’s tacit knowledge through the experts, further spurring growth on the team.

Finally, team leaders can fully delegate portions of the NPD project to the experts. This frees the team leader from administrative tasks and offers new challenges to the masters. Such new opportunities in management and leadership can put the expert on a new learning curve so that s/he remains engaged and productive.

Applying Team Learning Curves

My husband is a really smart electrical engineer. He ahs just wrapped dup his second major project in 10 years, designing, installing, testing, and commissioning high voltage substations for petrochemical plants. Doing these types of projects has led to recognition of his expertise and skills at his company. Sometimes, though he shows signs of being bored, telling me that he has to explain all the project steps to his manager who is less technically skilled.

Luckily, some of his mentors have also recognized his position on the learning S-curve as a master. They have assigned him to a new project with many of the same tasks but with different players and different project constraints in a new environment (greenfield construction vs. existing plant facilities). This gives him an opportunity to start a new learning S-curve, transfer tacit knowledge to newer engineers, and remain a productive growing team member.

Moreover, the team has some novices and some individuals with intermediate skills. Those with intermediate skills have competencies and capabilities in tangential areas (medium voltage) so are highly product as they aspire toward new learning too.

Team Productivity and Growth

All teams need to balance productivity and growth. Deadlines always are looming, so the team’s output is important, especially for innovation and NPD work. Individual growth is also crucial, so people can learn and acquire new skills. Yet, individual growth is close-coupled with the team’s maturity and growth on a learning S-curve.

To learn more, we discuss and diagnose your team’s capabilities and professional growth along the learning S-curve in Virtual Team Training. This training is built on the Virtual Team Model as featured in PDMA Essentials Volume 3 (published October 2018). We also incorporate elements of Ken Blanchard’s Situational Leadership model to help you accelerate your team’s productivity and growth. 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!

Note that VTM self-study is included in the Innovation Master Mind (IMM) membership. IMM is a 6-month peer coaching group that allows you to extend your NPD knowledge beyond NPDP certification and to collaborate with other CIOs and innovation managers. We also offer independent coaching and consulting to new leaders or teams anywhere on the S-curve!

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

A division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Seeking Alignment

Posted on 10.04.18

Innovation managers, project leaders, and engineering directors are all charged with seeking alignment in an organization. But, what does “alignment” mean and how do you do it?

Strategic Alignment

All successful companies have a strategy. The strategy comprises the mission, vision, and values of the firm. It describes the purpose for being in business, beyond making a profit and delves into how the organization can influence the world around it. A strategy describes what work will be done, how it will be done, and when it will be done.

Anyone working for a company in a role of new product development (NPD), in R&D, or in market research, must clearly understand the corporation’s overall strategic mission and act accordingly. This is the heart of “strategic alignment”.

Each project that is undertaken will have its own set of goals and objectives, yet these expected outcomes must align and support the overall mission of the firm. A project that adds language and accessibility features is supporting the company goals that seek to grow international sales. A new product project that uses less expensive raw materials is aligned with the firm’s operational objectives to minimize manufacturing costs.

Innovation, NPD, and R&D managers are most successful when they can translate the high-level organizational strategies into tactical and operational goals. These objectives then drive project selection and execution.

Aligning Resources

Certainly, it is the responsibility of project, engineering, and functional managers to execute projects with fiscal accountability. It is also a project manager’s objective to deliver the scope of work on-time. And while financial and equipment resources are important, long-term innovation success depends on the human resources dedicated to growing and improving.

People are generally split in action between taking creative risks and making predictable bets. Innovation requires a balance, too, and a trade-off among variables that lead to radical innovation and those that support the existing business. Managers and leaders must encourage new ideas, yet screen concepts for profitability.

Managing teams is a tough task because with micromanagement or in applying too much process structure, we can stymie the creation of new ideas. New ideas provide competitive advantage and build customer satisfaction. On the other hand, many managers believe that giving too much free rein to teams can lead to chaos in the endless churn of problem-identification and infinite brainstorming.

Thus, aligning resources requires balancing team member strengths with project objectives. Using the tools of the Virtual Team Model (VTM), for example, can help a leader identify which individuals are novices and which are experts. The leader can pair these people to create customer solutions that are both novel and practical. Meanwhile, the transfer of tacit organizational knowledge occurs flawlessly – and almost magically – as a mentor coaches a new team member.

Customer Satisfaction and Alignment

Our final topic in seeking alignment is built form customer satisfaction. In innovation, we seek customer alignment through design thinking. Design thinking is a collaborative approach to new product development that focuses on customer empathy to create the best solutions to a problem. Tools in design thinking include in-depth customer observation and experimenting with various possible solutions.

A lot of products fail in a marketplace because the customer is not involved in the process. Successful innovators align product development efforts with consumers and end-users. The process of immersing the innovation team in the customer’s situation allows deep insights that clarify the definition of the true problem. For example, by observing people change tapes or CDs frequently, Apple noted customers wanted to have more variety of music available on their portable devices. Then, through rapid experimentation, the found consumers were willing to trade-off sound quality for more selection. It is only through such close observation of users that customer alignment is achieved.

The Crucial Business of Alignment

Sometimes it is fun to be the dissenting voice at a party. And sometimes it is adventurous to take the less-travelled pathway. But, typically, being aligned with the group will reap the largest rewards.

Alignment in business leads to the greatest rewards, too. From an innovation perspective, strategic alignment leads to greater financial success since NPD programs take advantage of opportunities and strengths within the firm to outpace the competition. These results depend on resource alignment, so managers and leaders must create job opportunities that build on employees’ and team members’ skills. Successful innovation teams are diverse yet strive for a common goal.

Finally, the most successful innovators align NPD with customer wants and needs. Observation and rapid experimentation demonstrate customer collaboration in the design process yielding faster time-to-market and higher levels of consumer satisfaction.

Learn More

There are two ways to learn more about aligning business goals with innovation. First, New Product Development Professional (NPDP) certification addresses best practices in innovation from devising a business strategy to idea generation and to market research for product concept testing. Second, CIOs, NPD leaders, and R&D managers who are committed to taking their innovation program to the next level must participate in the Innovation Master Mind (IMM). IMM is a 6-month peer coaching group that allows you to extend your NPD knowledge beyond NPDP certification and to collaborate with other CIOs and innovation managers. You will realize improved efficiency and growth from our Life Design Master Mind (LDMM), IMM, or through NPDP certification which entails a deep dive into strategy and NPD processes, including design thinking. 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!

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

A division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Principles of Integrated Product Development

Posted on 07.05.18

Integrated Product Development (IPD) is a framework to help management and active project teams reach innovation goals. Originating in government systems, IPD is a management theory that promotes simultaneous integration of multi-disciplinary teams and concurrent engineering. By utilizing the life cycle concept of development and involving all team members early in the design phases, products are more customer-focused and achieve operability objectives with less rework and waste.

When new product development (NPD) processes are characterized in two dimensions – management philosophy and team structure – IPD is considered an integrated waterfall system. IPD processes, such as systems engineering, rely heavily on documentation and formal reviews. These gateways must be passed before a project can move to the next phase. Thus, IPD systems are typical examples of waterfall processes.

On the other hand, because IPD processes take advantage of cross-functional teams, they are characterized by integrated team structures. Team members from purchasing, maintenance, and other services participate in early design phases alongside the R&D, development, engineering, and marketing departments.

There are eleven principles supporting IPD.

#1 – Understand Customer Needs

As in any product or process development system that is successful, customer needs must be determined upfront. Most IPD processes, like systems engineering and project management, place emphasis on gathering complete customer requirements early in the development effort. Customer requirements include desired functionality and quality.

#2 – Plan and Manage the Product Development Effort

Planning any product development project should address overall, long-term strategic goals. IPD adds a focus to the specific business and innovation plans as well as longer range technology acquisition and development.

#3 – Use Integrated Teams

It should be apparent that in a rapid development environment that cross-functional teams better serve project efficiency. Manufacturing and maintenance participation during development of product specifications can smooth the transition to production and facilitate quality implementation. Empowered project teams will take ownership of the product goals, resulting in a more successful commercialization.

#4 – Integrated Process Design

As indicated, manufacturing, purchasing, and customer service personnel should be involved with product design. Excluding support disciplines when setting requirements and design specifications can reduce the product’s performance and result in costly delays. Worse yet, problems encountered post-launch are more difficult to resolve if the support staff is unfamiliar with the product. By integrating all disciplines in the design effort, product performance is optimized over its life cycle.

#5 – Manage Cost from the Beginning

An additional advantage of using integrated teams (principle #3) and integrated process design (principle #4) is that a product’s life cycle cost is more accurate. Target new product costs should be set early in the requirements phase and the project should be managed within this constraint. Early phase design changes are less expensive and effective planning can help to manage non-recurring development expenses.

#6 – Involve Stakeholders Early

Products are not commercialized without external project participants. IPD stresses that by involving vendors, suppliers, distributors, and other stakeholders early in the design process can reduce cost and development schedules. Understanding vendor limitations and capabilities enhances the team’s ability to predict cost and time-to-market.

#7 – Develop Robust Designs

One of the reasons an IPD system is successful in product development is that the process drives toward optimized and robust designs. Many tools are available for the teams, such as design of experiments, failure mode and effects analysis, and lessons learned reviews. Risk in product development is minimized by applying knowledge from past experiences and by tapping into the broad backgrounds of the cross-functional team members.

#8 – Integrated CAD/CAM Tools

Today much of product development and design can be done digitally. These tools, like computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacture (CAM), should be utilized fully in cross-functional product development efforts. IPD systems emphasize modeling not only for the product but also for construction, manufacturing, engineering, and maintenance. Computer-aided design tools can streamline development processes.

#9 – Simulate the Product Performance and Manufacturing

Building on the use of computer-aided engineering tools (principle #8), IPD processes utilize simulation for quality control and performance validation. Checking for variations in digital mock-ups can save cost in construction and maintenance. Today, 3D printing models are relatively inexpensive to produce and can help to validate product and operational variables early in the design process as well as to garner customer feedback.

#10 – Create an Efficient Development Approach

One rule of project management teaches us that as the number of team members grows, the number of communication channels can nearly double. Efficient development teams should be limited to the required number of participants to make decisions. Policies, procedures, and paperwork ought to be minimized for the team to focus on the product development goals. Empowered teams (principle #3) can reach higher performance levels when unencumbered by bureaucracy.

#11 – Continuously Improve the Design Process

IPD systems encourage improvement by re-engineering the design process to eliminate activities that do not add value. Benchmarking other NPD processes and industry participants sets objective goals for life cycle development and time-to-market standards. Team members should be trained in innovation and these IPD principles to recognize waste and opportunities for improvement.

IPD Principles

The goal of IPD is to minimize later stage design changes, reduce project risks, and keep costs low. By incorporating these 11 principles into an IPD process, a company can realize the benefits of full life cycle design alongside the efficiency of multi-disciplinary teams.

To learn more about innovation processes, please 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

One of my favorite new books on innovation is The Power of Little Ideas by David C. Robertson and Kent Lineback. Another good book focusing on customer perspectives is Strategy from the Outside In by George Day and Christine Moorman. We also discuss application of strategy via disruptive innovation in NPDP Certification Prep: A 24-Hour Study Guide, and you can find additional references at https://globalnpsolutions.com/services/npd-resources/.

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

A division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Three Elements of Service Design

Posted on 09.21.17

Product, project, and engineering development today are more than just designing features and functions. Customers across the global spectrum expect fantastic service to be fully satisfied with a product purchase. Moreover, in many instances, in product, project, and engineering management, our only product is a service.

Superior service doesn’t happen by accident. Organizations need to consider a service design strategy and train employees on acceptable behaviors to deliver consistent customer service experiences. WE can borrow the ideas from “Woo, Wow, and Win” by Thomas Stewart and Patricia O’Connell to name three important elements of exceptional service design:

Every customer is not right,
Customer service should be consistent, and
You’re never done.

Every Customer is Not Right

We’ve all heard the old adage that “the customer is always right.” Innovation for service must recognize the fallacy of this statement. First, we know that we do not design products and services for all customers. We develop new products and undertake engineering projects for a specific target audience. Not all customers are right for every organization and certainly customers are not always right.

The latter point is especially relevant as a firm scales its product and service offering from niche, early adopters to a majority market. Features and functionalities desired by an early user can be more complex and less refined than those necessary to be successful in a mass market. Firms need to utilize feedback from early adopters to initially develop a new product, yet the design must be streamlined for cost-effective manufacturing as the product transitions to the mainstream. The initial customers might be “right” to want you to add advanced technology to their product, but they may no longer be the “right” customers.

Customer Service Should Be Consistent

Consider the last time you stayed at a really nice, luxury hotel. The lobby shines and the staff are formally dressed, offering polite comments as you check in and transfer your luggage to your suite. The room itself may be quite plush with thick carpet and fluffy pillows. Bath products include aromatherapy scents to relax and calm you after a long day.

Yet, you’d also like to get an ice-cold soda so you consult the (faux?) leather-bound guide book on the desk. Ugh! The ice machine is on another floor, all the way down the hall. The soda and candy machines are on another, different floor and the room is barren, noisy, and dirty. Your shoes stick to the floor where someone has obviously spilled something and the trash can is overflowing. The ambiance is ruined.

Organizations need to provide a reliable, consistent customer service experience. One way to ensure that service delivery is predictable is to use the service yourself. Managers should go shopping at their retail outlets to understand and empathize with an ordinary customer. The service experience should be consistent through all levels of the company.

Employees across the board should be trained to understand the service experience and the overall standards expected in the business. Nothing should be outside of anyone’s job. Front desk clerks should tour the hotel to check for consistent “messaging”. If trash left in the hotel lobby is unacceptable, a dirty snack and ice room or guest laundry room is also unacceptable. Each employee must also be empowered to make decisions (within the bounds of a set of standards and guidelines) that ensure a consistent, reliable, and satisfying customer experience for all.

You’re Never Done

One of my favorite philosophies of quality management is “kaizen,” or the idea that you must continuously strive to improve. This is more than true in customer service design! Especially in a world of social media, customer service matters.

A company that can provide consistent and reliable customer service will excel ahead of its competitors. But the race never ends. Consumers expect more and your competitors will add features and services to try to gain market share.

Companies must continually benchmark against their top industry competitors to maintain exceptional service standards. The best firms will also benchmark and study top firms in other industries to learn what works best. For years, REI (a sporting goods cooperative) has taken returns with no questions asked. Zappos, a relatively new online shoe retailer, learned from this policy and offers shoe returns with no questions asked.

You’re never done and translating a customer experience success from one industry to another can keep your firm ahead of the competition.

Service Design Principles

Product, project, and engineering managers today are faced with satisfying a more selective and differentiating group of customers than ever. Features and technology functions will only get you so far. Service can make the difference to fully satisfy customer expectations and to lead the competition. Exceptional service is built on choosing the right customers, delivering consistent and reliable service, and recognizing that you’re never done.

You can learn more about service design and strategy in an NPDP workshop where we discuss specific marketing tools and techniques for new product development. Contact me at [email protected] or 281-280-8717 to enroll in a free NPDP overview course or any of our newly scheduled PMP, Scrum, or NPDP workshops in Houston as well as our online PDH courses. 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!

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

A division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

How Customers Measure Quality

Posted on 06.08.17

I recently bought a new set of towels for my master bath. Like a good project and engineering manager, I first researched the differences between Egyptian and Turkish cotton as well as other common features and attributes of towels. Because I was choosing a very dark color, I read blogs on colorfast towels and I considered the life of my previous towels in making a decision.

You see, I wanted a set of quality towels. But what is quality? My definition of quality has to do with colorfastness and long life as well as softness. In my research, I learned that many people also care about how fast a wet towel will dry and how much it will shrink after multiple laundering cycles. Each customer defines quality differently!

Of course, as product, project, and engineering managers, we have to deliver quality products and services to a vast array of customers. We do have to define quality in measurable terms so we can design and develop products and the processes to manufacture these goods. A towel may have to be designed with a trade-off between softness and ability to dry quickly after use. Which feature do you select to sell your towel as a “quality” product?

Two Elements of Quality

Quality is always defined in the eyes of the customer. Groups of customers typically seek similar features. One group of customers wants really soft towels. Another wants the towels to dry quickly. And yet another group of customers desires the colors to not fade over time.

We can group customers into “target markets” to better understand their needs. We can then match customer needs to our product development and manufacturing capabilities. New products will deliver features and attributes desired in at least one target market at an acceptable price point. By matching customer needs and design capabilities, firms can normally ensure a profitable endeavor.

Yet, how is quality measured by these target customers? Quality is defined by two elements: customer satisfaction and customer expectations.

Customer Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is a quantitative definition of quality. A firm can measure and validate customer satisfaction through market research methods and tools. For example, a survey of customers who recently purchased towels may determine their level of satisfaction with the color choices, pricing, and softness. If the company is falling short in any of these areas, they can evaluate whether a new product development (NPD) project is in order to bridge the gap in customer satisfaction. Alternatively, the company may need to re-consider its target market by going up-market (exclusive color choices, higher price point, softer towel) or by going down-market (white towels, lower prices, reduced softness).

What’s missing from a backward looking tool, like surveys, is that even though a customer may be satisfied with the purchase of a product, it may not meet his/her expectations. Customer expectations are a subjective element of quality and much harder to measure. Yet meeting customer expectations is what differentiates a company that is successful in product development from its competitors.

Customer Expectations

Customer expectations are a qualitative measure of how well a product or service meets a customer’s needs. Often quality is defined in terms of reliability or life cycle so that longer term use of the product is required in order for a consumer to assess its quality. For instance, colorfastness of a towel is measured in terms of months and years, not weeks. Shrinkage would be measure after a hundred washings, not a dozen.

Product, project, and engineering managers must use forward-looking variables to assess qualitative customer expectations. However, most consumers cannot express these variables in measurable terms. There are a couple of market research techniques that are useful to gather this information. First, interviewing key groups of customers can shed light on the qualitative aspects of a design. Studies show that interviewing just 20 or 30 potential customers can be sufficient to represent the entire pool of consumers. Interviews will reveal the top features required from development to meet customer expectations (e.g. colorfastness, dries quickly, does not shrink).

Another technique to use to draw out customer expectations is a ranking tool. Ask your customers to compare two features at a time and choose which is the most important between them. You can use cards to facilitate the process and label them, for example (1) softness, (2) price, (3) colorfastness, (4) color choice, (5) dries quickly, and (6) little shrinkage.

Potential customers will compare just two cards (features) at a time, ranking softness above colorfastness, then choosing price over softness, for example. Again, a relatively small sample size will expose a set of desired features ranked by customer importance. Designing and developing a product based on these customer expectations will help to meet the consumer’s definition of quality.

Customers Define Quality

It is true that each customer will define quality differently based on his/her experiences, needs, and wants. Product, project, and engineering managers can design and develop product solutions based on two elements of quality: customer satisfaction and customer expectations.

Customer satisfaction is a quantitative, short-term backward-looking measure of quality. Yet, customers must be satisfied at a minimum level in order for a product to be successful in the marketplace. In contrast, customer expectations are qualitative and forward-looking. It is more difficult to ascertain what customers in a product but it is the very root of success. Products and services must deliver customer expectations in order to fully reach a target market and to be labelled as a “quality” provider.

To learn more about developing products and services for quality, we offer new product skills development with industry best practices in innovate coupled with certification training in New Product Development Professional (NPDP) workshops. You can demonstrate continuous learning through an affordable self-study course or in a customized face-to-face training session. Contact me at [email protected] or 281-280-8717 for information on new product development training or professional management coaching. At Simple-PDH, we want to make it simple for you to study, learn, and earn and maintain your professional certifications.

And for inquiring minds – Egyptian cotton has longer fibers than Turkish cotton making the towel feel softer but it will take longer to dry.

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

A division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

What Makes a Great Team?

Posted on 02.09.17

We do not operate in a vacuum. None of us exists solely for ourselves or for our own benefit. All of us co-exist I relationships at home, at work, and in our leisure time. Ata work, especially, we find ourselves in complex relationships that cross demographic, organizational, and experience ranges. We work in and on teams to accomplish product and project work, advancing technology to benefit customers and markets.

Yet, some working teams are more successful than others. It may be the composition of the team members or it may be the challenge of the problem that the team is solving. Moreover, successful teams are often directed and managed by servant leaders.

Let’s take a look at each of these elements in turn to better understand what makes a successful project or engineering team.

Team Composition

Just as we do not, and cannot, operate solo to accomplish objectives, a great team is not homogeneous. Creativity thrives when teams are made up of individuals with a variety of backgrounds. These team members introduce different perspectives to the team and can broaden the team’s overall viewpoint in order to come to a better outcome.

In his book, “Smarter, Faster, Better,” Charles Duhigg relays a story of a Yale MBA student named Julia. Julia was excited to be a part of Yale’s elite study groups. Yet, she never really bonded with the other team members and instead felt like they were at odds – competing against one another. Alternatively, Julie found herself serving as a very productive team on another team working on a business case competition.

The difference in team structure, Duhigg explains, is what makes a successful team. Julia’s study group was mainly homogenous. Team members had similar educational and work backgrounds. However, her case competition team had a wide diversity in age, experience, and career pathways. The latter team accepted open dialogue and encouraged idea generation. Thus, the team’s composition allowed them to be successful.

Challenging Problems

Teams are most successful when dealing with “stretch goals” that drive extended performance but are not intractable problems. If the problem is too simple, there is no reason to convene a cross-functional troubleshooting team. And if the problem is impossible, then there is little chance an ordinary team can find a unique and lasting solution.

Interestingly, most of us recognize the depth and challenge of a problem right away. You see the signs of a “too simple” problems as the team members check out and engage with their electronic devises instead of the project. There is little conversation and one person gets saddled with creating the entire solution.

In the case of an intractable problem, tempers may flare as individuals imprint their personal ideology and philosophy on a solution that would not completely resolve the problem. Perhaps, sub-dividing a “too large” problem can help direct teams to better solutions.

Effective teams are challenged by problems for which they share basic knowledge and in which they each bring a piece of the puzzle to solve. As with team composition, the challenge for a team must be cross-functional requiring give and take among team members. Also, team members must be free to collaborate in order to create a solution larger than themselves.

For example, introducing a different-sized package of cookies may be a problem that is too small for a typical new product development (NPD) team. Creating a perfect snack that is fat-free and sugar-free but as tasty and pleasing as a chocolate chip cookie may be a problem that is too large for the same team. Yet, introducing a flavor variant (strawberry newtons in addition to fig newtons) may be just the right-sized challenge for a team.

Successful teams need to be able to measure their own progress as well as recognize that they are each individually valued. This starts with the right composition of team members with diverse skills and experiences. Then, challenging the team with an appropriately difficult problem to solve allows the team to prosper.

Servant Leadership

We have all been there. We were called to be a part of a team but the leader makes all the decisions and simply hands out work assignments without discussion. The work gets done (grudgingly) and is delivered at a minimum level of quality. No one wants to work with “that person” again.

The best leaders are servant leaders. They ask what they can do to help the team. They work to remove roadblocks and obstacles. They get their hands dirty and they pitch in to help achieve the team goals. Servant leaders respect each team member for his or her diverse skills, background, and experiences. Effective leaders help team members select work that is within their expertise but will also challenge them to grow both professionally and personally. Servant leaders think first and foremost of the customer, the team members, and the problem before promoting their own agenda. Productive leaders are selfless, practice humor, and delegate work to build everyone’s strengths.

Leadership characteristics of a servant leader may be inherent within some individual’s personalities. Yet, leadership can be taught and people’s basic skills can grow to make them more effective leaders. Famously, focusing on one’s emotional intelligence (EQ) is one way in which to strengthen a servant leader’s capabilities and empathetic responses.

Great Teams

Great teams do no deliver great results by happenchance. Instead, superb teams are carefully designed and structured to encompass diverse experiences and backgrounds. This variety of experiences leads to greater creativity and ability to address challenging problems.

Moreover, teams should be challenged with appropriate problems to solve. Problems that are “too small” discount the skills and abilities of team members. Problems that are “too big” are overwhelming and can paralyze a team from making even small steps toward a solution. Cross-functional teams should be convened to address business challenges that require diversity of thought and experience, and will appropriately drive focus and collaboration among team members.

Finally, teams will be most productive when led by a selfless, self-deprecating leader. Servant leaders help the team accomplish its goals by removing obstacles and by reinforcing individual strengths. Leadership skills can be taught and will enhance an individual’s basic skills and abilities to execute projects.

One way to grow your teams and leaders is through professional certification. If you have questions about existing or upcoming certification or PDH courses with emphasis on project, product, or engineering management, please contact us at [email protected] or by phone at 281-280-8717.

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

A division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Transitioning from a Technical to Managerial Role

Posted on 02.02.17

Project, product, and engineering managers have exciting careers in which they make a real difference in their organizations and communities. Yet, many managers do not initially plan a management career. Instead, engineering and business majors in college learn technical skills such as fluid flow, thermodynamics, and accounting. After years of working as a technical expert, individuals may suddenly be promoted to management ranks. How do you transition from a technical role into a management position?

The LPU Model

The LPU Model (Learn-Practice-Use) describes how an individual can gain new skills. (For more information on the LPU Model, please see CLOmedia.com, Sept. 2016.) It is a helpful resource for technical experts transitioning into management roles. Many of the technical skills that created success as an individual contributor will not serve you in a management position. In fact, many new skills, as explained below, are necessary for success as a manager.

The LPU model started with learning. New managers must learn a whole set of new skills to be successful. Learning can occur on-the-job, through mentoring and coaching, and via formal training. As with all learning, a new manager needs to access skills and knowledge training when s/he needs it. Usually a new skill is best learned when a manager has the opportunity to practice the skill.

Practice (“P” in the LPU Model) of management skills can be conducted in low-risk environments. Many face-to-face courses and workshops allow new managers to role play and engage in other activities to develop their new skills. While the situations in a training course may be somewhat artificial or may not reflect the industry in which the manager works, the opportunity to practice a skill builds confidence in how to approach a real-life situation. Consider that major league baseball players spend hours and hours drilling. While he may not encounter a fly ball to outer right field with the bases loaded in a real game, he has practiced the paly enough to know how to respond if the situation does occur.

Finally, a new manager will use the skills that s/he has learned and practiced. This is the “real ball game.” In using our skills consciously, we will evaluate how effectively we’ve deployed the skill and can make adjustments the next time a similar situation arises. Analyzing whether the skill was used at the right time and in the right way (teaching) leads to continuous improvement. It is also helpful to have a mentor or coach who can provide feedback on the use of management skills in new situations to frame further learning.

Management Skills

Employing the LPU Model can help a new manage learn, practice, and use new skills. But, what skills does a new manager need? And how are these skills different than those utilized in technical positions?

Delegate

First, a new manager will need to learn delegation. This is perhaps the most difficult challenge that faces a technical expert transitioning from an individual contributor position to a management role. It is likely that you were promoted because of demonstrated expertise in your chosen technical field. Yet, you are new in a position to motivate and monitor the team’s work, and not to do the work.

There are dozens of acceptable ways to perform engineering design or write software code and deliver a working product. A new manager must accept that his/her preferred style may not be the same style as the team member doing the work. New managers must be able to effectively delegate technical work and review the work only for completeness, not style.

Communication

Next, a new manager must learn to communicate and share information with a wide group of stakeholders. Previously, in a technical role, you simply needed to explain the solution to a problem, indicating risks or quality concerns to your boss. Someone else ultimately made decisions. Now, as a project, product, or engineering manager, you are making these higher level decisions and communicating the impact of decisions to others.

Communication for managers goes upward, downward, and sideways. Decisions and problems must be explained to upper management. Information regarding project activities, schedule, and cost is shared with customers, clients, and the team doing the work. Finally, managerial work cuts across functions so a new manager will be communicating with other departmental and project managers on a regular basis. Learning effective oral and written communication skills will be crucial to succeed as a new manager.

Time Management

Another important skill for project, product, and engineering managers is effective time management. Technical experts often feel as if they attend too many meeting, taking them away from their important design work. Yet, the typical schedule of a manager has him/her running from meeting to meeting. While this is not to say that there are too many meetings in the corporate world today, meeting are used as a primary communication tool in many organizations.

Thus, a manager will need to learn effective time management skills in order to better administer a much busier schedule. Time blocking is one technique that allows a new manager quiet time to invest in continued learning and strategic thinking. Note that effective time management also includes balancing personal and professional needs. A new manager will need to spend time learning the new job, but s/he cannot neglect family, friends, or fitness. Include time on your calendar for the gym, hobbies, and vacations to recharge your soul.

Becoming a Successful Manager

New project, product, and engineering managers are often identified and promoted based on demonstrated technical expertise. Yet, many people find the transition from technical expert to supervising manager challenging. Just as you needed to learn theories and practices in engineering or business school, new managers must also learn new skills. Following the LPU Model will ease this transition.

Some of the important skills new managers must learn, practice, and use include delegation, communication, and time management. New leaders should practice these skills in low-risk environments, such as training labs and workshops. This allows a new manager to refine his/her new skills so that when a real-life situation arises, he/she has the confidence to deploy the right tools at the right time.

If you have questions about existing or upcoming certification or PDH courses with emphasis on project, product, or engineering management, please contact us at [email protected] or by phone at 281-280-8717.

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

A division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

The Job of a Manager

Posted on 11.03.16

Many of us have titles like “Product Manager” or “Project Manager”. We report to upper “management” and we “manage” strategic, tactical, and operational goals. And while we often talk of management, we often do not share a common definition or training in becoming good managers.

What is a Manager?

Managers need to accomplish five tasks and activities in order to improve and support a business. These are:

Planning,
Organizing,
Allocating resources,
Directing (leading), and
Controlling.

Often the definitions of these words is quite different in a business context than in a day-to-day conversation.

Planning

Managers are primarily responsible for the planning function within an organization. Planning includes the activities designed to develop strategy for the business, incorporating long-range goals and objectives that will increase profit and improve market share. In addition, planning includes medium-term and short-range activities that help to accomplish the long-term strategic goals.

Moreover, strategic plans may include the growth of a particular business segment. We’ll choose dress sales in a retail environment as an example. In order to penetrate the dress market and increase sales, the firm will lay out a long-term strategy that includes new product development (NPD) and improved advertising. These are three to five year goals.

On a medium-term basis, managers will plan market research activities (one to two years) that will identify color, fabric, and style trends for dresses in the North American market. On a short-term planning cycle, operational manager will work with purchasing and manufacturing to ensure inventory is available as needed.

Thus, managers are responsible for long-term strategic planning, medium-term tactical planning, and short-run operational planning. In all cases, managers design activities and tasks to support the firm’s strategic profit and growth objectives.

Organizing

Organizing is one of those words that has a different meaning in a business context than in everyday language. When we talk about “organizing” at home, we may be referring to de-cluttering or tidying up a messy room.

In product, project, and engineering management, “organizing” refers to how teams will be structured to accomplish the work of the firm and to support the strategic objectives. Organizing teams may be to put staff in a functional structure, where like jobs are completed by individuals with similar training reporting to a functional department manager. Projects are often organized with a “projectized” structure in which a project manager is charged with accomplishing the specific goals of a temporary work endeavor. Because workers are cross-functionally trained in a project, it is one of the most common structures utilized for an NPD effort.

Hybrid structures attempt to take the benefits of both functional teams and project structures to create a unique organizational team. These are the benefits of cross-functional expertise and permanency. However, in practice, hybrid structures tend to lead to frustration among team members, and may result in confusion during goal-setting and management accountability.

Allocating Resources

Managers are responsible for allocating team member resources to a project as well as good stewardship of financial resources. Human resources should be assigned to tasks that allow the project to meet its goals but also will increase individual and team learning. Financial resources must be utilized frugally and to yield the most production. Engineering managers should not waste precious human or financial resources.

Directing

Leadership and management are quite different aspects of a person’s character. Yet, to be a successful manager, one must be a good leader. Managers must be able to inspire, motivate, and reward their teams. Energized teams often produce more, work with fewer conflicts, and are more innovative.

One leadership theory indicates that managers should reward desired behaviors to improve team performance. At the same time, managers should ignore undesired behaviors since unrecognized performance will naturally be extinguished. The same theory states that punishment of negative behaviors leads to mixed and inconsistent results.

Controlling

Finally, controlling is another important job of a product, project, or engineering manager. Again, controlling is a word with a slightly different meaning in a business context than in our daily language.

In our casual conversations, controlling often has a negative connotation. We associate controlling with manipulation and greed. Yet, controlling in a business sense means that a manager measures the output of work, compares that result to the expected result, and initiates corrective action if the performance did not meet the standard.

Therefore, controlling as a manager is much more like the function of a thermostat controlling the temperature of a room. When the actual temperature is different than the setpoint of the thermostat, the heater will increase its output to change the performance of the system.

The Job of a Manager

Managers are charges with the responsibility of accomplishing tasks to meet the strategic goals of an organization. A manager’s first task is to plan the work. This includes long-term, medium-range, and short-run planning to support all business objectives of growth, profit, and market penetration.

Next, a manager must organize the workforce in a manner that will best accomplish the business plans. Typical organizational structures include functional, project-oriented, and hybrid or matrix organizations. Both human and financial resources are allocated to these teams to complete project work.

Finally, managers are responsible to direct and lead their teams by inspiring and motivating their work. Performance measurements compare and control the outputs to ensure strategic objectives are delivered.

Understanding the functions of management is important for any professional. Join us Project Management Professional (PMP®), New Product Development Professional (NPDP), or Scrum Master Training where you will learn to apply management principles. You will study, learn, and earn. It’s simple!

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

by Global NP Solutions, LLC