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Customers and Product Development

As product development professionals, we often think of our customer.  What do customers feel?  What do they need?  What are their expectations?  Our responses, generally, focus on features and functionality of the product.

Of course, we have many types of customers and the best new product development (NPD) processes address customer needs throughout the value chain.  Let’s take a look at the various types of customers and their role in NPD.

Types of Customers

One of the fundamental decisions you make in product innovation is who is the customer.  We must consider several types of customers.

Internal Customers

First, we have internal customers.  These are departments or units that are downstream within a single company.  It is folly to ignore logistics or sales during product design and development.  No new product makes its way into the hands of a customer without first being manufactured (supply chain logistics), being delivered (distribution), and being purchased (sales).

Supply chain is an internal provider and customer to the NPD effort.  Working with the purchasing department early in concept development can reduce costs of raw materials.  Perhaps your purchasing department can work a deal that gives a component discount as production ramps up after new product introduction. Your purchasing department should be a partner not an adversary.

You also need your internal customers to provide timely actions to get a new product to market.  Legal teams must work with the NPD team throughout design and development for functional patent protection and trademarking of new logos, etc.  Many other functional departments serve to assist the development effort as well.

External Customers

External customers are who we typically think of when we hear the term “customer”.  These are folks outside the firm that buy the product and consume it (thus, the oft-used, interchangeable term of “consumer”).  Our communication with external customers is frequently one-way by telling them about a product’s features.

However, the most successful innovators use two-way communication with external customers. We must know the thoughts and feelings of our customers to design and develop new products. External customers provide infinitely valuable feedback on our ideas and concepts.  They test prototypes and lead us to the designs that will best satisfy their needs.

External customer feedback is at the heart of the WAGILE process.  WAGILE takes the best of the traditional waterfall development processes and the best of Agile design to create a disciplined yet flexible customer-focused NPD process.  Register here for our interactive WAGILE product development course (online 18 and 19 February 2021).

End-Users

Not all customers are end-users.  Most of the time, a consumer purchases a product and uses it herself.  There are many situations, though, in which other people use the product after it is purchased by someone else.

The easiest example of a non-purchasing end-user is a child.  Mom and Dad buy toys, books, games, and snacks for Little Johnny often without his input.  Of course, Little Johnny does not have money (and sometimes doesn’t know how to talk yet), so he is incapable of buying a product.  However, Little Johnny does play, read, and eat so he “consumes” the product.

In product innovation and in the WAGILE process, we test not only the market response of the decision-maker (see below) but also the end-user.  If :ittle Johnny prefers to play with the box instead of the toy inside, should we proceed with development of that particular product?  We also might find that parts and components need different assembly for children than in a product built by adults.  The end-user is an important customer in NPD.

Decision-Maker

Little Johnny’s mom and dad are the decision-makers in this scenario.  Naturally, other products and services have customers that are decision-makers different from the end-user.  Medicine has tons of examples.

For example, your insurance provider (private or government) determines which physicians you can afford to visit.  Insurance companies often pay for pharmaceutical drugs but not naturopathic therapies.  They may tell you which hospital is okay for you to go to for a knee surgery, regardless of the distance from your home.

Decision-makers are likely to look primarily at cost for a new product.  Effectiveness and satisfaction by the end-user (unless it’s Little Johnny) may not be the defining characteristic of a purchase.  For corporate decision-makers, “average performance” might be more important than delivering a quality experience to the ultimate consumer.

Who is Your Customer? 

As you design a new product innovation, you must consider the customer.  It is extremely unwise to ignore your internal customers.  Use the various departments in your firm as partners to find the best solutions (especially for supply chain and distribution).

One our external customers, likewise, often are ignored.  Why wouldn’t you want to test concepts and ideas with the person whom you ultimately want to sell?  Customer feedback is essential to successful product innovation.

Finally, don’t confuse the decision-maker with the end-user.  Satisfying the needs of both of these customers might mean a trade-off in cost versus quality.  Make sure your NPD process involves testing for all external customers, including decision-makers and end-users.

Learn More

I’m excited to share my podcast interview with Kevin Brennan.  You can listen to a summary of WAGILE here.  Then, register for the interactive online WAGILE Product Development course on 18 and 19 February 2021 (register here).  You will have homework because you must understand customer needs to be successful in product innovation!  Contact me at info@Simple-PDH.com for more information.

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A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC  

Study.       Learn.       Earn.       Simple.

What is WAGILE?

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.

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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.

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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 info@globalnpsolutions.com for innovation consulting.   

© Simple-PDH.com

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 info@simple-pdh.com 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 Leadership

I became interested in leadership when I was first appointed to a supervisory position.  My first exposure to leading a team was negative – from my perspective – but my management saw a different view.  I thought that being a manager meant I was not smart enough to continue on the technical ladder.  Little did I know that most technical answers are easy compared to motivating a team toward a common goal. 

Innovation leadership takes many forms.  In all cases, there must be a follower for a leader to exist.  Leaders engender willing followers.  We want to learn from others who have been successful.  We want to take direction from someone who has demonstrated skill at problem-solving.  We want to mimic the behaviors of inspiring people. 

What is a Wagile Leader?

Before we discuss Wagile leadership, I want to take a quick detour to define Wagile.  Wagile is a product innovation process to create and launch groundbreaking new products and services.  The word Wagile comes from a combination of the terms “waterfall” and “agile”.  Waterfall approaches to project management use upfront planning while agile project management acts on an evolving scope of work. 

The Wagile philosophy thus integrates the best of both project management approaches.

  • Move fast
  • Practice discipline
  • Understand risk
  • Engaged customers
  • Provide autonomy

Wagile Roles in Leadership

Each Wagile role serves as a leader.  Being non-hierarchical and flexible, Wagile does not specify one person, one role, or one organization as a primary decision-maker.  Rather, all roles act as leaders to ensure customer satisfaction with new product development (NPD).  As described in detail here, the Wagile roles include:

  • Project leader,
  • Customer representative,
  • Team leader, and
  • Cross-functional team. 

Wagile leadership characteristics focus on engaging customers to deliver high-quality products and services that meet market needs while generating profit for the firm.  Servant leadership traits of putting the team before self are important as are elements of Emotional Intelligence (such as self-awareness and self-control).  I have observed that the most successful teams are mission-oriented to create a common good rather than egocentric to promote a manager’s self-interest. 

In my practice of innovation teaching and coaching, I often used work style assessments to drive the leadership conversation.  An important starting point for product innovation teams is the Innovation Health Assessment™ to benchmark your organization’s NPD maturity against industry standards.  (Take your complimentary Innovation Health Assessment here.)   

Another work style assessment I use is called the Team Dimensions Profile.  As a DiSC-certified management facilitator, I prefer the language of Team Dimensions for innovation team growth.  We identify individual working preferences as Creator, Advancer, Refiner, or Executer.  Note that these are not the same as ingrained personality because each of us can stretch to different work roles as needed to accomplish the project goals.  (Learn more about Team Dimensions here where I spoke with the Everyday Innovator podcast.) 

In fact, it is the capability of team members on a Wagile project to stretch and serve as generalist-specialists that make each of us leaders.  Generalist-specialists are people who have a deep knowledge and expertise in one arena (specialist) but also a desire to learn and help across the board (generalist). 

Learn More

If you want to know more about Wagile and how to apply it in your own organization, join me for a short seminar on 10 November 2020 (2-4 pm CST).  Upon completion of this course, you will be equipped with a set of tools to speed product to market for innovation success.  Register here.  To investigate and expand your personal development style, please join me for the Life Design Master Mind Q&A on 11 November 2020 at 11 am CST (free), followed by subsequent in-depth workshops over the next six months.  Register here for the free webinar.  Contact me at info@Simple-PDH.com with questions about these workshops. 

© Simple-PDH.com

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 info@simple-pdh.com or area code 281 + phone 787-3979 for more information on coaching for entrepreneurs and innovators.

Wagile Tools

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, 2nd 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 info@simple-pdh.com or area code 281 + phone 787-3979 for more information on coaching for entrepreneurs and innovators.

© Simple-PDH.com

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC  

Study.       Learn.       Earn.       Simple.

The Wagile Stages

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. 

copyright Global NP Solutions, LLC

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:

  1. Opportunity Identification,
  2. Business Case,
  3. Technology Development,
  4. Scale-Up, and
  5. 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 info@globalnpsolutions.com 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, 2nd 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 info@simple-pdh.com or area code 281 + phone 787-3979 for more information on coaching for entrepreneurs and innovators.

© Simple-PDH.com

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC  

Study.       Learn.       Earn.       Simple.

Wagile Gates

Have you ever jumped ahead of yourself just to realize later that you missed a step?  Have you ever launched a new product to find out that consumers didn’t actually like the feature configuration?  Have you ever made a mistake and then realized it was dejá vu all over again? 

All of us make mistakes.  We learn from making errors and we learn by knowing what not to do.  In product innovation, learning from failure is an important trait for organizations to succeed over the long run.  In fact, learning is at the heart of the Wagile Philosophy (read more here).  However, making the same mistake twice – or three times or four times – is not learning.  Repeated errors demonstrate the lack of quality systems and an absence of a directing process. 

What is Wagile?

Fragile is a hybrid new product development (NPD) process.  Wagile balances the structure of a traditional, waterfall system with the iterative and customer-focused nature of an Agile development process (like Scrum).  The Wagile philosophy emphasizes moving fast while practicing discipline and understanding risks.  Wagile uses both stages of work and gates as checkpoints for product innovation. 

Wagile Gates

Gate reviews in NPD are predominant in traditional waterfall processes, like Bob Cooper’s Stage-Gate™ system.  Gate reviews serve as checkpoints to gauge completion of work-to-date and a plan for future project work.  In practice, there should be no surprises at a gate review and the cross-functional team that approves the go-forward plan should understand the scope, schedule, and budget well before the formal meeting. 

Gate reviews are important elements in any NPD process.  In Scrum, we call this review a “retrospective” (read more about Scrum here).  The purpose of a gate or retrospective is the same:  Do customers want the product as we are designing it?  Can we make a profit?  Is this new product aligned with our strategic goals and objectives? 

Entry and Exit Gates

Entry gates are a pet peeve of mine.  The entry gate is approved simply by showing that work on the previous stage is complete.  That’s a great accomplishment for the team, but what matters more for innovation is whether the go-forward plan makes sense. 

In contrast, an exit gate evaluates both the prior work and approves the product design for future work.  The multi-disciplinary management team approving the project at an exit gate must have appropriate budgetary authority for the next stage of work.  In this way, risk and strategic alignment are addressed throughout the life of the project. 

The Wagile Gate Sequence

Wagile gates are designed as exit gates, to ensure go-forward work will advance product innovation and the overall product portfolio.  The following lists the Wagile gates and the expected outcome of each decision. 

  • 1-Opportunity Gate.  The Opportunity Gate validates that the product idea and concept meet a target market need.  Enough testing has been done to demonstrate customer wants and needs for the new product.  Importantly, decision-makers approve the concept is having a potential profit and fit with the organization’s strategic growth goals.  Passing the Opportunity Gate means a project team is authorized to investigate the scope of design, development, and market impacts. 
  • 2-Business Case.  It is important to justify a project early enough to not waste resources.  While any project will have more information gathered during execution, unattractive projects should be killed early.  Reviewers of the Business Case approve that the new product fits the organization’s growth goals, is strategically aligned, and will meet profitability expectations for the level of innovation involved.  This approval funds the technology and market development efforts. 
  • 3-Technology Gate.  The Technology Gate builds on the Business Case gate.  Cost of development is balanced against anticipated sales and customer needs.  Costs are at the forefront as are feasibility studies.  The Technology Gate grants approval for developing at scale.  This gate may include approval of licensing and early order equipment items. 
  • 4-Constructability Gate.  At the Constructability Gate, the cross-functional decision-makers commit to building production facilities, supply and distribution chains, and marketing collateral.  Bob Cooper often discusses a “money gate” in his work, essentially a point of no return.  In some ways, the Constructability Gate serves as this “money gate”.  Yet the iterative nature of Wagile allows a project to undergo appropriate iterations thereby ensuring quality control and risk are managed within the tolerance level of the organization. 
  • 5-Launch.  The Launch Gate represents the go-to-market decision for a new product.  Measures of profitability will validate earlier decisions (e.g. the business case).  However, the Wagile process encourages continued adjustment of the product offering to meet customer needs.  Engaged customers help the Project Leader and Customer Representative gain market insights for the life of the product and as inputs for next generation products.  Read more about Wagile Roles here.

Using Wagile Gates

Like any project management system, Wagile uses gate reviews as checkpoints to gauge the progress of work .  Unlike traditional waterfall processes, not passing a gate is not a punitive measure for the team.  Instead, the flexibility of learning is built into Wagile and “no” decision at a gate review simply means a better opportunity is available.  Believe me, team members prefer the option of working on a new project over scolding for not meeting entry gate criteria! 

Gates provide discipline in Wagile that is often missing in Scrum or other Agile processes.  Discipline is important for both teams and senior management to increase creativity  and to increase profitability.  Wagile further builds flexibility into gate reviews by the hybrid nature of the system. 

Learn More

  • Learn more about Wagile Product Development in my Webcast with PDMA on 10 September (register here). 
  • Delve into the full Wagile process in a virtual, facilitated workshop on 10 November 2020 (register here).  Workshop participants have access to downloadable templates and tools to fast track innovation!
  • 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, 2nd 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 info@simple-pdh.com or area code 281 + phone 787-3979 for more information on coaching for entrepreneurs and innovators.

© Simple-PDH.com

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC  

Study.       Learn.       Earn.       Simple.

The Wagile Philosophy

Watch the short video summary and then read on for the details!

In business and innovation, we often talk about strategy.  I think of strategy like a destination when I take a trip.  I need to know where I’m going so that I can plan how to get there and what resources I will need.  Strategy indicates the vision, mission, and values. 

When I take a vacation, I enjoy hiking and being outdoors.  I also enjoy history and trying new foods.  These are a reflection of my values or philosophy in choosing a destination.  In business and innovation, our values form how we make decisions and what activities or behaviors are acceptable in achieving strategic goals. 

Recently, I encountered two small businesses with similar goals but different value systems.  The first bicycle shop I visited had a huge sign on its door – “We are not taking any repairs.  Wait here and phone us to enter the store.”  The second bicycle shop, sounding exasperated at the disruption in supply chains by the corona-panic, said “We are only taking repairs.  We’ve improved our delivery time to four days from two weeks.”  It’s easy to see the difference in philosophy and values for these two businesses.  And, I bet you can guess which store got my money!

What is Wagile?

Wagile is a hybrid innovation management system taking advantage of the rigor from a staged-and-gated system while adding in the flexibility of an Agile development process.  Most organizations end up becoming overly bureaucratic with staged-and-gated processes, hindering speed-to-market. 

On the other hand, many organizations that have tried implementing Agile have struggled, too.  Scrum (read more about Scrum here) is the most common way that firms implement Agile in a new product development (NPD) project.  Yet, Scrum was designed for software.  Companies are challenged by the definition of “done” and in getting sophisticated technical design elements completed in a two-week sprint. 

Wagile – part waterfall and part Agile – encourages iterations where necessary and increases customer interactions.  But, Wagile maintains the discipline of a waterfall (or staged-and-gated) process. 

The Wagile Philosophy

For any project management system to succeed, the values of the organization must support the steps, tasks, and expected outcomes of the process.  The Wagile philosophy supports a key innovation goal of speed-to-market. 

  • Move fast
  • Practice discipline
  • Understand risks
  • Engage customers
  • Provide autonomy
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Move fast.  The benefit of Scrum is moving fast and creating prototypes quickly.  Customers test many different versions of the potential product and designers select the attributes that best satisfy the needs of end-users.  The Wagile philosophy includes moving fast to quickly determine the most important features and to eliminate bad concepts early.  The end result?  Cost and time savings during development. 

Practice discipline.  While waterfall (staged-and-gated) processes can become overly bureaucratic, Agile projects are often viewed by senior executives as chaotic with ill-defined scope and goals.  Wagile enforces discipline by placing critical success metrics on each project.  An innovation project does not pass a gate review without a clear go-forward plan.  We know that creativity is expanded when the problem is bounded by clear expectations and aspirations so discipline is necessary to win with new products. 

Understand risks.  Uncertainty is always present in an innovation project.  Waterfall processes attempt to manage risk with detailed upfront planning.  Yet, plans usually are erroneous in one way or another.  You might plan two separate electrical feeds for a fire water system but forget that a utility outage will disable the whole plant.  Risks are managed, but not eliminated, with planning.

On the other hand, Agile gives a “hand wave” response to risk.  These systems assume you’ll know it when you see it.  So, the Wagile philosophy endorses risk management and creates a trigger/ response list to manage risk.  However, the Wagile philosophy also recognizes “positive uncertainties” to expand and capitalize on surprise results. 

Engage customers.  While Scrum includes a specific role for the Product Owner (read more here), end-users are still frequently neglected from the process.  Wagile forces customer interactions via specific measures at each gate review (e.g. competitive analysis at the Idea Gate and market testing at the Constructability Gate).  Moreover, the role of the Customer Representative (see more about the Wagile Roles and Responsibilities here) is wholly responsible to ensure end-user feedback is both accurate and timely.  Design Thinking tools are crucial in gathering information throughout the NPD project.  (Join me on 11 November 2020 for a complimentary life design workshop – register here.) 

Provide autonomy.  Many of my readers know I am a chemical engineer.  I suffer from some of the common “nerd” traits of engineers – we need quiet time to deeply study a problem and we need to justify a solution based on data and facts. 

The Wagile philosophy supports engineers and product development teams by providing autonomy.  Senior executives typically are far removed from customers and daily operations on the factory floor.  Let the people with the expertise make the decisions. 

Of course, when a decision crosses a threshold of high investment or unusually high risk, the team should consult upper management.  But under normal circumstances, a flat organizational structure with responsible decision-making guardrails in place allows an innovation team to function most efficiently and productively. 

Apply the Wagile Philosophy

While you may be using a traditional staged-and-gated process for innovation or you’ve been trying to implement Scrum, you can make some giant steps to effectiveness by adopting the Wagile philosophy.  Focus on moving fast within a discipline of critical success metrics.  Understand the project risks and uncertainties but test those limitations with customers.  Feedback from end-users should guide a product development effort.  Finally, let the experts do their work and give your teams autonomy to make decisions within their control. 

Learn More

Learn more about Wagile Product Development in my Webcast with PDMA on 10 September (register here). 

  • Get the full Wagile Product Development course in a virtual, facilitated workshop on 10 November 2020 (register here).  Includes templates, tools, and implementation tips.
  • 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).
  • Reference the new PDMA Body of Knowledge, available at Amazon.
  • Get your NPDP Certification!  Join our October online class (Thursdays) following the brand new, 2nd 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 info@simple-pdh.com or area code 281 + phone 787-3979 for more information on coaching for entrepreneurs and innovators.

© Simple-PDH.com

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC  

Study.       Learn.       Earn.       Simple.

Roles in Wagile Product Development

When I was in graduate school, I spent the better part of one day organizing our tool chest.  In one drawer, I put all of our metric wrenches and sockets and then laid them out by size .  Not only did it look tidy, but it was much more convenient to grab the right tool when you needed it.  Everything had an assigned storage place and organizing the parts and pieces according to the job increased our efficiency in the lab. 

People are what makes systems work.  We assign roles and responsibilities within organizations to ensure that activities and tasks are completed.  Similar to a tool chest, assigning job roles to different people ensures they are trained appropriately to conduct tasks as expected.  The system itself often is less important than how the people assigned to various roles and responsibilities carry out their tasks within that process. 

Wagile Product Development Reviewed

In the Wagile system of product development (read more here), certain roles and responsibilities are assigned to ensure an efficient product innovation effort accomplishes timely goals.  As a quick recap, Wagile is a hybrid approach to traditional waterfall project management and the Agile philosophy commonly applied to software development.  The advantage of Wagile over other new product development (NPD) systems is that it enhances the frequency of customer feedback during design and development.  Another advantage of Wagile is that it applies iterative development within predetermined boundaries (e.g. budget and schedule).  Finally, the biggest advantage of Wagile is enhanced communication and team collaboration.  Read more about Wagile here. 

Roles in Wagile

In every project management and product innovation system, it is critical to include customer perspectives, internal stakeholder viewpoints, and contributions of vendors and suppliers.  The key roles of internal stakeholders in a Wagile process include the Project Leader, the Customer Representative, the Team Leader, and the Cross-Functional Team. 

Project Leader

Because Wagile adopts the Agile philosophy, the process succeeds at improving time-to-market of new products by reducing hierarchy and bureaucracy.  The role of Project Leader is much like a Scrum Master.  The Project Leader serves the team to reduce barriers to efficiency and productivity.  In addition, s/he interacts with senior executives, external stakeholders, and the Customer Representative to ensure the product development effort is on target.  Some Project Leaders act in a dual role as a brand manager or product manager, tracking the overall life cycle value of the new product. 

Customer Representative

No product development project can be successful without customer input.  The role of Customer Representative in Wagile is to build trust with customers, to collect end-user data, and to organize market research activities for the target customer segment.  In Scrum, the voice of customer is delegated to the Product Owner role.  (Read more about typical Scrum roles here.)  Yet, in practice, the product owner often bypasses true customer insights and reflects internal priorities for project execution instead.  A critical performance metric for the customer representative in Wagile is the number of external customer, consumer, and end-user interactions. 

Team Leader

The Team Leader and the Project Leader are like an old, married couple.  They work together to accomplish the project goals and complement one another.  While the Project Leader often focuses on longer term strategic objectives, the Team Leader focuses on operational and tactical goals.  The Team Leader is charismatic and builds collaborative skills for the team.  S/he also manages the new product development scope, schedule, and budget but has autonomy for decisions for project outcomes. 

Cross-Functional Team

Not all project teams are created equal.  The Wagile Cross-Functional Team brings together the “generalist–specialist” mentality of Scrum team members while also capitalizing on the depth of skills needed in a traditional project team.  While teams are generally small in Wagile as in scrum, scalability is less of an issue. 

Small teams allow for quicker and better decisions, so Wagile uses intimate Cross-Functional Teams to complete the tasks of the new product development project.  However, as product innovation advances to later phases and requires greater talent investment, sub-teams form to accomplish specific goals and objectives.  Communication among Cross-Functional Teams (and sub-teams) is vital to the success of any project, regardless of the project management system. 

Roles for Wagile Product Development

Like any system, Wagile product development relies on the people to do the work of the project and to progress toward goals.  Understanding the roles and responsibilities of key players within the system allows each person to access necessary training, streamline workflows, and improve communication.  Critical roles in Wagile include the Project Leader, the Customer Representative, the Team Leader, and the Cross-Functional Team. 

Learn More

Learn more about Wagile Product Development in my Webcast with PDMA on 10 September (register here).  Contact me at info@globalnpsolutions.com 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).
  • Reference the new PDMA Body of Knowledge, available at Amazon.
  • Get your NPDP Certification!  Join our October online class (Thursdays) following the brand new, 2nd 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 info@simple-pdh.com or area code 281 + phone 787-3979 for more information on coaching for entrepreneurs and innovators.

© Simple-PDH.com

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC  

Study.       Learn.       Earn.       Simple.

“Wagile” in New Product Development

Most businesses today employ a new product development (NPD) process to manage innovation.  Studies indicate that over 80% of leading US companies use a phased and gated framework to convert embryonic ideas to commercial products.  Yet research also shows that about half of all new products fail.

So, it is not surprising that companies are looking for other systems to manage NPD projects.  Because Agile has been successful in software development, many firms are considering project management frameworks, like Scrum, for physical new product development.  You can learn more about traditional, waterfall NPD processes here and Scrum for NPD here.

A disadvantage of Scrum in physical product development is that while features can be designed during a typical two- to four-week long sprint, it is often difficult to test a feature without the availability of the whole product solution.  Consider, for example, testing automatic collision avoidance on a vehicle without knowing the weight, horsepower, or tire diameter of that vehicle.

“Wagile” for NPD

So, we know that NPD projects must be faster and more responsive to customer needs than we can normally deliver in a traditional phased and gated process.  We also know that going fully agile is not practical in many situations.  What’s the answer?  “Wagile!”

“Wagile” is a hybrid of waterfall and agile processes, adopting the positive aspects of each project management framework to physical product development.  Wagile processes are faster and more flexible than conventional staged and gated processes but recognize the whole system as a product.  Moreover, wagile processes interface with customers at key intervals to determine functional needs and to garner important design insights at the right times in the project life cycle.

Iterative Wagile

Iterative wagile processes are often used for new product development projects that have a few, higher risk technical or market uncertainties.  The market is known and developing so speed-to-market is a critical factor in commercial success.  Frequently the firm has significant technical competency in the product category and is skilled at quality production in this product arena.

In this variety of wagile NPD project management, sprints are applied early in the process to address specific technical questions or to gain customer feedback for a particular product feature.  The business case is documented upfront and project requirements are known within a wide bandwidth.

The iterative sprints are used to answer some specific questions so that the product design can be locked.  Once those design requirements are determined, through a series of iterative technology or market experiments, a traditional waterfall process is followed for prototype generation, technical development, and commercial launch.

An example of a product for iterative wagile development is the iPad™.  The market was generally known and growing as the use of eReaders was expanding in 2010.  However, the iPad touchscreen required technical design beyond the smaller iPhone™ screens and some user interactions needed testing.  However, once these design specifications were frozen, technical development and product manufacturing followed Apple’s traditional project management models – the same used for other existing products.

Incremental Wagile

In other cases, new products are really new platforms built to serve customers and users with new technologies and with novel applications.  Consider, for instance, wearable fitness trackers.  The goal of the NPD project is to deliver quality and to meet customer satisfaction objectives.  Customers needed to be educated on how the product worked yet were knowledgeable about the intention and utility of the product.

For fitness trackers, an incremental wagile NPD process was appropriate.  While technical and market uncertainties were both high, it was important to test proofs and prototypes in the marketplace.  A minimally viable product (MVP) that simply counted steps was a first version of the product.  The company gains market insights from the niche customers using an MVP and develops a second version of the product, purchased by a growing customer base.

Again, technical requirements are developed based on customer insights and feedback rom using the real product.  Another, more sophisticated version is released based on this new market information, and the cycle repeats itself again and again.

Incremental wagile is an especially useful project management approach for a new product category.  Fitbit™, like Kleenex™ and Xerox™, identifies the product category for fitness tracker today, yet functionality is radically more complex than the original step counters released as MVPs just a few years ago.

Wagile for NPD

Each NPD project is unique in some way.  Thus, applying the “right” NPD and project management process approach requires evaluating several variables for the project.  Some of these factors include the following.

  • Technical uncertainty
  • Market uncertainty
  • Customer availability
  • Company culture
  • Team structure
  • Competitive threats

However, most NPD projects can be successfully implement using a waterfall (staged and gated), agile (Scrum), or hybrid (wagile) approach.

We invite you to learn more about “wagile” new product development in an upcoming Agile NPD or New Product Development Professional (NPDP) certification workshop.  Check out our full class schedule at Simple-PDH.com.  Please contact me if you’d like a free pdf copy of the Scrum Body of Knowledge (SBOK) and check out our current course list for Agile NPD and Scrum here.  Feel free to contact me at info@simple-pdh.com 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

Some great references on agile and Scrum are:

 

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

© Simple-PDH.com

A division of Global NP Solutions, LLC