Creating New Foods. The Product Developer's Guide - The Product Development project in the company

There was firstly the recognition in the sixties that product development did not start with research and development (R& D) but with management, and gradually it was recognised that it began with the business strategy working through the product strategy to the new product area definition. The later stages including post launch evaluation were identified as important, particularly the development of the marketing methods and organisation. Product concept development and the integration of the consumer into product design and testing, as well as the integration of market and technical research in all stages were other significant developments. Critical analysis of information and a go/no-go decision between each stage was an important addition.

There was recognition that product development is an integrated process which starts with the business strategy and does not stop at the launch but includes the post-launch activities.

The Product Development Process in this book developed from study of past processes. There are four major stages, and between each of these stages, there are critical points where top management should evaluate the project and give go/no-go decisions. At these critical points, management decides to go on, to stop, or to review the project. A 'go' decision represents a substantial added resource commitment.

The management decisions are made on the outcomes (information) from the activities in each stage. The outcomes are usually combined for top management in a report (product report, feasibility report, commercial report, final evaluation report), plus a product (product concept/product design specifications, product prototype, commercial product, company product). The flow from activities, to outcomes, to decisions, to report, to top management decision, to go/no-go, is shown in Figure 1.1.

The four main stages are:

product strategy development identifies the project and the product area;

product design and process development create the product and process;

product commercialisation designs marketing, production, distribution;

product launch and evaluation organise production, launch, post-launch.

Product strategy is a time of laying the essential foundation; product design and process development is a time of creativity and innovation; product commercialisation is a time of integrated forward flow; product launch and post-launch is a time of review and decision-making. There is no clear division of activities into the stages. For example, in some companies product design specifications can be at the end of Stage 1, in others the beginning of Stage 2; the final consumer test at the end of Stage 2 or the beginning of Stage 3, and the market test at the end of Stage 3 or the beginning of Stage 3. The demarcation is set by the accumulated knowledge needed by the top management to take the critical decisions.

Each stage has activities which produce outcomes, and on these outcomes the management decisions are made. The activities are broad areas in which a number of techniques are used; for example, 'creating product ideas' includes brainstorming, product morphology and consumer focus groups; 'screening product ideas' includes checklists, company focus groups and probability screening. The outcomes are also umbrella headings for a number of results; for example, product design specifications could include a profile of the product characteristics as defined by consumers, the product structure and composition, safety parameters, convenience and aesthetics, and also indicate the manufacturing/processing variables and their effects on the product qualities. There are not always straight-line relationships between activities, outcomes and decisions, but often the interlocking of different activities focussed to give one outcome. This gives fluidity but also integration to product development.

The stages are controlled by the product development management, who make, in cooperation with the project team, the management decisions. Involvement by senior management in the first stage and between stages assures the project is controlled by the overall business strategy. When planning each stage, the project team identifies the decisions that have to be made at the end of the stage, then the outcomes, on which these are based, and finally the necessary activities and the levels of these activities.

In other words, the Product Development Process is not regarded as a series of steps where you start at the beginning and work through them, but it seeks out firstly the decisions that have to be made and the outcomes needed for these decisions, and then the activities needed to produce the outcomes, and finally the techniques to be used in the activities. When the decisions, outcomes and activities are identified then the Product Development Process can be planned. From this, the product development project can be planned by choosing the techniques to be used. Strategically, the Product Development Process is designed to focus innovation in a direction that achieves the objectives laid down in the company business strategy. The product development project is designed to coordinate creative and efficient activities incorporating knowledgeable techniques so as to achieve the necessary outcomes.