6.1.3 Organisation

     Design of product development organisation, ability to set the tone,
        posture and prevailing attitudes towards product development, creating
        an organisation to fit the needs of members and of customers,
        encouraging responsibility and creating multidirectional
        communication.

     Cost-effective project management, selecting the method that relates
        to the problem, for example incremental innovation using commercial
        line management, technical innovation using technical management,
        major innovation using separate project management or a new
        product committee.

     Flow management during the project, organising the timely transfer
        and flow of product prototypes and knowledge, encouraging the skills
        and knowledge for the evolving technology and keeping team
        members involved to greater and lesser extent throughout the project.

     Product development budgeting techniques, understanding the
        changing cost/time ratios between projects and within projects, the
        financial analysis of the different stages of the PD Process to identify
        the costs and their possible improvements, the financial controls needed
        for the different cost/ time ratios.

Management has to design the organisation for product development in the company, both for the overall new product programme and for the individual project. There needs to be coordination among projects to have the optimum use of people and resources, as well as planning and control for the individual project so that it flows towards the final product launch without stumbling too often. Radical innovations are never straightforward linear progressions through the project; there is often recycling especially during the earlier stages, but these returns to earlier stages in the project need to be managed.

Think Break In your company: 1. What is the basic philosophy of product development management? 2. Describe the understanding of technology changes and consumer     needs changes. 3. How are these changes affecting product development? 4. Has your company the abilities to develop new products related to     these changes? 5. If not, what new abilities need to be found? How could this be done? 6. What are the organisational methods used by your company? 7. Do they ensure effective and efficient product development? 8. If not, what changes need to be made in the organisational methods?