6.6.2 Responsibilities, resources and timing for activities

The kernel of the product development project is making things happen. It is important not only to plan activities but also to see that they occur effectively and efficiently, and are producing the correct new product at the right time and cost of resources. Product development is not a pyramid management activity, the person at the top of the pyramid taking all the responsibility, but for everyone in the project accepting responsibility. But to achieve the outcomes, they need to be given the resources and the time to complete their activities to the level required by the project. Everyone will have some critical activities, which they need to identify and nurture.

Responsibility is an important part of the management of product development. There needs to be clear definition of where responsibilities lie, from the critical decision making of top management to the outcome of the individual sub-activity of the individual project team member. Every part of the product development project can be crucial to the total effectiveness of the product, for example:

     poor optimisation of the flavour may cause an unattractive product to
        the consumer;

     selection of a variable raw material can cause production problems;

     low resources given by top management may cause lack of knowledge
        for controlling distribution;

     pressure on timing by marketing can lead to product failure in
        the marketplace.

So responsibility needs to be identified early in the PD Process as shown in Fig. 6.2 and expanded in Table 6.3, and adhered to throughout the project.


Table 6.3 Responsibilities in product development

Top management     · Clear product strategy and product development strategies     · Prioritise projects objectively     · Acceptance of the product development programme     · Clear definition of decisions and outcomes at the critical points of the       project     · Determine and make available the necessary resources     · Determine and ensure the personnel needed in product development     · Make timely, decisive and knowledgeable go/no-go decisions Product development management     · Product development processes for different innovations     · Coordination of product development programme     · Allocation and timing of resources     · Identification of different activities and their outcomes     · Set standards for quality of activities     · Control times and outcomes for activities     · Education and training of project teams     · Measures and controls effectiveness and efficiency of the product       development     · Revamps the PD Process regularly Project leader     · Identification of techniques for different activities     · Setting the standards for the different techniques     · Encouraging the creativity in design     · Problem solving     · Communication in the team     · Organising time and resources for the team     · Controlling the team's activities to give the desired outcomes

Source: From Earle and Earle, 1999, by permission of Chadwick House Group Ltd.


These are management responsibilities but the responsibilities of the individuals in product development also need to be identified. The designer has responsibility not only for creating a product, but also to ensure cooperation with other company staff and also consumers in designing the product. The designer's responsibility does not stop with the product prototype but includes its integration into both marketing and production. The designer has responsibility for communication with the other product development team members to ensure the design fits with the other developments, particularly process development. The supervisor on the production line for the new product not only has the responsibility to produce the product to the specifications but also to see that yields and costs are met. They are responsible for ensuring that staff understand the process, process control and product qualities; as well as cooperation between production and quality assurance.

Resources needed for the project are identified, followed by the resources already present in the company and the resources that will have to be brought into the company. The core resources are the complementary assets and organisational capabilities of the company. The complementary assets owned by a company can include

     physical assets such as marketing channels and manufacturing capability;

     knowledge assets such as R&D, patenting and the linking of the buyers
        and the suppliers;

     psychological assets such as brand image, company image;

     power assets such as high market share and industry dominance (Taylor
        and Lowe, 1997).

The assets can be physical or functional such as R&D, company/retailer networks, and both technical and commercial knowledge. A company can have assets such as modern manufacturing technology, an understanding of the market, a breadth of market coverage and skill in research and design. It is important that these assets are related not only to the product development programme but also at the level of the activity in the project. There is often non- recognition of these assets by the person at the activity level. Some functional assets such as marketing and R&D are crucially important to product development, and their interaction is vitally important. The assets do not have a value when standing alone; it is the range of assets used together that is important (Taylor and Lowe, 1997). Another important asset is the organisa- tional capability of the company, not just as related to the product development project but the total company organisation - this is particularly important in the initial stages in developing product strategy and product development programmes, and also in product commercialisation and product launching.

It is important not only to identify the assets available as resources in product development, but also the assets that the company lacks:

     Lack of up-to-date technology may limit product development to
        incremental change.

     Lack of market strength makes it difficult to launch an innovative product.

     Lack of raw material sources can limit the product formulation.

Timing is of course crucial in product development. For over 40 years, planning aids such as critical path networks, Gantt charts, PERT diagrams, job progress bar charts have been used in planning and controlling projects and there is computer software which can be used (Gevirtz, 1994). But the important parts in planning timings are:

     setting the sequence of the activities;

     identifying the critical activities as regards timing.

It is important to identify the activities that can theoretically run side by side, that is in parallel, and the activities that must sequentially follow each other. Sometimes lack of resources may change the parallel activities because there are not the people to carry them out together. So the people resource, and also often the equipment, may change the theoretical sequencing in actual practice. But it is always useful to start with the theoretical, because that will be the fastest track for the project. It is important to realise that by changing the theoretical sequencing of activities, efficiency of the product development will be reduced. Because of its effect on timing, it may be decided to drop an activity and take the risk of lack of knowledge leading to product failure. So there is much balancing of effectiveness and efficiency in planning the timing of activities as shown in Fig. 6.10 (Duffy, 1998).

Fig. 6.10 Balancing effectiveness and efficiency (Source: After Duffy, 1998
(- click to enlarge)

The consumer and the markets pull the balance towards effectiveness, seeking the optimum product that satisfies their needs and wants; the company wants an efficient project that is completed in time and within costs. Product development (project leader and manager) is trying to balance the two wants!

The most important part in timing the activities is to identify the sequence of activities that are critical. If the time taken for these activities overruns, then the timing for the whole project overruns unless there is reduction of activities in later stages. It is very important that care is taken with identifying and controlling the critical activities, early in the project, as losing time in Stage 1 can be very costly in the later stages and also may reduce the chance of success in later stages.

The main activities are split into the sub-activities (tasks) and the completion of each task is called an event (Meltzer, 1996). The length of each of these tasks is arguable, but they are usually measured in weeks. It is important that times for tasks are not too long as they become more difficult to control for timing, but again creativity in design does take time and is difficult to break down into short tasks.

It is important to monitor and maintain the time and resource schedule. Any changes are recorded and their effects on the launching date and also earlier stage completion dates predicted. There can be unanticipated problems such as difficulties in obtaining raw materials or equipment, technical difficulties in the design, patenting problems, competitor actions and even non-availability of top management for decisions. Their effects on the schedule need to be recognised immediately and the flow-on effects predicted. There may be a need to increase the people resources or to put pressure onto some suppliers to get the project back on a satisfactory schedule. Some pre-planning for possible problems needs to be allowed in the timing schedule.

Think Break 1. Contrast the responsibilities in your company, for product development,     of functional managers including marketing and R&D, and of product     development managers. How are these responsibilities integrated? And     by whom? 2. In a product development project team in your company, compare the     responsibilities of the project leaders and the team members. Do these     responsibilities vary among project teams? What causes variations in     responsibilities among teams - differences in type of project, team leader,     the composition of the team? 3. What is your company's balance between efficiency and effectiveness in     product development projects? Does the balance vary between projects?     If so, what is causing the variations? 4. What are the stumbling blocks in your company for increasing the     efficiency of product development - lack of people, resources, and     knowledge; over- ambitious projects; too many projects; faulty or     misapplied PD Process; lack of discipline, no leadership?