Posts Tagged ‘npd process’

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8 Step Process Perfects New Product Development

Tuesday, May 21st, 2013

airplaneEvery entrepreneur knows that productivity is one of the key ingredients for successful product development. One of the two key processes in Robert’s Rules of Innovation is the NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS. A formalized, NPD process – also referred to and best practice: the Stage Gate® Process – is a must, from simple to sophisticated. Here I will suggest an 8 step process which is fairly universal. Use it as a tool and adjust as necessary.

The New Product Development process is often referred to as The Stage-Gate innovation process, developed by Dr. Robert G. Cooper as a result of comprehensive research on reasons why products succeed and why they fail.

When teams collaborate in developing new innovations, having the following eight ingredients mixed into your team’s new product developmental repertoire will ensure that it’s overall marketability will happen relatively quick, and accurately – making everyone productive across the board.

To read more about the 8 steps to New Product Development: Please visit www.InnovationCoach.com

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Supporting the “R” in R&D

Wednesday, October 10th, 2012

When it comes to Research and Development (R&D), a majority of the new product development process involves the “D” from concept to launch. However, the “R” is where most breakthroughs come from – and it is in jeopardy due to recessionary cuts and the short-term pressure for monthly and quarterly results. When companies are laser focused on delivering monthly bottomline goals, research can be left on the back burner.

What are you doing to support research? Are you investing enough time, resources and money? What is your organization’s percentage of R&D spending? Although a high percentage of spending is no guarantee for success, a company needs to dedicate enough energy towards Research. It is, after all, the seed to long-term sustained Innovation.

In some companies, independent research has given way to Open Innovation. We have seen a pattern of organizations that become overly reliant on Open Innovation (see Challenging Open Innovation and Innovation is Creativity X Risk Taking). Although companies are gaining ideas from outside organizations, breakthrough innovations still have to come from within the company through hard work and consistent efforts. The result of over reliance on Open Innovation is smaller, incremental innovations versus market-changing breakthroughs. Efforts become more closely tied to immediate profit concerns when R&D departments are decentralized.

Research ensures companies are making strides towards achieving breakthrough innovations in the long run. Without this kind of “R” attitude there would be no light bulb. Through research, Thomas Edison learned 5,999 times how NOT to do it! There would be no Dyson ball vacuum cleaner, nor would we have made it to the moon or made any other truly game changing Innovation. Supporting the “R” in R&D means investing in your company’s long term goals.

Examine your organization’s:

* R&D spending as a percentage of sales

* Total R&D headcount

* Total patents filed/pending/awarded/rejected

* Number of new products released

* Current-year percentage sales due to new products

For more tips on supporting a culture of sustained Innovation, see “Robert’s Rules of Innovation: A 10-Step Program for Corporate Survival.”

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Can Innovation Be a Structured Repeatable Process?

Tuesday, July 24th, 2012

calendarWhen Innovation comes to mind, the first thing people may think of is creativity, spontaneity, or a momentary stroke of genius. But can innovation occur out of a structured, repeatable process? The answer, in short, is yes. In fact, in order to build a long-term culture of sustained innovation, a structured process must be put into place especially in idea generation or ideation. Although it sounds counter intuitive to say “structure” and “ideation” in the same sentence, organizations need to conduct at least two ideation sessions each year in order to foster continued growth. A good innovation leader has the foresight to schedule regular ideation sessions year after year, and not just when sales are dwindling.

Ideation, or idea management, is part of a long term innovation effort that, if facilitated intelligently, leads to successful new products or services. Even if a small percentage of concepts make it through the process, the payoff could be significant for the company. So schedule those bi-annual ideation sessions and invite members from various departments in your organization to participate. You’ll find value in fresh perspectives from customer service, engineering, production, marketing, and your salespeople. Here are some tips for hosting ideation sessions that will lead to the best possible outcomes.

  • Break up teams into people who know each other but are not “that friendly” with each other in order to minimize group think.
  • Vary the format as well as locations and times of ideation sessions. Predictability can kill ideation. Mix it up to get people out of their comfort zones.
  • Accept ALL ideas and get them written down on the board. You never know when a concept can be recycled for future use.
  • Build a database of ideas from which new combinations and solutions can be derived.

By holding regular ideation sessions, your organization is adopting a proactive strategy in the new product development process. To get results in Innovation, a structured, repeatable process is essential. Look to all imperatives of Robert’s Rules of Innovation:

  1. Inspire
  2. No Risk, No Innovation
  3. New Product Development Process
  4. Ownership
  5. Value Creation
  6. Accountability
  7. Training and Coaching
  8. Idea Management
  9. Observe and Measure
  10. New Result Net Reward

These rules of order are meant to be applied regularly as part of a sustainable growth strategy. All these parameters should be continually utilized – and not just when sales or ideas are low – to achieve successful, lasting innovation.

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Innovation: 3M’s lessons to be learned

Tuesday, May 15th, 2012

3MWhile Apple is often the most highly touted company for its innovation success, 3M is a global innovation company that has remained under the radar for its long-term innovation plans and succeses. With $30 billion in sales and products sold in nearly 200 countries, 3M has made significant contributions to the health care, communications and office business – including bringing the world’s most recognizable brands Post-it Notes and Scotch tape to market.

The root of 3M’s success is its business model; to foster organic growth by inventing entirely new, market-changing products. These disruptive technologies have not only led to new products but to the creation of new industries. In order to foster this growth, 3M has always emphasized the important of research and development (R&D) to which the company dedicates six percent of its yearly revenue. Although a high percentage in R&D spending does not guarantee success, 3M is doing very well.

3M takes a long-term approach to the new product development process by creating a culture of innovation that encourages risk-taking, tolerates mistakes made along the way, and rewards achievement. A culture of innovation means that senior management encourages employees to spend a significant portion of their time on products and research that go beyond their usual scope of responsibilities. This involves hosting ideation sessions in which the innovation champion creates an environment of trust and openness. Only by breaking out of their usual comfort zones can teams create truly disruptive technology.

As part of the company’s holistic innovation strategy, 3M focuses on developing disruptive innovations outside of the current existing portfolio. In 2008, 3M began strategically investing in startups with long-term benefit to the company, resulting in collaborations and increased technological development. These 3M New Ventures include 3M GTG digital media solutions for outdoor advertising, and Energy Inc., which monitors residential and commercial energy consumption to reduce costs.

Another way 3M capitalizes on its innovation success is by combining diverse technologies in new and unexpected ways. 3M draws upon innovative technologies from its portfolio of 55,000 products to create new solutions, such as using dental technology applied to car parts. By making these uncommon connections, the company pioneers new ways of innovating.

The strategies developed by 3M are meant for long-term, sustained innovation.

- Dedicated R&D, long-term development and separate from concept to launch efforts

- Apply and use Open Innovation; host ideation sessions with members of all departments

- Foster a culture of innovation by allowing team members to take risks in a protected environment

- Reward and encourage creativity

- Implement and nurture all Ten Imperatives in Robert’s Rules of Innovation to create and sustain innovation.

As innovation is the lifeblood of any organization, all companies can stand to learn from some of the tactics used by 3M. For more tips, see “Robert’s Rules of Innovation: A 10-Step Program for Corporate Survival.”

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Five Key Innovation Questions to Ask

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012

innovation2There are plenty of reasons to innovate. Especially now more than ever before, sustained Innovation is the means to developing marketplace showstoppers that lead to profitable growth. Innovation is not a luxury that can be placed on the back burner, even for today’s successful companies. So before beginning your next innovation effort, here are some key questions to consider for mapping out an effective innovation plan.

1. What type of innovation does your organization need?

The key to implementing innovation is first defining the type your organization needs. The hardest kind of innovation to manage is Breakthrough – which creates an entirely new way to deliver value. Few and far between, these game changers hold the greatest potential for business success. Most innovations are incremental, which can mean a tweak on an existing product, process, or service. Examining how your innovation effort fits into the current organization’s needs is critical at this go/no go checkpoint. (There is nothing wrong with focusing and starting with Incremental Innovation or Line Extensions, get some early wins, get the organization engaged and excited and create a structured repeatable process.)

2. Does your innovation satisfy customer needs?

Customer demand affects the successful outcome of your innovation. Beyond asking your customers what features they would like to see, ask them what their biggest concerns are and that will help shed light on the products and functionalities they require for a more successful innovation.

3. Who are your innovation champions?

The innovator-in-chief needs to truly champion this culture and drive it throughout the organization to make it happen. In order to defeat the devil’s advocates and become an agent for change, the leader must democratize the innovation process and select a group of people from different business groups, different backgrounds, and different skill sets joined together for a common purpose. He or she must engage, walk the talk and not just delegate the spiritual leadership. The companies with inspirational innovation leaders stand out with their results i.e Apple, Kohler, etc.

4. How will you measure success?

Innovation is ultimately about Return on Investment. It’s critical to use leading and lagging Key Performance Indicators, and observe and measure time spent on each segment of the new product development (NPD) process to see how it’s progressing. Leading Metrics used in the industry can include ideas generated, ideation sessions held, number of patents filed, and for lagging new products released, and percentage of sales due to new products.

5. How will success be rewarded?

With successful innovation comes profitable growth and a win-win situation for shareholders, employees, and customers alike. Incentives are needed for all participants on your NPD staff, and often times the key motivator is less financial than it is about recognition for a job well done. Motivation does not have to be about money – but it is necessary, so reward your people. They are your best innovation resource.

By focusing effort in the right places, companies can avoid oversight and increase their chance of innovation success. For more tips, see “Robert’s Rules of Innovation.”

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Creativity Does Not Equal Innovation

Tuesday, March 20th, 2012

creativity_and_innovationInnovation and Creativity are words that are at times used interchangeably in the research and development process, but they have two distinct meanings. While creativity is about coming up with the big idea, innovation is about executing the idea and making it a business success. Do not confuse the two. An organization can certainly have creativity without the right steps to implement innovation.

Innovation implementation calls for a robust, disciplined strategy. It can not be a one-time process, but must occur over and over again to form a steady flow of innovation that sustains long-term profitability. The only way to achieve that is by bringing focus, a road map, screening criteria, and checkpoints to the new product development (NPD) process.

Many innovation leaders are concerned that adding structure will dampen creativity, but in my experience, structure can actually free the creative spirit. By applying structure that adapts to the needs, size, and culture of an organization, a leader can draw both creativity and innovation out of its team members. Here are some tips for attaining that winning combination.

* Hold ideation sessions with a group of diverse and highly charged creative people in your organization – and be sure to keep any restraints off. Do not ignore or override any input from the team. Practical, real world filters can always be added later on, but you want to capitalize on all ideas early in the process.

* Keep track of meeting decisions and next steps. Delegate responsibility and encourage ownership.

* Use your motivational skills by creating clear and unwavering deadline pressure, while reinforcing and praising their incremental progress. Apply “Trust with verification”

* Give team members some incentive for their contributions and achievements. This does not necessarily have to be money – often recognition is a key driver for creative players in your organization; make them the initiative Champion, offer recognition among peers.

* Create an environment where mistakes are tolerated and free of punitive measures. Remember, the creative process is a ratio, so more attempts at success naturally equate to more failures along the way. Managing failure as a learning experience lets your creatives feel safe and empowered to do their best work.

* Provide regular feedback and keep the lines of communication open throughout the NPD process.

Last but not least consider some defined “Free Time” with unlimited creativity but accountability to report the outcome aligned with the company Vision, Mission and Strategy. For more tips on fostering innovation and creativity, see “Robert’s Rules of Innovation: A 10-Step Program for Corporate Survival.” The ten imperatives are a useful guide for successfully starting, nurturing, and profiting from a culture of sustained innovation in the workplace.

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Three Issues that Stifle Innovation, and How to Overcome Them

Tuesday, March 6th, 2012

innovation1As an innovation leader, you know how important a culture of sustained innovation is to the survival of your organization. However, there are many factors that can challenge the innovation process. These issues may come from team members, executives, or the general culture of the organization. Here some common challenges that companies deal with, and solutions for overcoming them.

1. The culture of the company is to keep doing things the way they’ve been done in the past – there is a lack of curiosity and eagerness to change.

If this sounds like your organization, you know that lack of inspiration can be a frustrating situation. Determining a vision for the future of the company is the first step to tackling this problem. Set quantitative goals, such as bringing one new product per year to market, and decide the people, facilities, and resources you will need to achieve those goals. The new product development (NPD) process consists of a clear action plan, with regular meetings to instill accountability. Making NPD meetings mandatory, and monitoring progress, is the only way to ensure productivity and that the plan will stay on track.

2. Innovation attempts in the past have failed, causing team members to be hesitant about taking risks.

This is certainly a common problem in organizations, as the success ratio for new products is actually very low. A study on the grocery business (allbusiness.com) pegged the success rate for new product entries at just 1%. Without risk, there can be no innovation, so it is important for the innovation leader to invite all ideas from all sectors of the organization. Encourage risk-taking and manage failure as a learning experience, as it is an inevitable part of the innovation process. Communicate with team members to establish trust that failures will not result in punitive measures.

3. Ideation sessions lack creativity, as team members have their “day jobs” to attend to.

With routine responsibilities of the daily workplace, innovation can easily be put on the backburner. Choosing a diverse group for ideation sessions can provide just the right amount of social tension needed for a quality outcome. Break up teams and select people who do not often work together in order to minimize group think. Vary the format of meetings to avoid predictable times and places – perhaps hold a meeting at a customer’s office to take people out of their comfort zone. Creating new environments for a diverse group will garner fresh perspective.

These scenarios and solutions were based on the ten imperatives by Robert Brands to create and sustain “New” in business. For more tips on successfully achieving innovation, see “Robert’s Rules of Innovation: A 10-Step Program for Corporate Survival.”

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2012 Innovation Resolution: Turning Ideas Into Money

Monday, January 9th, 2012

happy-new-year-2012Innovation is an indispensable force that turns ideas into money. It is the lifeblood of any organization. In order to implement sustainable Innovation in 2012, you need to define innovation in a manner that makes strategic sense for your organization, and have the know-how to properly construct and use a process, plus the will to keep the process on course.

The task may seem daunting at first, but it’s possible to develop a disciplined strategy that delivers Innovation time and time again for sustained long-term profitability. Make developing that strategy your 2012 New Year’s Resolution. “Robert’s Rules of Innovation” outlines specific steps to implement Innovation. Here are some tips:

1. Define your organization’s needs. What type of innovation are you trying to achieve? An incremental innovation that introduces a new process or feature? Or a transformative breakthrough that completely changes the marketplace? The latter is more difficult to achieve but holds the greatest potential. Choosing the path that makes the most sense for your organization will help in the Innovation process.

2. Formulate a New Product Development process. Each organization’s NPD process can have a different number of steps, so long as they form a structured plan. A three stage plan may include: Stage 1 Product Definition where a product is examined for its brand strategy, profit potential, and competitive analysis. If the product is a “go” then it moves to Stage 2: the Qualification process where a first article product is made and tested for quality assurance. Finally, Stage 3 is Revenue where the product is launched.

3. Create a road map to success. The key elements are examining Quality of projects, Capability of managing them successfully, and Capacity of the organization for maintaining a portfolio of well-managed projects. No matter what NPD process you decide to use, stick to the road map to ensure that each stage, and tasks within each stage, are clearly defined.

4. Some more guidelines for progress: remember to stick to your go/no-go criteria for moving forward with developments. All projects should undergo the same scrutiny, regardless of who suggested it! Also, many organizations are incorporating a “discovery phase” into the Innovation process to allow for more experimentation. This step is beneficial for making decisions based on long-term sustainable Innovation, and not on current budget restraints alone.

In a world of increasing business competition, Innovation is key to a company’s survival. Creating an Innovation strategy that makes sense for your organization is entirely feasible, and an absolute must for creating profit for your company.

Here’s to a New Year of Innovation!

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Keep the Idea Highway Open to All

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011

Innovation advances your company towards the future – generating new products or services, boosting profits and increasing stakeholder value. To develop Innovation, the first step is to Inspire and Initiate your organization’s members. Innovation leaders need to provide the right support, both material and emotional, to stimulate new product development (NPD).

What are effective methods of inspiring innovation? For starters, keep the idea highway open to all. Good ideas can come from anywhere within your company and from any level. Communicate your innovation goals to the organization and encourage everyone’s feedback. Setting regular monthly in-person NPD meetings will ensure that the innovation process doesn’t fall off course. Hold your team members accountable for attending on time and actively participating at each meeting. Monitor progress, make new decisions and set target goals for the next meeting to steer the innovation process along.

The best way to stimulate innovation is to take team members out of their regular comfort zones. Knock down silos in the organization so that groups who don’t typically interact can form cross-functional teams. Take innovation champions from marketing, operations, finance, sales, customer service – or any other department of your company – and communicate to them simply and clearly your innovation goals and how your vision will shape the future of the company. By working with other departments, team members can see how their position fits into the organization as a whole and how they can contribute their specialized knowledge.

Innovation is the lifeblood of any organization and in order to achieve it, CEOs and Management team should lead by example. Encourage, inspire and initiate your team to be creative and to make breakthroughs. Let them dare to take risks, and accept failure along the way as a minor setback for the price of Innovation. By openly communicating and providing ample support, your team members will trust in you as a leader who wants to inspire a culture of Innovation.

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How to Measure Innovation

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011

No matter if it’s a test score, sports game result or a sales figure, what we measure is what goes down in history. After all, “what’s measured is treasured.” It’s human nature to look back at past results as a basis for comparison and for improvement in the future. For this reason, it is absolutely essential to carefully observe and measure performance in the New Product Development process. In each of the different stages of the process, keep track of how much time is being spent so you know if you are ahead or behind schedule compared to past NPD cycles.

What gets measured is what gets done. Therefore, it’s necessary to set leading and lagging indicators for how the NPD process is going. Leading indicators such as the number of new ideas in the database, number of projects in the hopper, patents applied to, and amount of time and resources spent are all important information that give you insight on the NPD progress. Lagging indicators could include number of new products introduced, patents granted, new product sales in the first three years after launch, and how close your team is getting to the goal of introducing “at least one new product per year.”

By the way the traditional measurement of % of R&D spend is no guarantee for success!

Things will not always go as planned so now is the opportunity to make corrective actions. By measuring performance, you will be able to address your team on what’s working and what’s not for continuous improvement.

Success in product development is seen as one of the top indicators of the future performance of a company. To sustain Innovation, companies need to continuously improve their new product development capabilities. Quantitative and qualitative measurements of new product development will lend insights into a company’s strengths and weaknesses.

Measuring performance doesn’t stop after your product is launched. Now it’s time to measure the fruits of your labor. Some very important and telling information can be collected during the first three years after the launch of a product. In a survey of 200 companies that design and develop new products, they shared these key performance indicators.

1. Measure Research & Development spending as a percentage of your total sales.

2. Look at your total number of patents filed, pending, awarded and rejected.

3. Track your total R&D head count, hours or days spend.

4. Measure the current year percentage of sales due to new products released in the past year, past three years, and past five years.

5. Count the number of new products released.

These metrics should be examined after every New Product Development cycle so you are clear on your spendings and ROI for each product. Look at your ratio of new product sales compared to total sales. Now you have a basis for comparison and can set a target goal for the next new product. This management by objectives style uses ongoing monitoring and is an effective method for keeping the NPD team focused on achieving goals. By looking at opportunities in the New Product Development process to increase ROI, companies are able to improve performance and ultimately, increase shareholder value.

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