Managing the NPD Team

Question 1

What is one of the best practices of NPD in relation to teams?

Answer 1

Cooper & Kleinschmidt, 1986

Having multifunctional teams

Question 2

What are 3 things a teams information resource and problem solving style is affected by?

Answer 2

• Team composition
• Team process
• Work organisation

Question 3

What does team performance influence?

Answer 3

Speed and productivity of the product development

Question 4

What is a cross-functional team?

Answer 4

The project groups with members from more than one functional area. e.g. engineering, marketing & sales

Question 5

What are some benefits of working with cross-functional teams?

Answer 5

• Diversity increased amount of information available
• Helps to understand design process from a range or perspectives
• Helps identify any problems that could occur

Question 6

What are gate keepers?

Answer 6

The people who control the information flow from outside of the team

Question 7

What are some factors that make a good NPD team leader?

Answer 7

Iassawalla et al 2000

• Communicate expectations
• High level of communication
• Postive morale
• Manage team goals & share tasks
• Involve all functional groups

Question 8

What are the 2 types of communication that teams can have?

Answer 8

Internal and external

Question 9

Discuss the needs of internal communication in NPD teams:

Answer 9

• Effectively structured
• Builds team cohesion
• Reduces misunderstandings and barriers

Question 10

Discuss the needs of external communication in NPD teams:

Answer 10

• Opens team to new information
• Needs to be task-orientated
• Depends on teams ‘abortive capacity’

Question 11

How can firms support/encourage the creativity of the NPD process?

Answer 11

Bunduchi, 2009

• Frequent open communication
• Build organisation slack
• Better attitude to risk
• Senior management commitment

Question 12

What are some of the challenges to implementing/supporting the creativity of the NPD process?

Answer 12

Bunduchi, 2009

• Broken communication between teams (geographic locations)
• Management attitude to resource constraints
• Short term focus on incremental innovation

Question 13

What are product champions?

Answer 13

Powerful forces in organisation, who are passionate about what they do. They generate support for ideas and keep projects alive

Question 14

Give some examples of what product champions do:

Answer 14

• Recognise new technology or market opportunity as having significant potential
• Adopt the project as their own
• Commit personally to the project
• Generate support

Question 15

What is the ‘Valley of Death’?

Answer 15

The gap between an ideas technical invention or market recognition and the efforts to commercialise it

Question 16

What do management sponsors do:

Answer 16

• Represent management
• Is the NPD teams voice to management
• Ensure funding & time allocation

Question 17

How do you identify and secure a sponsor:

Answer 17

• Clearly define the project, scope & objectives

- Link the project sponsor or the sponsoring organisation