Product Creation: The Heart of the Enterprise from Engineering to Ecommerce

By Philip H. Francis

Book Overview

Now more than ever, a company's success -- indeed its survival -- depends on a firmwide effort to create the best products and bring them to market quicker than competitors. Going beyond the traditional focus on design and production exclusively, product development expert Philip H. Francis provides senior managers with the methods and tools to orchestrate the entire enterprise for creating a legacy of product excellence. For the first time, Francis presents a holistic view of product creation--not just the core elements of engineering and industrial design, but also design's interface with manufacturing, the customer's voice and quality commitments, and the essential functions of technology management and leadership.

From his unique vantage point as a former professor and researcher as well as a chief technology officer and director of advanced manufacturing technology, Francis presents the nine key business functions of new product development (NPD): manufacturing strategy, IT systems, issues of leadership and culture, customer satisfaction, quality, operations and measurement, intellectual property, the management of research and development, and technology. In immensely readable prose, Francis devotes a chapter to each function, explaining how managers can implement and manage each of these nine NPD functions. Francis enriches his arguments with real-world examples of triumphs and failures in a variety of industries, from consumer products such as furniture to business products such as networking software. He offers hands-on suggestions and strategies for every stage in the product development process, including "Ideas for Action" sections containing killer questions that can eliminate a product at any stage. Special sections of the book elaborate on the steps to take during key NPD processes.

Written for those trained in technology as well as business-oriented industrial managers, Product Creation will be timely and necessary reading for CEOs, engineers, designers, marketing managers, IT officers, as well as anyone concerned with product development from conception to market.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416576398
• ISBN13: 9781416576396
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: Free Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.78 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Product Creation is the heart of the enterprise from engineering to e-commerce

In order for any organization to fuel its growth, it must excel at product development. How to do this? An organization must first approach development with new proposals from every corner of the organization. Evaluate these ideas rationally and systematically and then select the best ideas. The organization's goal is to create a portfolio of the best selected ideas to help the organization grow. An organization must then manage these projects in four stages: building case justification, concept feasibility, product development, and pilot and production startup. Taking a new product from the basic idea to the product requires many steps that are connected in specific ways. An organization must rely on marketing intelligence, product definition, planning, research and development, process development, product launch, and after sales service. To be successful an organization must learn: · Brainstorm new product ideas · Coordinate the production and manufacturing processes · Ensure an effective IT system is in place · Lead the development instead of just managing · Create loyal customers and keep them satisfied · Create a quality product or service · Measure and manage operations · Manage the organization's intellectual property · Manage the organization's liability · Create effective Research and Development Systems · Harness technology now and in the future

Covering All the Bases

Francis' book should be read - and heeded - by anyone interested in creating successful new products. It is particularly valuable because it provides a comprehensive view of the processes and problems of creating new products. He not only describes the core process from idea generation through product launch, but he also includes the often neglected issues of information systems support, accounting for the costs and benefits of R & D programs, and patents and other legal issues associated with intellectual property. The scope of the work is broader than it first appears to be. Francis, a well-known expert in manufacturing, describes product creation processes and methodologies equally useful for manufactured products and for service "products".The book is rich in checklists on important topics, such as metrics of R & D performance, computing your leadership quotient, and motivating workers. He ends each chapter with a section called "Ideas for Action". These are tips on what to do to move from his printed page to action in the reader's organization. They are very useful.The most important message of the book is that successful product creation cannot be left to the R & D department; it requires the joint efforts of every organizational function. People from other departments who affect product creation will find this book very valuable, as will the R & D people themselves.