Is the Medicine Working? Has Anything Changed? NPD Revisited in Super High Technology Organisations

Abstract

This paper revisits the topic of new product development. Although a substantial literature exists, it has particularly in recent years focused on traditional low technology products. Less (or little) attention has been given to NPD as it relates to the extent lessons from the past have been learnt by organisations within the context of super high technology products. Particularly lessons in the context of the need to accelerate the NPD process. A case study approach is used to explore this issue, and the complexities of NPD for an organisation that operates in real time measurement having both severe (defence and industrial) and benign (commercial) environments and operating at the leading edge of technology. The study finds that the actual process by which new products are developed using concurrent engineering methods is not significantly different from that indicated in the literature but more a difference of emphasis. The key factor for success was identified as the adoption of a mutual learning process between marketing and the technical R&D functional areas, which enables teams to learn from past experience and even failures.The emphasis and attention on new product development (NPD) and the NPD process in particular, and related marketing activity is not new, and has been the focus of numerous studies. Although empirical work is presented in the literature which supports a number of approaches to NPD little if any specifically address super high technology industries. Given all the attention devoted to improving new product development practice, it is also somewhat surprising to find a paucity of published empirical research examining the extent to which industry, and in particular super high technology industries (such as Telecommunications, Optoelectronic Components, Laser Measurement, and Defence market sectors, where time to market of a quality product is paramount) have drawn lessons from the academic research activity of the past decade. This paper sets out to explore the extent to which super high technology organisations, which operate in real time measurement having both severe (defence and industrial) and benign (commercial) environments have drawn lessons from the past with respect to accelerating the NPD process. In particular, the study attempts to explore:· Issues related to lead time/time to market; · Cycle time in the context of drivers for accelerating the development process and reasons for development delays · Organizational determinants of new product success. BackgroundThe business environment has significantly changed over the past 10-15 years as a result of numerous external factors all of which have directly or indirectly impacted on NPD activity. These factors include:· Rapid and radical technological developments particularly computers, and the diffusion and impact of the Internet and Intranets;· Globalisation of business, emergence of regional and global customers, and increased international competition;· Changing competitive industry structures as a result acquisitions, merger...