Evaluating the development of metrics within the new product development process to reduce time to market

Abstract

The manufacturing landscape is changing in Ireland. Ireland has enjoyed huge prosperity through the ¿Celtic Tiger¿ years as large multinational organisations set up manufacturing plants in Ireland. With the emergence of lower cost economies pressure has been put on Ireland¿s position as an attractive location for manufacture. With this change opportunities to innovate are being presented to Irish companies. As the economy changes to knowledge based economy entrepreneurs are setting up small development medical device companies exploiting opportunities within an ever expanding and technologically advancing field of minimally invasive surgery. Introducing new products to the market requires successfully developing the product from the concept phase through to the commercialisation phase. Introducing well designed product onto the market place in a short time as possible maximises the products financial potential in the market. This research utilised a case study approach to examine of the development of metrics to reduce the time to market for new products within these small Irish organisations. Investigating both traditional project measurement methods (Gantt Charts) and new techniques, such as stage gates, design for six sigma and balanced score cards, the study investigated the potential of tracking project outputs to reduce time to market. The case study shows the small Irish indigenous organisations studied has a high level of technical expertise and innovation potential and has successfully commercialised its first internally designed product. The measurement and analysis of the new product development process suggests the development of a system which will incorporate traditional and new methods. The study also indicates the development of new product development metrics will increase team communication, increase project execution efficiency and reduce time to market for substantially more robust products. The development of this new product development will incorporate the voice of the customer activities through the development process. The study indicates the learning¿s conducted for large organisations can be transferred to small Irish organisations. Measuring and continuously improving the new product development process increases product success and reduces the time to market.