Chapter 4 Terms

Question 1

New product design and development projects

Answer 1

transformation of a new market opportunity and/or new product technology into a set of specifications that define a product (ex. Coca-Cola’s intro of Freestyle)

Question 2

New process design and development projects

Answer 2

transformation of product specifications and new process technology into a new or revised production system (ex. new production line in a factory)

Question 3

Product life cycle (4 stages)

Answer 3

Launch (intro)
Growth
Maturity
Decline

Question 4

Fast innovators

Answer 4

capture additional sales by getting to the marketplace first
able to react quickly to competitor’s product introductions
produce a more continuous stream of new product introductions

Question 5

High quality innovators

Answer 5

fewer problems launching new products and fewer failures in the marketplace
satisfy customers efficiently

Question 6

Efficient innovators

Answer 6

able to fund more new design and development projects than other firms
can sell at lower prices or need less of an investment to get product out there

Question 7

Innovation portfolio planning

Answer 7

process of selecting and prioritizing innovation projects to ensure that they are consistent with the firm’s strategy and development capacity

Question 8

4 types of innovation projects

Answer 8

Research and advanced
Radical breakthrough
Next generation
Enhancements, hybrid

Question 9

Research and advanced

Answer 9

aimed at finding new core products or processes (ex. auto company developing hydrogen fuel cell vehicle)

Question 10

Radical breakthrough

Answer 10

developing a product or process that employs an entirely new technology (ex. digital cameras when they first came out)

Question 11

Next generation

Answer 11

develop new product platforms using mostly existing technologies (ex. iPod)

Question 12

Enhancements, hybrid

Answer 12

refine and improve selected features of existing products (ex. peanut butter M&Ms flavor)

Question 13

Early supplier involvement

Answer 13

a codevelopment approach in which suppliers participate directly in product design activities

Question 14

Benefits of codevelopment

Answer 14

increase the number of sources for new and better ideas
increase the number of products they launch
share the financial and legal risks of development

Question 15

Risks of codevelopment

Answer 15

a firm can lose control of intellectual property (can be leaked to competitors)
can lose control of the goals and timing if they leave it up to others

Question 16

Component standardization

Answer 16

reusing part designs across multiple products in order to reduce development and production costs

Question 17

Voice of the customer

Answer 17

research efforts that gather data describing customer’s needs, wishes, likes and dislikes regarding specific product features and functionalities (focus groups, surveys)

Question 18

Beta testing

Answer 18

customers use prototypes and give feedback to developers