"D" Flashcards
Dashboard
A typically colored graphical presentation of a project’s status or a portfolio’s status by project resembling a vehicle’s dashboard. Typically, red is used to flag urgent problems, yellow to flag impending problems, and green to signal on projects on track.
Data
Measurements taken at the source of a business process
Database
An electronic gathering of information organized in some way to make it easy to search, discover, analyze, and manipulate.
Decision Screens
Sets of criteria that are applied as checklists or screens at new product decision points. The criteria may vary by stage in the process. (See Chapter 7 in The PDMA ToolBook 1 and Chapter 21 of The PDMA HandBook 2nd Edition.)
Decision Tree
A diagram used for making decisions in business or computer programming. The “branches” of the tree diagram represent choices with associated risk s, costs, results, and outcome probabilities. By calculating outcomes (profits) for each of the branches, the best decision for the firm can be determined.
Decline Stage
The fourth and last stage of the product life cycle. Entry into this stage is generally caused by technology advancements, consumer or user preference changes, global competition or environmental or regulatory changes. (See Chapter 34 of The PDMA HandBook 2nd Edition).
Defenders
Firms that stake out a product turf and protect it by whatever means, not necessarily through developing new products.
Deliverable
The output (such as test reports, regulatory approvals, working prototypes or marketing research reports) that shows a project has achieved a result. Deliverables may be specified for the commercial launch of the product or at the end of a development stage.
Delphi Processes
A technique that uses iterative rounds of consensus development across a group of experts to arrive at a forecast of the most probable outcome for some future state.
Demographic
The statistical description of a human population. Characteristics included in the description may include gender, age, education level, and marital status, as well as various behavioral and psychological characteristics.
Derivative Product
A new product based on changes to an existing product that modifies, refines, or improves some product features without affecting the basic product architecture or platform.
Design for the Environment (DFE)
The systematic consideration of environmental safety and health issues over the product’s projected life cycle in the design and development process.
Design for Excellence (DFX)
The systematic consideration of ALL relevant life cycle factors, such as manufacturability, reliability, maintainability, affordability, testability, etc., in the design and development process.
Design for Maintainability (DFMt)
The systematic consideration of maintainability issues over the productís projected life cycle in the design and development process.
Design for Manufacturability (DFM)
The systematic consideration of manufacturing issues in the design and development process, facilitating the fabrication of the product’s components and their assembly into the overall product.
Design of Experiments (DOE)
A statistical method for evaluating multiple product and process design parameters simultaneously rather than one parameter at a time.
Design to Cost
A development methodology that treats costs as an independent design parameter, rather than an outcome. Cost objectives are established based on customer affordability and competitive constraints.
Design Validation
Product tests to ensure that the product or service conforms to defined user needs and requirements. These may be performed on working prototypes or using computer simulations of the finished product.
Development
The functional part of the organization responsible for converting product requirements into a working product. Also, a phrase in the overall concept to market cycle where the new product or service is developed for the first time.
Development Change Order (DCO)
A document used to implement changes during product development. It spells out the desired change, the reason for the change and the consequences to time to market, development cost, and to the cost of producing the final product. It gets attached to the project’s charter as an addendum.
Development Teams
teams formed to take one or more new products from concept through development, testing and launch.
Digital Mock-Up
An electronic model of the product created with a solids modeling program. Mock ups can be used to check for interface interferences and component incompatibilities. Using a digital mock-up can be less expensive than building physical prototypes.
Discontinuous Innovation
Previously unknown products that establish new consumption patterns and behavior changes. Examples include microwave ovens and the cellular phones.
Discounted Cash-Flow (DCF) Analysis
One method for providing an estimate of the current value of future incomes and expenses projected for a project. Future cash flows for a number of years are estimated for the project, and then discounted back to the present using forecast interest rates
Discrete Choice Experiment
A quantitative market research tool used to model and predict customer buying decisions.
Dispersed Teams
Product development teams that have members working at different locations, across time zones, and perhaps even in different countries.
Distribution
The method and partners used to get the product (or service) from where it is produced to where the end user can buy it.
Divergent Thinking
Technique performed early in the initial phase of idea generation that expands thinking processes to generate, record and recall a high volume of new or interesting ideas.
Dynamically Continuous Innovation
A new product that changes behavior, but not necessarily consumption patterns. Examples include Palm Pilots, electric toothbrushes, and electric haircurlers.
Disruptive Innovation
A technology that does not (necessarily) bring improved products to established customers, instead it offers other benefits - simpler, more convenient, or less expensive, and appeal to new or less demanding customers.
It offer a new technical approach or business model that upsets the traditional way of doing things.
