"L" & "M"

Question 1

Launch

Answer 1

The process by which a new product is introduced into the market for initial sale. (See Chapter 30 of The PDMA HandBook 2nd Edition.)

Question 2

Lead Users

Answer 2

Users for whom finding a solution to one of their consumer needs is so important that they have modified a current product or invented a new product to solve the need themselves because they have not found a supplier who can solve it for them. When these consumers’ needs are portents of needs that the center of the market will have in the future, their solutions are new product opportunities.

Question 3

Learning Organization

Answer 3

An organization that continuously tests and updates the experience of those in the organization, and transforms that experience into improved work processes and knowledge that is accessible to the whole organization and relevant to its core purpose. (see Continuous Learning Activity)

Question 4

Life Cycle Cost

Answer 4

The total cost of acquiring, owning, and operating a product over its useful life. Associated costs may include: purchase price, training expenses, maintenance expenses, warrantee costs, support, disposal, and profit loss due to repair downtime.

Question 5

Lightweight Team

Answer 5

New product team charged with successfully developing a product concept and delivering to the marketplace. Resources are, for the most part, not dedicated and the team depends on the technical functions for resources necessary to get the work accomplished.

Question 6

Line Extension

Answer 6

A form of derivative product that adds or modifies features without significantly changing the product functionality.

Question 7

Long-term Success

Answer 7

The new product’s performance in the long run or at some large fraction of the product’s life cycle.

Question 8

“M” Curve

Answer 8

An illustration of the volume of ideas generated over a given amount of time. The illustration often looks like two arches from the letter M.

Question 9

Maintenance Activity

Answer 9

That set of product development tasks aimed at solving initial market and user problems with the new product or service. (See Chapter 33 of The PDMA HandBook 2nd Edition).

Question 10

Mating Part

Answer 10

A general reference to one of two parts that join together.

Question 11

Manufacturability

Answer 11

The extent to which a new product can be easily and effectively manufactured at minimum cost and with maximum reliability.

Question 12

Manufacturing Assembly Procedure

Answer 12

Procedural documents normally prepared by manufacturing personnel that describe how a component, subassembly, or system will be put together to create a final product.

Question 13

Manufacturing Design

Answer 13

The process of determining the manufacturing process that will be used to make a new product. (See Chapter 23 of The PDMA HandBook 1st Edition.)

Question 14

Manufacturing Test Specification and Procedure

Answer 14

Documents prepared by development and manufacturing personnel that describe the performance specifications of a component, subassembly, or system that will be met during the manufacturing process, and that describe the procedure by which the specifications will be assessed.

Question 15

Market Conditions

Answer 15

The characteristics of the market into which a new product will be placed, including the number of competing products, level of competitiveness, and growth rate.

Question 16

Market Development

Answer 16

Taking current products to new consumers or users. This effort may involve making some product modifications.

Question 17

Market-Driven

Answer 17

Allowing the marketplace to direct a firmís product innovation efforts.

Question 18

Market Research

Answer 18

Information about the firm’s customers, competitors, or markets. Information may be from secondary sources (already published and publicly available) or primary sources (from customers themselves). Market research may be qualitative in nature, or quantitative (see entries for these two types of market research). It is a process used to define the size, location and/or make-up of the market for a product or service

Question 19

Market Segmentation

Answer 19

Market segmentation is defined as a framework by which to sub-divide a larger heterogeneous market into smaller, more homogeneous parts. These segments can be defined in many different ways: demographic (men vs. women, young vs. old, or richer vs. poorer), behavioral (those who buy on the phone vs. the internet vs. retail, or those who pay with cash vs. credit cards), or attitudinal (those who believe that store brands are just as good as national brands vs. those who don’t). There are many analytical techniques used to identify segments such as cluster analysis, factor analysis, or discriminate analysis. But the most common method is simply to hypothesize a potential segmentatio n definition and then to test whether any differences that are observed are statistically significant (See Chapter 13 of The PDMA HandBook 2nd Edition).

Question 20

Market Share

Answer 20

A companyís sales in a product area as a percent of the total market sales in that area.

Question 21

Market Testing

Answer 21

The product development stage when the new product and its marketing plan are tested together. A market test simulates the eventual marketing mix and takes many different forms, only one of which bears the name test market.

Question 22

Matrix Converger

Answer 22

A convergent thinking tool that uses a matrix to help synthesize data into key concepts with numbered ratings.

Question 23

Maturity Stage

Answer 23

The third stage of the product life cycle. This is the stage where sales begin to level off due to market saturation. It is a time when heavy competition, alternative product options, and (possibly) changing buyer or user preferences start to make it difficult to achieve profitability

Question 24

Metrics

Answer 24

A set of measurements to track product development and allow a firm to measure the impact of process improvements over time. These measures generally vary by firm but may include measures characterizing both aspects of the process, such as time to market, and duration of particular process stages, as well as outcomes from product development such as the number of products commercialized per year and percentage of sales due to new products.

Question 25

Modular Architecture

Answer 25

A product architecture in which each functional element maps into its own physical chunk. Different chunks perform different functions, the interactions between the chunks are minimal, and they are generally well-defined.

Question 26

Monitoring Frequency

Answer 26

The frequency with which performance indicators are measured.

Question 27

Morphological Analysis

Answer 27

A matrix tool that breaks a product down by needs met and technology components, allowing for targeted analysis and idea creation.

Question 28

Multifunctional Team

Answer 28

A group of individuals brought together from the different functional areas of a business to work on a problem or process that requires the knowledge, training and capabilities across the areas to successfully complete the work. (See Chapters 9 and 10 in The PDMA HandBook 2nd Edition and Chapter 6 in The PDMA ToolBook 1.) (See also “Cross-Functional Team”.)

Question 29

Mission Statement

Answer 29

Statement of a company’s creed, philosophy, purpose, business principles, or corporate beliefs. It’s purpose is to focus the energy and resources of the organization.
characteristics: 1. unique to company, 2. simple, clear, and concise 3. Reflect the capabilities.

Question 30

Market Attractiveness

Answer 30

Overall Industry Profitability

Question 31

Low End Encroachment

Answer 31

Market based alternative definition of disruptive technology. In this scenario, new product grows the market demand for a class or category of products by offering a new product to a market segment that did not previously consume the product. (Non-consumers)