Product Development Exam Questions Flashcards
October 28, 2015 / 08:30-13.30
a) Speed and flexibility in product development are needed capabilities today, discuss five important underlying driving forces to that (2.5p)
b) Discuss five reasons why it can be beneficial to bring competitive products to the market more rapidly than competitors (2.5p)
c) Quite often management’s involvement only becomes significant late in the project, around the time when prototypes are being built. Why can this be a problem? (2.5p)
d) What is the purpose of creating an aggregate project plan and discuss some issues managers must confront in developing such a plan (2.5p)
- Product Development Dilemmas
a) Speed and flexibility in product development are needed capabilities today, discuss five important underlying driving forces to that (2.5p)
The discussion should be around five forces, e.g. R&D led times are becoming longer and or shorter, Shrinking Product life-cycles, Increased R&D cost, Diverse and rapidly changing technologies, The products are becoming more and more complex, Intense international competition, and Fragmented, demanding markets. 0.5 p per force – a list is not enough.
b) Discuss five reasons why it can be beneficial to bring competitive products to the market more rapidly than competitors (2.5p)
The discussion should be around five reasons, e.g. enjoy a longer product life, fast pay-back time, faster react to evolving market demands, faster use of emerging new technologies, set a higher market prize, enjoy scale effects, establish industry standards.. 0.5 p per reason – a list is not enough.
c) Quite often management’s involvement only becomes significant late in the project, around the time when prototypes are being built. Why can this be a problem? (2.5p)
Discussion about the management attention and influence profile in Exhibit 2-1. Managers usually gets involved in project when the product starts to become tangible and/or when problems begin to surface. The problem is that the later they get involved the lower the ability to influence gets and/or the higher the costs of eventual and necessary changes gets.
d) What is the purpose of creating an aggregate project plan and discuss some issues managers must confront in developing such a plan (2.5p)
Discussion based on W&C pp 48-51 regarding purpose and managerial issues such as links to strategy, resource utilization and balance.
October 23, 2009 / 14.00-18.00
a) Discuss five reasons why it can be beneficial to bring competitive products to the market more rapidly than competitors (2.5p)
b) What is the purpose of creating an aggregate project plan and discuss some issues managers must confront in developing such a plan (2.5p)
c) Not all development projects are of the same kind, describe the basic types of projects according to Wheelwright & Clark (2.5p)
d) Speed and flexibility in product development are needed capabilities today, discuss five important underlying driving forces to that (2.5p)
a) CG: from PPT 090904 W&C 20-25. Issues like product life, pay-back time, relation to market demand, faster use, market prize, scale effects, industry standards and WHY.
b) CG: W&C pages: 48+86-92. The purpose is to ensure that the collective set of projects will accomplish the development goals and objectives and build the organizational capabilities needed for ongoing development success (W&C p 48). The issues relates to resources per project and total resources, types of projects, mix and sequence, as well as relationship to strategic issues
C)CG: W&C pages: 49-50+92-97: Alliance, Derivatives, Platform, Breakthrough and R&D projects including description for each .
d)CG: from PPT 090904 and W&C 1-4. Driving forces to DISCUSS: R&D lead times, product life-cycles, costs, changing technologies, complexity, competition, markets, environmental concern. WHY, WHAT and HOW
131023
- Product Development Dilemmas
a. Describe different ways to source technology (2.5 points)
b. Speed and flexibility in product development are needed capabilities today, discuss five important underlying driving forces to that (2.5 points)
c. Discuss five reasons why it can be beneficial to bring competitive products to the market more rapidly than competitors (2.5 points)
d. What are the goals with Project portfolio management and what methods and tools can you use in order to achieve these goals (2.5 points)
ans
141029
a. Describe - not list - 5 different ways to source needed technology. Which of these is the most commonly used by companies (2.5p)
b. What are the goals with Project portfolio management and describe one method and/or tool that can you use in order to achieve these goals respectively (2.5p)
c. What is a “Dominant Design” and when/how does it emerge? (2.5p)
d. Managing R&D is really much about management of dilemmas. Describe three typical managerial dilemmas or “trade-offs” that commonly needs to be handled by R&D managers. (2.5p)
ans
100114
a) Discuss five typical themes (reasons to) in ineffective (problematic) development projects (2.5p)
b) Describe the three potential sources of advantage that comes from the ability to move quickly in product development (2.5p)
c) Quite often management’s involvement only becomes significant late in the project, around the time when prototypes are being built. Why can this be a problem? (2.5p)
d) Describe the five primary “types” of development projects (2.5p)
ans
101022
- Product Development Dilemmas
a) Describe different ways to source technology (2.5p)
b) What are the goals with Project portfolio management and what methods and tools can you use in order to achieve these goals (2.5p)
c) Not all development projects are of the same kind, describe the basic types of projects according to Wheelwright & Clark (2.5p)
d) Managing R&D is really much about management of dilemmas. Describe three typical dilemmas or trade-offs that need to be handled. (2.5p)
ans
161028
Wheelwright abd Clarck describes, based on their expertise from a variety of firms and industries, a handful of common pitfalls (problems) that causes great gap between promise (plan) and reality (outcome) in new product and process development. Describe these obvious pitfalls.
Problems in New Product and New Process Development.
To understand what causes the great disparity between promise and reality, and, more important to take corrective action, this obvious PITFALLS EMERGE
The Moving Targets: Too often the basic product of process concept misses a shifting technology or market resulting in a mismatch. This could be for technological, distribution channels, Market Changes.
Mismatches Between Functions: What one part of the organization expects or imagines another part can deliver may prove to be unrealistic or even impossible. Engineering Manufacturing (Manufacturability), Engineering Marketing (Product Features), Marketing .Manufacturing (Forecast).
Lack of Product Distinctiveness: Often new product development terminates in disappointment because the new product is no as unique or defensible as the organization anticipated. (Care if the imitators)
Unexpected Technical Problems: Delays and cost overruns often can be traced to overestimates of the company’s technical capabilities or simply to its lack of depth resources.
Problem-Solving Delays: Every new product development activity involves uncertainty, with regard both to specific problems and conflicts that will inevitably arise, and the resources require to resolve them
Unexpected Policy Issues: Resolving Policy issues during the “heat of the battle” and at senior (more politically oriented) levels of the organization inevitably engenders delay and further complications. A number of specific choices and decisions must be made during the product development process.
161028
What is an agregate project plan and differences with project porfolio Management
he aggregate project plan
The process of working out development goals and objective integrates technology and commercial plans from the standpoint of purpose and intent. The aggregate project plan brings a second stage of integration down to the level of specific project and resources. The purpose of creating such a plan is to ensure that the collective set of project will accomplish the development goals and objectives and built the organizational capabilities needed for ongoing development success.
The first step in developing an aggregate project plan is to ensure that development resources are applied to the appropriate types and mix of projects.
Research or advanced development projects (Create new science, capture Know-how, groups that is separate of the organization)
Breakthrough Development Projects: First generation of an entirely new product and process.
Platform or generational development projects. Design life for several years and stablish the basic architecture for a set of follow on derivative projects
Derivative development Projects:
Alliance or partnered Projects.
Second step is to develop a capacity plan (Resource utilization, Productivity, Resource Requirements)
Final Step. To examine the effect of the proposed projects on fundamental skills and capabilities required for future development projects
