Product planning

Question 1

In the generic product development process, which are the tasks in the planning phase?

Answer 1

Marketing:
- Articulate market opportunity
- Define market segments

Design:
- Consider product platform and architecture
- Assess new technologies

Manufacturing:
- Identify production constraints
- Set supply chain strategy

Other:
- Research: Demonstrate new technologies
- Finance: Provide planning goals
- General management: Allocate project resources

Question 2

What specific challenges are there for product planning?

Answer 2

• Costumer and market understanding
• Uncertainty and decision-making
• Resources

Question 3

What is the input to product planning?

Answer 3

A set of identified opportunities.

Question 4

What are the three key aspects that planning requires understanding of?

Answer 4

1. Market strategy:
   - Customer & market trends
   - Market segmentation
2. Technology development:
   - Technology trajectories
   - Product platform planning
   - Fundamental new product opportunities
   - Balancing the portfolio
3. Competitive strategy:
   - Technology leadership
   - Cost leadership
   - Customer focus
   - Imitative

Question 5

What are the four kinds of product development projects?

Answer 5

• Fundamentally new products
• Platforms
• Derivatives
• Incremental (update) product changes

Question 6

What plans are developed in product planning?

Answer 6

• Product plan
• Market plan
• Technology roadmap
• Product-process change matrix
• Resource plan
• Mission statement, customer needs list, requirement spec.
• PD project plan

Question 7

What does a mission statement include?

Answer 7

• A brief description of the product
• A benefit proposition
• Key business goals
• Target markets
• Assumptions and constraints
• Stakeholders