Customer Reviews

Revolutionizing Product Development: Quantum Leaps in Speed, Efficiency, and Quality

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2 star:		(1)
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This book, written in 1992, started a whole revolution in looking at the management of product development. Concepts like: the funnel to focus the organization on the right projects, an aggregate project plan, and the best two pages on project management that I have ever read are in this book. If you are planning to change your new product processes, this book is a necessity. Steven Wheelwright is a genius and you can read his brillance in this book.

Excellent book, it describes the management principles for the whole new product development (NPD) process. The graphical frameworks provide a valuable synthesis of knowledge. The practical examples are the right complement to their conceptual postulates. The book is highly advisable for all actors involved in the NPD process. However, it must be a "compulsory" reading for general managers and executives within manufacturing plants, because of its strategic orientation.
Specially delicious are the chapters about aggregate project plans (Ch. 4) and Structuring the Development funnel (Ch.5). They contain the basic principles to halt those managers that want to tackle all the projects with the same limited resources.
The only gap in the book is the unclear link between the "pre-project" stages of the development (Development goals and objectives, and Aggregate project plan), and the project management phase. The authors fail to clearly establish where the project leader and teams joint into the development. More specifically, project definition is missed on exhibit 2-11.

I did not find much value in this book, aside from the chapter on teams. I think this book is valued because it was one of the first books written on the subject of new product development (NPD). But the theories and insights are out of date. Instead, read Dr. Cooper's Winning at New Products, New Products Management by Crawford, and the PDMA Handbook.

Vendor shipped book immediately and it was received in less than expected time. Product was just as described by vendor.