The Toyota Product Development System: Integrating People, Process And Technology (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Jeffrey K. Liker (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"If youre among the many who have been waiting for a definitive book about Lean Product Development, your wait is over. The Toyota Production System has become extraordinarily famous as well as widely admired and copied in companies around the world. Yet, its product development system is unquestionably as important for Toyotas success as is its production practices, if not more so. The quality performance and broad product appeal among an ever-widening spectrum of customers are undeniable and directly attributable to the efficacy of the companys product development and engineering organization. This book provides both the big picture context and the detail youll need to understand the fundamental differences between conventional approaches and thinking toward development and Toyotas lean approach. Place this book on an easy-to-reach shelf - you will refer to it over and over, for a long time to come."
John Shook President, TWI Network, Inc.,, Author, Learning to See, February 23, 2006

"Absolutely brilliant. This is the most important breakthrough in understanding Toyotas runaway success since Lean Thinking. It has long been common knowledge that most of the cost, quality and attractiveness of a product are determined in the development process, and that Toyota engineers its designs for customer value and lean manufacturing. This insightful book finally gives away the secrets of Toyotas Product Development System, and will allow you to create your own lean development process: read it, and theres no turning back."
Freddy Balle & Michael Balle, Authors, The Gold Mine, February 23, 2006


"By combining Jeff Likers comprehensive insights into the whole Toyota system with Jim Morgans experience in product development plus his fine-grained investigation of the Toyota development system, they have finally put the whole puzzle together. All that remains is for you to study this volume carefully - and it does demand careful study because it presents a complete system integrating people, process, tools, and technology - and then to transform your own development system."
From The Foreword By James P. Womack, Co-Author, The Machine that Changed the World, February 28, 2006

"Product Development is one of the key frontiers of lean thinking in the coming years. Learn how to turn the tables on the competition by reading this book."
Daniel T. Jones, Chairman, Lean Enterprise Academy, UK, Co-author, The Machine that Changed the World, February 28, 2006


"How does Toyota do it? This book explores how, presenting both the big picture and providing great details. It describes the "chief engineer system" Toyota employs and discusses product development value stream mapping. It speaks to culture change and design technology. Its also rife with examples and case studies"
Review

Product Description

The ability to bring new and innovative products to market rapidly is the prime critical competence for any successful consumer-driven company. All industries, especially automotive, are slashing product development lead times in the current hyper-competitive marketplace. This book is the first to thoroughly examine and analyze the truly effective product development methodology that has made Toyota the most forward-thinking company in the automotive industry.

In The Toyota Product Development System: Integrating People, Process, and Technology, James Morgan and Jeffrey Liker compare and contrast the world-class product development process of Toyota with that of a U.S. competitor. They use extensive examples from Toyota and the U.S. competitor to demonstrate value stream mapping as an extraordinarily powerful tool for continuous improvement.

Through examples and case studies, this book illustrates specific techniques and proven practices for dealing with challenges associated with product development, such as synchronizing multiple disciplines, multiple function workload leveling, compound process variation, effective technology integration, and knowledge management.

This valuable book:

Highlights the application of value stream mapping methodology to product development. Identifies and defines the categories of waste that are specific to the product development process. Presents countermeasures and proven practices, based on Lean principles, developed for the product development process used at Toyota. Illustrates and clarifies the methodology by presenting actual case examples at Toyota and a U.S. competitor.

Readers of this book can focus on optimizing the entire product development value stream rather than focus on a specific tool or technology for local improvements.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Productivity Press; 1 edition (March 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563272822
• ISBN-13: 978-1563272820
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #105,803 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #15 in	Books > Business & Investing > Skills > Office Automation
  #20 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Engineering > Civil > Construction > Management
  #54 in	Books > Business & Investing > Management & Leadership > Production & Operations

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Toyota Product Development System, April 3, 2006

By	Eugene Greenstein (Farmington Hills, MI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I found Morgan and Liker's new book The Toyota Product Development System to be an excellent discussion of the key fundamentals that are missing in Detroit today based on my experience in the automotive industry. The most important reason Toyota is best is because of the way they develop and value people. This book describes the basics required to build a great Engineering organization. Engineering is the foundation that drives cost, quality and timing. This book should be required reading for everyone in the automobile industry from top management down. Morgan and Liker provide a great map for going forward for any company that designs and manufactures a product regardless of industry. The key is to start the Journey. This book is a great place to start.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book about Toyota PD, May 8, 2007

By	George Bernwanger (Nanjing, China) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the third book I've read about Toyota and by far the best one. I'm an engineering manager and found dozens of simple, new ideas in this book. This is a very thorough & practical guide to the inside workings of Toyota's PD system. There are many examples and sufficient details that you can easily understand them and also try to implement them in your own organization.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Product Development the way it should be, January 9, 2007

By	Fernando Alpizar (Mexico D.F.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have recently started to work in product development for the telecommunications industry and this book has been an excellent guide to learn and improve the product development process. The concept of Front Loading the development process is applicable immediately, and the rest of concepts like process flows, waste reduction, standardization, and the Chief Engineer System definitely enhance product development in any industry.

Examples from the automobile industry allows easy understanding on how the development process affects physical elements and a lot of time saving practices provide very useful knowledge.

This book will surely improve your product development skills and will help you understand how to make it better and faster.