Product development target: shorten time to the market

In#nbsp;product creation we#nbsp;operate on#nbsp;a#nbsp;few stages, which depend on#nbsp;the industry we#nbsp;work in#nbsp;or#nbsp;on the product we#nbsp;create. There are lots of#nbsp;methodologies, including Six Sigma and its part Design for Six Sigma, a#nbsp;methodology, which gives you a#nbsp;set of#nbsp;instrument on#nbsp;how to#nbsp;create right product.

I#nbsp;don’t want to#nbsp;go#nbsp;deeper into Six Sigma as#nbsp;we#nbsp;have dedicated topic here. I’m writing additional post for both Lean manufacturing and Six Sigma to#nbsp;give you better overview on#nbsp;those methodologies and experience how to#nbsp;use them.

Getting back to#nbsp;the stages. Basically, we#nbsp;have a#nbsp;product idea, design, prototyping and serial production. You’re right, I#nbsp;especially missed customer requirements collection as#nbsp;in#nbsp;my vision it#nbsp;is a#nbsp;part of#nbsp;the product design and another thing is#nbsp;benchmarking and cost analysis, which are part of#nbsp;both design and prototyping stages depending on#nbsp;how complex your product (and its design) is.

I#nbsp;would like to#nbsp;ask you a#nbsp;question. What is#nbsp;our target?

1. Our target is#nbsp;to#nbsp;shorten time to#nbsp;end customer from development kick-off to#nbsp;mass-production

2. To#nbsp;choose all critical suppliers and technologies at#nbsp;50% of#nbsp;the overall development process or#nbsp;even earlier

In#nbsp;modern world companies (and their engineering departments) do#nbsp;the job step by#nbsp;step designing a#nbsp;product, prototyping it, testing it#nbsp;and only at#nbsp;very late stages of#nbsp;the development they start thinking about industrialisation when as#nbsp;many percentage of#nbsp;the product is#nbsp;fixed and ready.

How does it#nbsp;impact the whole thing?

If#nbsp;the design is#nbsp;done/finished/frozen/ready to#nbsp;go, what ever word you like to#nbsp;use here. How would it#nbsp;be#nbsp;possible to#nbsp;optimise BOM cost, assembly operations, quality procedures and etc? In#nbsp;many cases those optimisations are taken for the next generation of#nbsp;the product, which can happen in#nbsp;couple of#nbsp;years and company’s customers get an#nbsp;optimised product only sometime in#nbsp;future.

There are lots of#nbsp;engineering arguments why it#nbsp;should happen exactly this way and what are the reasons they can not change this approach. I#nbsp;believe and I#nbsp;know that we#nbsp;can do#nbsp;it#nbsp;better.

There are some steps I#nbsp;propose to#nbsp;make in#nbsp;order to#nbsp;change this approach

How?

1. Start with the price. Engage production and commercialization experts on#nbsp;early stages of#nbsp;product development;

2. Make a#nbsp;design reviews within cross-functional teams, including production, commercialisation people in#nbsp;one room frequently looking into how to#nbsp;reach the target price. Target price per function;

3. You definitely need to#nbsp;perform testing of#nbsp;the sub-systems, use software for simulations and etc.

Looking into those domains, I#nbsp;would propose to#nbsp;have a#nbsp;dedicated leader in#nbsp;every domain for every product group (o#nbsp;for clusters of#nbsp;the products).

For some organisations would be#nbsp;good to#nbsp;implement to#nbsp;important roles

Product build lead#nbsp;— Design for production expert, who works on#nbsp;product (s) from

Design to#nbsp;Prototyping to#nbsp;Serial production, whois role would be:

1. Work on#nbsp;a#nbsp;single product group (eg., Batteries);

2. To#nbsp;be a#nbsp;part of#nbsp;the engineering team;

3. Participate in#nbsp;Design reviews as#nbsp;manufacturing expert;

4. Help engineers to#nbsp;choose best technologies;

5. Arrange in#nbsp;house testing of#nbsp;intended production technics;

6. Participate in#nbsp;FMEA and PFMEA as#nbsp;production expert;

7. Lead prototyping and beginning of#nbsp;serial production

Why do#nbsp;we#nbsp;need Product build lead?

Industrialisation process begins @ very early stages of#nbsp;the design accelerating industrialization, including:

1. Advance production processes knowledge

2. Enhance production cost awareness

3. Improve early design optimisations

4. Build documentation for serial production, by#nbsp;learning how product is#nbsp;designed

Commercial lead#nbsp;— Cost and supply chain expert, who works on#nbsp;product (s) at#nbsp;all the stages

1. Work on#nbsp;a#nbsp;single product group (eg., Batteries);

2. To#nbsp;be a#nbsp;part of#nbsp;Commercialization team;

3. Participate in#nbsp;Design reviews as#nbsp;cost optimisation expert;

4. Help engineers to#nbsp;benchmark their product and optimize the cost, negotiating with suppliers;

5. Builds up#nbsp;a#nbsp;supplier base for each product together with engineering team.

Why do#nbsp;we#nbsp;need commercialisation lead?

1. Any technology is#nbsp;only good, if#nbsp;it#nbsp;meets customer requirements. Price is#nbsp;crucial.

2. A#nbsp;single person who stimulates team to#nbsp;search for right price

One more thing I#nbsp;would like to#nbsp;rise up#nbsp;here in#nbsp;this article is#nbsp;Cross-functional teams

We#nbsp;build a#nbsp;cross-functional team for every product group, including: Engineering, Industrialisation, Commercial, Strategy to#nbsp;get the products which meet all customer requirements in#nbsp;the most optimal way.