Plan De Negocios

10 Formulas for Great Product Development
“Why is my New Product Development pipeline too slow, too expensive and lacking innovation?”
I hear this question all the time from frustrated Orthopedic leaders, so I thought I would share the formulas that have worked for me. This article boils down 25 years of Product Development experience into 10 Rules you can use to help your Teams execute at ahigher level.
Tiger’s 10 Rules
Rule #1 – Match team strength to project complexity
I often see too little horsepower for big strategic new product development, which leads to projects that go nowhere.  Draw a matrix, and put all of your projects into one of the four quadrants (Complex or “Me too”  by  Line Addition or Strategic)
The rule of thumb is:
* “Light Weight” Teams are suitedfor projects that are both “me too” products + line addition
* “Medium Weight” Teams are suited for projects that are complex, but only a line addition
* “Medium Weight” Teams are suited for projects that are “me too”, but also strategic
* “Heavy Weight” Teams are suited for projects that are both complex + strategic
Rule #2 – Separate project management from the projectresponsibilities
There is a reason why CPAs aren’t Artists and why Artists aren’t CPAs.  Please let the creative, interactive engineers (right brain) design products and let the organized score-keeper engineers (left brain) manage the project timelines and resources.  Without a separated Project Management function, all project coordination falls to the Development team and they are not the besttrained, nor the best personality type to drive this work.

Rule #3 – Go deep with project definition and planning
Everyone wants to get started on a new project, but it is critical for the entire team to spend quality time up-front defining the project.  Avoid the temptation to just start working.  Days, and I really mean days of planning should be used to define the following projectelements:
* Project purpose
* Business and project goals and objectives
* Scope and expectations
* Roles and responsibilities
* Assumptions and constraints
* Known risks
* Project management approach
* Ground rules
* Project budget and timeline
* User requirements (if available)
* The conceptual starting designs (ifavailable)
* Communication processes
* Metrics
This up-front planning time will pay dividends on the back end of the project. Don’t skip it.

Rule #4 – Build a smart project plan
Every project plan is unique.  A clever timeline and plan can make all the difference.  I have seen great success using these four approaches:
* Find ways to eliminate risks as early aspossible in the project –> prototype critical features first
* Focus on parallel path opportunities –> these are huge time savings in the parallel approach
* Focus on the Springs not the Rods (springs are flexible time areas, rods are fixed time tasks)
* Get 100% Team buy-in on the plan –> promotes ownership and dedication
Rule #5 – Fail fast and cheaply
The best teamsfind ways to eliminate early design ideas quickly and cheaply.  Why make a fully function prototype in titanium that takes 8 weeks, when you can get a plastic “rapid prototype” of every separate critical design feature in a day?  If you have 10 ideas, eliminate half them early and free up critical resources later in the project.  Do not carry ALL of your ideas deep into the project as it willbecome a drag on resources later.  This is well illustrated in The Marshmallow Challenge.
Rule #6 – Cross pollinate
Product Development team members are usually physically separated in different buildings or  spread out in different departments.  The most productive teams cross-pollinate and spend time in each others world.
* Spend time face-to-face and get into each others shoes
*...