Chapter 12 – New Product Development Records Format

This chapter describes the organizational format and perspectives on the continuity of new product development and explains how to structure the data, so that information and data can be easily stored, presented, and retrieved in an organized manner. Market data, correspondence, financials, route to market, marketing requirements specifications, design specification, cost data, drawings and documentation, customer visits, literature, filed feedback, manufacturing and quality reports, promotion, and customer support are detailed. To effectively win the competitive war, the process of new product development and business development should be thought of as a continuum rather than a series of discreet, reactionary actions. When evaluating the prospects of a new business based on a single product, it is important to understand the sensitivities to external actions involved and that it is much easier for a one-product business to fail rather than a multiple-product business to fail. If the company is serious about growing the business through balanced internal and external product development, it is important to establish procedures and assemble a group of motivated people to prosecute real opportunities on time and budget. The team should understand that every member of the group succeeds or fails based on the performance of the group and remove non-believers from the group communication. Commitment, agreement, and organization are requirements for success. Developing a new product and integrating it into production and moving it through the sales channel to the marketplace, requires touching most, if not all, aspects of an operation.