Assessing the Relationship between New Product Development Practices and Performance in the Norwegian Manufacturing Industry

This article reports on a survey for determining the current status of lean product development (LPD) practices among Norwegian manufacturing companies using a generic LPD model as basis. The model includes six main dimensions and was developed based on a systematic review of existing models, practices and interpretations, including the Toyota Product Development Systems amongst others. Using non-probabilistic design, a sample of 258 responses out of 356 invited subjects, demonstrates the relation between product development performance and the following elements: clear project prioritization based on portfolio thinking and balancing the workload; loyalty to the agreed upon design strategy; project dynamics cause project members to continuously update themselves on critical product characteristics; and the use of simple and visual communication modes is deployed in the organization.

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