{"id":1272,"date":"2021-08-08T05:00:36","date_gmt":"2021-08-08T12:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/themanwhosoldtheweb.com\/blog\/?p=1272"},"modified":"2021-08-08T05:00:38","modified_gmt":"2021-08-08T12:00:38","slug":"lean-product-development-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/themanwhosoldtheweb.com\/blog\/2021\/08\/lean-product-development-innovation\/","title":{"rendered":"Lean Product Development & Innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Improving Product Development<\/a> competencies in designers and developers is a concern for senior leaders in the manufacturing<\/a> sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The approach most organizations take in developing Human Resources<\/a> does not go beyond staffing the cream of the crop from leading global educational institutes.  Talent Development<\/a> to them is, typically, sending their people to attend workshops and keeping up with employee annual training hours\u2019 goals, and that\u2019s it.  Companies usually spend more on acquiring latest manufacturing equipment or modern collaboration tools than they do to develop their greatest asset\u2014their people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research on manufacturing practices unequivocally suggests that it\u2019s primarily the inspiration to adopt a culture of Continuous Improvement<\/a> in people that results in operational excellence.  This Continuous Improvement Culture has more significance than implementing Lean practices across all processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cLean Product Development<\/a>\u201d concept isn\u2019t a new notion.  The practice has been around since the 1980s.  An MIT study in the 1980s revealed that manufacturing practices in Japanese automakers were totally opposed to those of auto manufacturers in the rest of the world.  These approaches were referred to as \u201cLean<\/a>\u201d practices.  Research into manufacturing practices of Toyota has spread the knowledge about Lean Product Development globally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lean concept is strikingly opposing to the philosophy that emphasizes on delegating the responsibility of developing the designers\u2019 \/ developers\u2019 capabilities to the Human Resources Department.  In order to develop and deliver superior products, Lean Product Development focuses on enabling the developers build \u201cpersonal dexterity\u201d as the key element of success.  The concept necessitates technical training and collaboration between developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before embarking on the Lean Product Development and Innovation<\/a> journey, organizational leadership should work on finding answers to these 3 fundamental questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. In order to design better products, which critical insights do we need to develop regarding customers, products, and processes?<\/strong><\/li>
  2. Which mediums, organizational knowledge, and tools are required to develop these insights?<\/strong><\/li>
  3. Which organizational structures and ways of doing businesses are ideally suited to develop these valuable insights and improving the expertise of developers?<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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    Pondering over these critical questions and answering them facilitates in creating a pool of skilled Product Designers and developers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Let\u2019s dive deeper into these questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Question 1<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Lean Product Development emphasizes on developing a steady stream of products at an even pace\u2014referred to as \u201cTakt<\/strong>.\u201d   iPhone 1 and iPhone 2 are examples of a steady stream of products released at regular intervals in Apple\u2019s iPhone value stream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Takt has evolved the way products are designed.  An initial product is developed as a means to validate an idea.  Products are progressed from the initial product based on stakeholders\u2019 feedback.  The purpose of a value stream<\/a> of products is to improve the current product offerings, inspire the existing customers to upgrade, and tempt potential customers to try the product.  In these evolving value streams, every product release serves as an opportunity to gain insights into the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The value enhancement through Takt has 2 broad objectives:<\/p>\n\n\n\n