Reinertsen Masterclass: Rapid Product Development Techniques

"Achieving Rapid Product Development" is a workshop primarily about the improvement approaches that are already proven to reduce individual project cycle times, and which can be readily implemented by companies without making fundamental changes to the development process. However, as this interactive and practical workshop will examine, it is critical that companies looking for improvements do not just simply add "best practices" to existing (and often overcomplicated) processes. Instead this workshop recognises that there is another approach to process improvement; one that is grounded on the understanding and exploiting of the specific economics of process. From this foundation it is possible to adopt appropriately the latest tools and techniques (as detailed during the workshop) that can enable individual projects to achieve dramatically faster time to market.

Course Content

Economic Analysis
Good decisions can only be made when the economic impact of any action is understood.
This is why economic analysis should be the foundation of all development programmes.
• Modelling development programme economics
• Quantifying the cost of delay versus other development objectives
• Using this information to develop trade-off rules

Managing the Fuzzy Front End
The Predevelopment Process is critical to rapidly developing the right product. Yet, poor management means that often half the available development cycle is expended before
development even starts.
• How to measure the Fuzzy Front End
• Practical approaches for shortening the pre development phase

Using Incremental Innovation
One of the more powerful techniques for shortening cycles and reducing risk is controlling the scope of programmes.
• Avoiding the mega project trap
• The pros and cons of incremental innovation

Creating Effective Product Specifications
Good specifications are crucial if massive delays and project redirection are to be avoided.
• Simplifying the product specification process
• Working with changing requirements
• Using application economics to improve specifications

Using Product Architecture
System design and product architecture decisions can prove to be highly effective when it comes to dramatically shortening development cycles.
• The role of modular product structures
• The importance of interface management
• The benefits of risk concentration

Product Development Teams
When developing products quickly, creating teams with the right combination of skills, the correct cross functional mix, and certain types of people is just the starting point.
• Managing part-time team members
• Co-location and its alternatives
• Alternative organisational forms and setting team boundaries
Designing Fast Development Schedules
One of the keys to rapid development is causing tasks to occur concurrently rather than sequentially.
• The importance of activity overlap
• Assessing the economics of overlapped schedules

Control Systems for Rapid Development
There are a number of practical approaches to managing and controlling rapid development teams.
• Basing controls on economics
• Reducing control system delays
• Reducing low value control activities

Capacity Management
Development process queues – often caused by capacity management practices that overload the development organisation - exist and have a major impact on development lead times.
• Analysing development process queues
• Techniques for controlling queues
• Setting the right level of excess capacity

Controlling Risk
Various approaches exist for reducing the overall risk associated with rapid development.
• Defining technical and market risk
• Smart testing strategies, test process analysis and accelerating life testing

Managing the Manufacturing Interface
Concurrent Engineering is an extremely powerful technique for shortening cycles and improving product quality.
• Increasing early manufacturing and supplier involvement
• Decoupling product and process development