New Product Development and Project Risk Management Articles

The new product articles listed below have been published in magazines and journals. As explained on the Publications page, the actual articles appear on their own page on this Web site, appear on the publisher's site (a link to that site is provided), or are available here to download as a PDF file. Check our book chapters page if your new product interest concerns time to market.

These new product articles are listed chronologically, new ones first. A indicates our most popular articles (over 1000 downloads each).

"Flexible Product Development in a Turbulent World," Preston G. Smith and Katherine Radeka, Visions, July 2009 (Volume 33, No. 2), pages 20–21. Covers making decisions at the last responsible moment, rolling-wave and loose-tight project planning, and personas, then it suggests how to make your development process more flexible, depending on where you are today.

"Change: Embrace It, Don’t Deny It." Preston G. Smith, Research-Technology Management, July–August 2008 (Volume 51 No. 4), pages 34–40. A short but good overview of flexible product development -- the best available short of reading the book itself. Download a PDF file (7 pp., 83KB). Also available as a complimentary audio reading on the IRI Website.

"Change Happens, Get Used to It!" Preston G. Smith, Project Management Innovations of the Project Management Institute's New Product Development Specific Interest Group, September 2007. Addresses the contradiction between the fact that innovation is intimately connected with change while developers fear change; also offers solutions. Download a PDF file (3 pp., 183KB).

"The Roots of Agile," Part 1. Preston G. Smith, published by Cutter Consortium's Agile Product & Project Management Advisory Service, 6 September 2007. Shows the basics of what makes Agile software development work so that it can be expanded to other product types. Download an HTML file (1 p., 19KB).

"How Much Risk Management Is Enough?" Preston G. Smith, Journal of the Society of Project Management (Japan), June 15, 2005, p. 30. One can easily overdo project risk management, spending all of one's time managing risk rather than completing the project. Here is some guidance. Download a PDF file (1 p., 29KB).

"Accelerating Design for Complex Products," Patrick Barrett and Preston G. Smith, Time-Compression Technologies, May/June 2005, pp. 60-62. Complexity can cause design work to rise exponentially with the number of components. This article offers ways to counter this trend. Download a PDF file (3 pp., 171KB).

"Why Is Agile Development So Scary?" Preston G. Smith, Cutter Consortium's Agile Project Management advisory service, May 2005. Although agile development is attractive on its surface, it goes against the grain of human behavior, as this article discusses. Download a PDF file (3 pp., 195KB).

"Agile Risks/Agile Rewards," Preston G. Smith and Roman Pichler, Software Development, April 2005, pp. 50-53. Describes how the conventional project risk management process can be accelerated dramatically for an agile project. Download a PDF file (4 pp., 258KB).

"Developing Your Products in Half the Time," Roman Pichler and Preston Smith, CriticalEYE, December 2003, pp. 1-4. Explains to senior executives the pitfalls in approaching rapid product development and points for them to be aware of as they implement such a program. Download a PDF file (4 pp., 236KB).

"Let Prototyping Drive Your Product Development Process," Preston G. Smith, Sopheon News, October 7, 2003, p. 3. Suggests using rounds of prototypes to pace your development development process, rather than phases and gates. Download a PDF file (1 p., 57KB).

"A Portrait of Risk," Preston G. Smith, PMNetwork, April 2003, pp. 44-48. Using two examples of risks from industry, this article shows how a risk model provides a picture of a risk that helps the team to understand and take effective action against the risk. Download a PDF file (5 pp., 161KB).

"The Risk of Talking About Risk," Preston G. Smith, Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry, March 2003, pp. 48-53. Although there is  great value in managing your project's risk, even mentioning that there could be problems ahead may cost you your job. This article addresses this delicate subject. Download a PDF file (3 pp., 122KB).

"Strengthening Cross-Functional Team Collaboration," Preston G. Smith, inKNOWvations, Sopheon e-newsletter, March 2003. Effective team collaboration is a key to developing a winning product. This article suggests how to achieve such collaboration.  Available on the publisher's site.

"Dealing with Project Risks Successfully," Preston G. Smith and Guy M. Merritt, Product Development Best Practices Report, October - December 2002 (three-part series). The first installment of this series covers risk models, the second describes the risk management process, and the third provides implementation advice. Download a PDF file (9 pp., 261KB).

"8 Ways to Manage Contract Designers," Preston G. Smith, Design News, September 9, 2002, p. S-17. Engaging a product development organization to help you develop your product has many advantages -- but also potential problems. This piece offers some things to think about. Download a PDF file (1 p., 45KB).

"Managing Risk Proactively in Product Development Projects," Preston G. Smith, Keynote presentation at the IPLnet Workshop 2002 in Saas-Fee, Valais, Switzerland, 10-11 September 2002. A summary of project risk management aimed at a technical audience; includes a case study. Download a PDF file (4 pp., 144KB).

"Managing Consulting Project Risk," Preston G. Smith and Guy M. Merritt, Consulting to Management, September 2002, pp. 7-13. Illustrates the broad applicability of the risk management process by applying it to a small management consulting project, including a case study. Download a PDF file (7 pp., 286KB).

"Leading Dispersed Product Development Teams," Preston G. Smith, inKNOWvations, Sopheon e-newsletter, August 2002. A short version of "From Experience: Leading Dispersed Teams" below. Available on the publisher's site.

"From Experience: Leading Dispersed Teams," Preston G. Smith and Emily L. Blanck,  Journal of Product Innovation Management, July 2002, pp. 294-304. Describes what you need to do -- besides applying technology -- to keep your team working effectively when it is no longer co-located. Download a PDF file (11pp., 197KB).

"Thirteen Ways to Mismanage Development Project Risk: How to Avoid Those Erroneous Routes," Preston G. Smith, Visions, July 2002, pp. 22-23. A "short course" on project risk management by showing what not to do. Download a PDF file (2 pp., 100KB).

"Using a Risk Model to Build Development Team Consensus," Guy Merritt and Preston G. Smith, Project Management Innovations, December 2001, pp 1-2. Describes the considerable value of using a Standard Risk Model as a framework to manage a project risk. Download a PDF file (2pp., 49 KB).

"Communication Holds Global Teams Together," Preston G. Smith, Machine Design, July 26, 2001, pp. 70-74. Provides survival skills for new product teams that find themselves scattered across cities or continents by applying communication technologies wisely and appreciating cultural differences. Download a PDF file (3 pp., 111 KB).

"Reaping the Rewards of Empowerment," Preston G. Smith, Current Drug Discovery, July 2001, pp. 37-39. Report on a conference, "Improving Cross-Functional Performance in Pharmaceutical Development," which thus offers critical advice for enabling large cross-functional teams developing new products to function better. Download a PDF file (3 pp., 69 KB).

"Using Conceptual Modelers for Business Advantage," Preston G. Smith, Time-Compression Technologies, April 2001, pp. 18-24. An updated version of "Rapid Prototyping Accelerates the Design Process" below. This material was also presented at the TCT conference in Cardiff, Wales in October 2000. Download a PDF file (5 pp., 336 KB).

"How Product Developers Use the Internet," Gregg Tong and Preston G. Smith, Product Development Best Practices Report, April 2001, pp. 5-8. An alternative to the article below with broader context of where the Internet seems to be headed but no hyperlinks. Download a PDF file (4 pp., 171 KB).

"Online Resources for Product Developers," Preston G. Smith and Gregg Tong, Visions, April 2001, pp. 14-16. The online counterpart to "What Do Product Developers Read" (below). Contains nearly 30 hyperlinks to key sources. Download a PDF file (3 pp., 309 KB).

"Focus on Profit to Reap Benefit of Speed to Market," Preston G. Smith, Steel in Focus (Australia), Winter 2000, pp. 20-21. An excerpt from "Reaping Benefit" (below) that concentrates on calculating and using the cost of delay. Download a PDF file (2 pp. 100KB).

"What Do Product Developers Read?" Preston G. Smith, Visions, October 2000, p. 8. Because innovation is inherently multidisciplinary and multi-industry, there is no single periodical that covers it. This short piece will head you toward the most popular sources. Download a PDF file (1 p., 94KB).

"Rapid Prototyping Accelerates the Design Process," G. Thomas Clay and Preston G. Smith, Machine Design, March 9, 2000, pp.166-171. Concentrates on conceptual modelers, showing how they can be leveraged to yield speed gains much higher than their cycle times would suggest by redesigning your development cycle. Download a PDF file (4 pp., 169KB).

"The Business of Rapid Prototyping," Preston G. Smith, Rapid Prototyping Journal, October 1999, pp, 179-185. Suggests how to get more out of enabling technologies, such as rapid prototyping, and how to justify procuring them more convincingly by relating them to profitability. Download a PDF file (7 pp., 116KB).

"Managing Risk as Product Development Schedules Shrink," Preston G. Smith, Research-Technology Management, September-October 1999, pp. 25-32. Provides both the principles and a process for ongoing project risk management; includes examples. Download a PDF file (8 pp., 104KB).

"From Experience: Reaping Benefit from Speed to Market," Preston G. Smith, Journal of Product Innovation Management, May 1999, pp. 222-230. Describes several ways in which managers go astray in implementing a rapid development program and offers enduring approaches for creating such a program. Download a PDF file (9 pp., 62KB).

"Leverage the Cycle-Time Capability of Your Rapid Prototypes," Preston G. Smith, Time-Compression Technologies, December 1998, pp. 36-43; reprinted as SME Technical Paper PEo1-177. Suggests that when we look at rapid prototypes solely in terms of their speed relative to conventional prototypes, we are overlooking the cycle-time leverage of which they are capable. Download a PDF file (8 pp., color, 176KB).

"Faster to Market," Preston G. Smith and Don Reinertsen, Mechanical Engineering, December 1998, pp. 68-70. Discusses how managers, from first-level supervisors to the CEO can facilitate rapid development. Available on the publisher's site  or learn more about Don (Don) Reinertsen.

"Make Time-to-Market Technologies a Bottom-Line Issue," Preston G. Smith, Computer-Aided Engineering, April 1998, p. 78. A condensed version of "The Business of Rapid Prototyping," listed above.  Download a PDF file (1 p., 66KB).

"Low-Tech Tools Speed Plastic Parts," Daniel A. Eastman and Preston G. Smith, Machine Design, August 8, 1996, pp. 40-46. Covers how high-tech tools for designing plastic parts, such as solid modeling and rapid tooling, can be leveraged by applying a management approach that supports them.  Download a PDF file (5 pp., 306KB).

"Your Product Development Process Demands Ongoing Improvement," Preston G. Smith, Research-Technology Management, March-April 1996, pp. 37-44. Detailed description for setting up a continuous improvement program by reviewing the learnings from each project. Download a PDF file (8 pp., 165KB).

"From Experience: Time-Driven Development of Software in Manufactured Goods," Tomlinson G. Rauscher and Preston G. Smith, Journal of Product Innovation Management, June 1995, pp. 186-199. Offers several techniques for accelerating the development of machines whose operation depends on embedded software. Download a PDF file (14 pp., 115KB).

"Saying 'No' to Customers," Preston G. Smith, Across the Board, March 1994, pp. 56-57. A short explanation of the pitfalls of doing everything the customer wants and thus overloading your development pipeline. Download a PDF file (2 pp., 114KB).

"Implementing TQM on a Shoestring," Bruce E. Hamilton and Preston G. Smith,  Journal of Management Consulting, September 1993, pp. 11-19. Illustrates how consultants can work with small companies to implement a program such as TQM on a small budget. Download a PDF file (9 p., 98KB).

"Why Change Is Hard," Preston G. Smith, Across the Board, January/February 1993, pp. 55-56. Outlines the difficulties in accomplishing  organizational change and what to do about them. Download a PDF file (2 pp., 102KB).

"Shortening the Product Development Cycle," Preston G. Smith and Don Reinertsen, Research-Technology Management, May-June 1992, pp. 44-49. Overview of the principles of rapid development from the R&D manager's perspective. Download a PDF file (6 pp., 98KB).

"The Strategist's Role in Shortening Product Development," Don Reinertsen and Preston G. Smith, The Journal of Business Strategy, July/August 1991, pp. 18-22. This article covers several cycle time compression areas that lie under the control of  the corporate strategist. Download a PDF file (5 pp., 80KB) or read more about Don Reinertsen.

"U. S. Firms Are Finally Getting up to Speed," Preston G. Smith and Don Reinertsen, San Jose Mercury News, April 1, 1991. Short article emphasizes calculating and using the cost of delay. Download a PDF file (1 p., 40KB) or read more about Don Reinertsen.

"Fast-Cycle Product Development," Preston G. Smith, Engineering Management Journal, June 1990, pp. 11-16. Summarizes the techniques of rapid development. Download a PDF file (6 pp., 151KB).

"Winning the New Products Rat Race," Preston G. Smith, Machine Design, May 12, 1988, pp. 95-98. Introductory article covering some time to market techniques. Download a PDF file (4 pp., 274KB).

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